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Anita Rani

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Anita Rani
Rani in 2019
Born
Anita Rani Nazran

(1977-10-25) 25 October 1977 (age 47)
Bradford, West Yorkshire, England
Alma materUniversity of Leeds
Occupation(s)Journalist, radio presenter, television presenter/personality
Employer(s)BBC, Channel 4
TitleChancellor of University of Bradford

Anita Rani Nazran (born 25 October 1977),[1] better known as Anita Rani, is a British radio and television presenter.

Early life

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Rani was born and brought up in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England,[1] to Indian-born parents. Her father is Hindu and her mother is Sikh.[2]

In an episode of Who Do You Think You Are? first broadcast on 1 October 2015 on BBC One, Rani investigated the history of her maternal grandfather Sant Singh (born Sant Ram, in Sarhali in 1916, died 1975), in particular learning more about his first wife and children, who died during the violence of the Partition of India in 1947, while he was a thousand miles away in Kirkee, serving in the British Indian Army, which he had joined in August 1942. Rani discovered that her maternal grandfather was born into a Hindu Taggar family, but converted to Sikhism as a young man in accordance with a custom prevalent at the time. He continued to serve in the Indian Army after Indian independence, retiring as a subedar (equivalent to a warrant officer) in 1970.[3]

Rani was educated at Bradford Girls' Grammar School, an independent school.[4] Rani developed an early interest in journalism, hosting her first show at the age of 14 on Sunrise Radio.[5] She went to the University of Leeds, where she studied broadcasting.[4]

Career

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After leaving university Rani worked as a researcher for the BBC and other organisations.[6]

In 2002, Rani presented The Edit, a live news and entertainment programme on Channel Five. She presented a number of pop shows on Five including Spring Break Live, Party in the Park and Pop City Live, as well as being a freelance journalist for 5 News.[4] In spring 2003, she fronted The State We're In, a satirical current affairs programme on BBC Three. She also presented the first Poetry Slam on the same channel.[7] She was nominated as Best On Screen Personality at the Royal Television Society Midlands awards in 2005.[4]

Rani joined the BBC Asian Network radio station in March 2005, and became presenter of the weekend Hot Breakfast show. From April 2006 to March 2007 she presented the weekday morning talkback programme Anita Rani on the BBC Asian Network on the station.[8][9]

In 2005, she was a regular reporter on The Cricket Show on Channel 4. From 20 May 2006 she was a co-presenter of Desi DNA, an arts programme on BBC Two catering to the Desi (British Asian) community. She launched Destination Three, a late night entertainment zone on BBC Three.[4] In May 2006, Rani joined Sky Sports where she became co-presenter with Simon Thomas on the Cricket AM show each Saturday morning.[4]

Rani presented My Generation Next, shown on BBC News 24 between 2 and 9 December 2006. She covered for Anita Anand on the late evening weekday show on BBC Radio 5 Live in March and September 2007 and has presented World Have Your Say on the BBC World Service and Weekend Breakfast on Five Live. She has also covered on various shows for BBC Radio 6 Music. In August 2008, Rani was the co-presenter of Rogue Restaurants on BBC One and joined the team of roving reporters on The One Show. From 2 March 2009 she co-presented BBC One's Watchdog, succeeding Julia Bradbury.

From 2011 until 2015, Rani presented Four Rooms where unique objects are offered for sale to specialist dealers. In 2016, she was replaced by Sarah Beeny.[10]

Rani co-presented with Justin Rowlatt a two-part documentary travelogue India on Four Wheels, a road trip around India sampling the changes and problems that growing car usage has brought to the country in the last two decades.[11] This 2011 show was followed by similar collaborations with Rowlatt, China on Four Wheels (aired September 2012) and Russia on Four Wheels (aired January 2014).

In 2012, Rani took part in BBC's Great Sport Relief Bake Off, winning the competition. In 2013, she co-presented the live broadcast project Airport Live from Heathrow Airport. In April 2014, she was one of the presenters of BBC Two's Escape to the Continent.

Since 2015, she has co-hosted BBC's Countryfile. Rani co-presented The World's Busiest Railway 2015, alongside Dan Snow and Robert Llewellyn. The four-part series aired on BBC Two.[12] In 2016, she co-presented The Refugee Camp: Our Desert Home for BBC Two and presented This Morning for four Fridays in the summer alongside James Martin.[13][14]

In 2016, Rani co-presented the three-part BBC Two series New York: America's Busiest City alongside Ant Anstead and Ade Adepitan.[15] She presented My Family, Partition and Me: India 1947, a two-part programme on BBC One. She co-presented World's Busiest Cities in 2017 with Dan Snow and Ade Adepitan.

In 2018, she was honoured with Outstanding Achievement in Television at The Asian Awards.[16] Rani also serves as an ambassador for The Scout Association in the UK.[17]

Since 15 January 2021, Rani has presented the Friday and Saturday editions of BBC Radio 4's Woman's Hour.[18]

On 24 February 2021, Rani was a guest on BBC Radio 4 interview show Gossip And Goddesses With Granny Kumar, where she said that her Indian name is Neetu, after the Indian actress Neetu Singh.[19]

On 8 March 2021, Rani announced that she had been made a United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Goodwill Ambassador.[20]

In May 2021, Rani became the presenter of C4 daytime quiz show The Answer Trap.[21]

In July 2021, Rani published her memoir The Right Sort of Girl, which made The Sunday Times Bestseller List.[22]

In October 2022, Rani presented Channel 4's Aldi's Next Big Thing, alongside Chris Bavin and Julie Ashfield.[23]

In November 2022, Rani was named as the new chancellor of the University of Bradford.[24] She was installed at a ceremony in March 2023 and appeared on the front page of The Times. Speaking on the day of her installation, she said: "The University of Bradford is about to move into a really exciting phase, I’m thrilled to be part of that journey, and that I get to be Chancellor during City of Culture 2025."[25]

Rani was made an Honorary Doctor of Letters by the University of Leeds in July 2023.[26]

In April 2024 Rani was a guest co-host on the BBC quiz show Pointless alongside Alexander Armstrong.[27]

Strictly Come Dancing

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Main article: Strictly Come Dancing

Between October and December 2015, Rani participated in the thirteenth series of Strictly Come Dancing,[2] partnered with Gleb Savchenko and reached the semi-final.

Week Dance Music Judges' scores[a] Total score Result
1 Cha-cha-cha "Rather Be" — Clean Bandit, feat. Jess Glynne 6 7 7 7 27 Safe
2 Charleston "Pencil Full of Lead" — Paolo Nutini 7 8 6 6 27 Safe
3 American Smooth "Unchained Melody" (from Ghost) 6 8 8 7 29 Safe
4 Samba "Hips Don't Lie" — Shakira 6 7 7 7 27 Safe
5 Tango "Sweet Disposition" — The Temper Trap 8 8 8 8 32 Safe
6 Waltz "Once Upon a Dream" — Lana Del Rey 6 8 8 7 29 Safe
7 Jive "The Boy Does Nothing" — Alesha Dixon 8 8 9 9 34 Safe
8 Quickstep "Don't Get Me Wrong" — The Pretenders 8 8 8 8 32 Safe
9 Paso doble "Malagueña" — Connie Francis 9 10 9 9 37 Safe
10 Rumba "Read All About It, Pt. III" — Emeli Sandé 7 8 7 9 31 Safe
Quickstep-athon
(Quickstep Marathon) 		"Sing Sing Sing" — The Andrews Sisters — 4[b]
11 Argentine tango "Cell Block Tango" (from Chicago) 6 8 9 8 31 Safe
12
(Semi-final) 		Foxtrot "New York, New York" — Frank Sinatra 7 8 8 9 32 Eliminated
Salsa "Feel This Moment" — Pitbull, feat. Christina Aguilera 8 8 8 8 32
Notes
  1. ^ Individual judges' scores are listed in the following order: Craig Revel Horwood, Darcey Bussell, Len Goodman, Bruno Tonioli.
  2. ^ Anita and Gleb received four points in this dance marathon.

Personal life

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Rani lives in Hackney, east London.[28] She was previously married to Bhupinder Rehal, a technology executive for an advertising agency.[3] In September 2023, it was reported the couple had split.[29][30][31] In 2020, Rani opened up about a miscarriage she suffered in 2018.[32]

In August 2014, Rani was one of 200 public figures who were signatories to a letter to The Guardian opposing Scottish independence in the run-up to September's referendum on that issue.[33]

Filmography

[edit]
  • Network East Late (2003) – Co-presenter
  • Rogue Restaurants (2008) – Co-presenter
  • Watchdog (2009–2010) – Co-presenter
  • India on Four Wheels (2011) – Co-presenter
  • The One Show (2011–2012, 2014–present) – Stand-in presenter and reporter
  • Four Rooms (2011–2015) – Presenter
  • The Great Sport Relief Bake Off (2012) – Contestant
  • China on Four Wheels (2012) – Co-presenter
  • Airport Live (2013) – Co-presenter
  • No Sex Please, We're Japanese (2013) – Presenter
  • Russia on Four Wheels (2014) – Presenter
  • The Great Culture Quiz (2014) – Presenter
  • Escape to the Continent (2014–present) – Co-presenter
  • Countryfile[34] (2015–present) – Co-presenter
  • The World's Busiest Railway (2015) – Co-presenter
  • Strictly Come Dancing (2015) – Contestant
  • The Refugee Camp: Our Desert Home (2016) – Co-presenter
  • This Morning Summer (2016) – Co-presenter
  • New York: America's Busiest City (2016) – Co-presenter
  • BBC Young Dancer (2017) – Co-presenter
  • One Love Manchester (2017) – Co-presenter
  • My Family, Partition and Me: India 1947 (2017) – Presenter
  • World's Busiest Cities (2017) – Co-presenter
  • Richard Osman's House of Games (2017) – Contestant
  • The Royal Wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle (2018) – Guest presenter
  • Bollywood: The World's Biggest Film Industry (2018) – Presenter and co-creator
  • Today at the Great Yorkshire Show (2019) – Co-presenter
  • Celebrity Gogglebox (2020) – Herself
  • The Chase Celebrity Special (2020) – Contestant
  • Blankety Blank Christmas Special (2020) – Contestant
  • The Victorian House of Arts and Crafts (2020) – Presenter [35]
  • James Martin’s Saturday Morning (2021) – Guest[36]
  • A Service Of Celebration For Commonwealth Day (2021) – Presenter[37]
  • Saved by a Stranger (2021–present) – Presenter[38]
  • The Answer Trap (2021–present) – Presenter[39]
  • Secret Spenders (2021–present) – Presenter[40]
  • Britain By Beach (2021–present) – Presenter[41]
  • The Wheel (2021, 2023) – Celebrity expert[42][43]
  • All Star Musicals (2021) – Competitor[44]
  • The Platinum Pageant (2022) – Reporter[45]
  • Fastest Finger First (2022) – Host[46]
  • The State Funeral of HM Queen Elizabeth II (2022) – Reporter[47]
  • Aldi’s Next Big Thing (2022–present) – Co-presenter[48]
  • Coronation of His Majesty The King and Her Majesty The Queen Consort (2023) – Reporter[49]
  • D-Day 80: The Allies Prepare (2024) – Presenter[50]
  • Anita Rani – The Brontës: Sisters of Disruption (w/t) (2025) – Presenter[51]

Bibliography

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  • The Right Sort of Girl (Blink Publishing, 2021, ISBN 978-1788704236)
  • Baby Does A Runner (Zaffre, 2023, ISBN 978-1838779405)[52]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b Thorne, Nick (29 September 2015). "Anita Rani | An emotional tale of the story of the Punjab from World War I through to partition of India and Pakistan in 1947..." TheGenealogist. Retrieved 6 October 2015.
  2. ^ a b Price, Annie (2 September 2015). "Strictly Come Dancing 2015: Who is Anita Rani?". Sunday Express. Retrieved 6 September 2015.
  3. ^ a b "Anita Rani". Who Do You Think You Are?. Series 12. Episode 8. 1 October 2015. BBC One. Retrieved 1 October 2015. Journalist Anita Rani never met her maternal grandfather Sant Singh – all she has been told is that he suffered terrible tragedy at the time of India's Partition. Anita's mother also tells her that Sant had another wife and family before marrying Anita's grandmother. Armed with this knowledge, Anita travels to India to see if she can find out more about her grandfather's first family – and discover what happened to them during Partition.
  4. ^ a b c d e f "Anita Rani profile". Sky Sports. 27 July 2007. Archived from the original on 23 April 2008. Retrieved 8 August 2007.
  5. ^ "BBC presenter Anita Rani on life after Leeds". The Gryphon. 6 February 2015. Archived from the original on 3 October 2018. Retrieved 1 April 2020.
  6. ^ "Strictly Come Dancing – Anita Rani – BBC One". BBC. Retrieved 15 February 2017.
  7. ^ "Anita Rani Speaker – Parliament Speakers". www.parliamentspeakers.com. Retrieved 5 October 2019.
  8. ^ "Biographies — Anita Rani Presenter, Asian Network". BBC Asian Network. 1 April 2006. Archived from the original on 23 October 2007. Retrieved 8 August 2007.
  9. ^ "Anita Rani off mid-morning Asian Network show". Asians in Media. 1 December 2006. Archived from the original on 5 December 2006. Retrieved 8 August 2007.
  10. ^ "Strictly Come Dancing's Anita Rani leaves Four Rooms". digitalspy.com. 20 April 2016. Retrieved 15 February 2017.
  11. ^ "BBC Two – India on Four Wheels". BBC. Retrieved 30 October 2015.
  12. ^ Dowling, Tim (25 August 2015). "World's Busiest Railway 2015; Muslim Drag Queens – review: 'I'm worried for your safety'". The Guardian. Retrieved 25 August 2015.
  13. ^ "James Martin and Anita Rani to host Fridays on ITV's This Morning during summer". itv.com. Retrieved 15 February 2017.
  14. ^ Sweney, Mark (19 July 2016). "Saturday Kitchen's James Martin and Anita Rani to host ITV's This Morning". The Guardian. Retrieved 15 February 2017.
  15. ^ Blyth, Joni (30 August 2016). "BBC Two's New York documentary goes inside America's Busiest City". The Standard. Retrieved 15 February 2017.
  16. ^ "Asian Awards 2018: Recognition with Lots of Glitz and Glamour". Desiblitz. 29 April 2018.
  17. ^ "Scout Ambassador Anita Rani helps Cubs learn skills for life". Scouts. The Scout Association. 27 June 2017. Archived from the original on 19 January 2018. Retrieved 9 March 2019.
  18. ^ "Anita Rani to become second Woman's Hour presenter". BBC Media Centre. 12 January 2021. Retrieved 12 January 2021.
  19. ^ "BBC Radio 4 – Gossip and Goddesses with Granny Kumar, Episode 3". 2021.
  20. ^ "UK TV and Radio Broadcaster Anita Rani joins UNHCR as a Goodwill Ambassador". www.unhcr.org. 8 March 2021. Retrieved 9 March 2021.
  21. ^ "The Answer Trap". channel4.com. Retrieved 10 May 2021.
  22. ^ Rani, Anita (8 July 2021). The Right Sort of Girl: The Sunday Times Bestseller. ASIN 1788704231.
  23. ^ Hogan, Michael (20 October 2022). "Aldi's Next Big Thing, review: sob stories fail to add spice to this mundane culinary Apprentice". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 22 October 2022.
  24. ^ "Anita Rani named University of Bradford Chancellor". University of Bradford. 8 November 2022. Retrieved 9 November 2022.
  25. ^ "Anita Rani's installation as Chancellor marks "new chapter" for University of Bradford – 2023 – News – University of Bradford". Bradford.ac.uk. 7 March 2023. Retrieved 15 July 2023.
  26. ^ "Honorary Degrees 2023". University of Leeds. 18 July 2023. Retrieved 31 October 2023.
  27. ^ "BBC One - Pointless, Series 31, Episode 13".
  28. ^ Duck, Charlotte (18 April 2024). "Why I live in Hackney: presenter Anita Rani on why hers is 'the best borough' in London". London Evening Standard. Retrieved 18 April 2024.
  29. ^ Chrisp, Kitty (27 September 2023). "Anita Rani looks in good spirits after 'splitting from husband' of 14 years". Metro. Retrieved 26 January 2024.
  30. ^ Colderick, Stephanie (7 October 2023). "Anita Rani's marriage split, career move and 'liberating' new look". Wales Online. Retrieved 26 January 2024.
  31. ^ Rodger, James (5 September 2023). "BBC Countryfile's Anita Rani splits from husband after 14 years in 'really sad' break-up". Birmingham Mail. Retrieved 24 January 2024.
  32. ^ "Anita Rani: 'I had a miscarriage and it showed me it's okay to be vulnerable'". Red. 10 January 2020. Retrieved 18 April 2024.
  33. ^ "Celebrities' open letter to Scotland – full text and list of signatories". The Guardian. 7 August 2014. Retrieved 26 August 2014.
  34. ^ "Anita Rani". BBC Countryfile Magazine. 2015. Retrieved 6 September 2015.
  35. ^ "The Victorian House of Arts and Crafts". bbc.com. Retrieved 4 March 2021.
  36. ^ "James Martin's Saturday Morning". itv.com. Retrieved 21 December 2020.
  37. ^ "A Service Of Celebration For Commonwealth Day". bbc.com/mediacentre. Retrieved 9 March 2021.
  38. ^ "Saved by a Stranger". bbc.com. Retrieved 18 April 2021.
  39. ^ "Anita Rani to present The Answer Trap on Channel 4". channel4.com. 16 February 2021. Retrieved 9 March 2021.
  40. ^ "Channel 4 commissions Secret Spenders from South Shore". channel4.com. 14 April 2021. Retrieved 16 April 2021.
  41. ^ "Britain By Beach". radiotimes.com. Retrieved 31 October 2021.
  42. ^ "The Wheel". Retrieved 7 November 2021.
  43. ^ "The Wheel". Retrieved 8 October 2023.
  44. ^ "ITV's All Star Musicals unveils a star-studded Christmas line up". Retrieved 3 December 2021.
  45. ^ "The Platinum Pageant". bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 8 June 2022.
  46. ^ "Fastest Finger First". itv.com/presscentre. Retrieved 28 August 2022.
  47. ^ "The State Funeral of HM Queen Elizabeth II". bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 8 September 2022.
  48. ^ "Who's Going To Be Aldi's Next Big Thing? New Channel 4 Show Sees Small British Producers Get Big Opportunity". aldipresscentre.co.uk. 6 October 2022. Retrieved 19 October 2022.
  49. ^ "BBC unveils special coverage and programming to mark Coronation of His Majesty The King and Her Majesty The Queen Consort". bbc.co.uk/mediacentre. 11 April 2023. Retrieved 16 April 2023.
  50. ^ "Find out all about the D-Day 80 commemorative programming across the BBC". bbc.co.uk/mediacentre. 5 June 2024. Retrieved 5 June 2024.
  51. ^ "Sky Arts unveils brand new shows across Music, Literature, Craft and Visual Art". skygroup.sky. 22 August 2024. Retrieved 7 September 2024.
  52. ^ Baby Does A Runner. ASIN 183877940X.
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