LONDON: Charlize Theron’s former dance teacher left her red-faced on a British chat show by talking about her embarrassing childhood habits over the phone. Richard Madeley and Judy Finnigan were interviewing the Monster star on March 5. The programme’s producers made a surprise call to Theron’s former dance teacher Bernice Lloyd in her native South Africa.

“Charlize was a wonderful child. She was always so beautiful and so disciplined and always, always showed entrepreneurial skills,” the Daily Express quoted Bernice as saying. “She used to buy sweets from the school tuck shop and sell them at night to hungry children for a profit. We thought it was wonderful — we, her teachers, thought that showed gumption (initiative),” she added. Theron, who was mortified by the revelation, then exclaimed, “Oh my god, Bernice! This in insane! I don’t remember selling candy at a profit! I did start drinking at a very early age, so my memory is a bit dodgy.”