I suffered a triple whammy of being Asian, a woman and northern, says BBC’s Anita
COUNTRYFILE presenter Anita Rani said she suffered a ‘triple whammy’ in her TV career by being Asian, a woman and a northerner.
The 42-year-old has taken on various presenting roles and has fronted numerous BBC documentaries. She also reached the semi-finals of Strictly Come Dancing in 2015 and walked the runway at London Fashion Week last month.
But despite a varied career, Miss Rani said she has faced a tougher struggle than most.
‘I’m a woman but I’m also an Asian woman and I’m a northerner – that’s a triple whammy,’ she told The Sun’s Fabulous magazine.
‘I’ve got three things that are different from most people who work in TV. People make a judgment about you the minute they see you.’
Miss Rani grew up in Bradford, West Yorkshire, with her brother and parents – who moved to the UK 40 years ago. But the presenter revealed that she feels as if she has to justify why she should present TV shows that aren’t about Asians.
The One Show presenter fronted a BBC series about Bollywood but executives were less keen when she pitched a follow-up about Hollywood.
She added: ‘You feel you just have to suck it up and get on with it because you don’t want to rock the boat and women around the world will understand what I’m talking about.
‘Racism p***** me off and sexism p***** me off. There are quite a few people in TV I’d take down. I’m like Arya Stark from Game Of Thrones, I’ve got my list of people!’
And last year Miss Rani criticised ‘posh white men’ being the ‘default’ on TV. She feels more positive about the future of the industry but said the ‘power structures need to change’.