Anita Anand

Anita Anand

Anita Anand during an outside broadcast
Born (1972-04-28) 28 April 1972
London, England
Occupation Radio & TV presenter
Spouse(s) Simon Singh (m. 2007)
Children 1

Anita Anand (/ˈɑːnænd/ AH-nand; born 28 April 1972) is a British radio and television presenter and journalist.

Early life and education

Anand was born in London, England, to Indian Hindu parents from the North West Frontier, bordering on Afghanistan.

Anand was educated at Bancroft's School,[1] where her contemporaries included Nina Mackay. Anand then entered King's College London in 1990 graduating with a BA in English in 1993.

Broadcasting career

After training as a journalist, Anand became European Head of News and Current Affairs for Zee TV, and one of the youngest TV news editors in Britain at the age of 25.[2] She presented the talk show The Big Debate, and was political correspondent for Zee TV presenting the Raj Britannia series – 31 documentaries chronicling the political aspirations of the Asian community in the most marginal constituencies in 1997. Until October 2007, Anand presented in the 10pm till 1am slot on Monday to Thursdays on BBC Radio 5 Live. She went on to co-present the station's weekday "Drive" (16:00–19:00) slot with Peter Allen, having replaced Jane Garvey in 2007. Aasmah Mir replaced her when she left for maternity leave.[3]

Anand has presented the BBC Radio 4 show Mid Week, which goes out on Wednesday mornings between 9:00 & 9:45 a.m. and on television, Anand has been a presenter on the Heaven and Earth Show. She has co-presented the Daily Politics on BBC Two with Andrew Neil from September 2008, with a break for maternity leave from January to September 2010.

Anand has also written articles for India Today and The Asian Age newspaper, and used to write a regular column in The Guardian (′Anita Anand's Diary′ 2004[4] - 2005[5]).

In July 2011 Anand left the Daily Politics to present a new show called Double Take on Radio 5 Live on Sunday mornings.[6] In June 2012, Anand took over presenting Radio 4's Any Answers? Saturday current affairs phone-in programme between 2:00 and 2:30 p.m. from Jonathan Dimbleby who continues to present the phone-in's sister programme, Any Questions?[7]

Author

Anand's book ′Sophia: Princess, Suffragette, Revolutionary′, about the Indian princess Sophia Duleep Singh granddaughter of the last Sikh Maharani and Maharaja of Lahore, born in exile in England, who went on to struggle for causes including Indian independence, the welfare of Indian soldiers in the First World War and women's suffrage, was published in 2015.[8] She also presented a 30-minute television documentary programme, based on the book, with the title, "Sophia, Suffragette Princess", which aired first on BBC One in late November 2015.

Awards

On 18 November 2005, Anand won the Nazia Hassan Award for 2005 in the category of Upcoming Television Broadcasters.[9][10]

Personal life

Anand married scientist and author Simon Singh in September 2007. The couple have a son, Hari, and live in London.

References

  1. ↑ 'Guide to Independent Schools' – Bancroft's School – Former pupils Guide to Independent Schools Retrieved: 22 November 2011.
  2. ↑ BBC Press Office
  3. ↑ Who will cover for Anita?
  4. ↑ Anand, Anita. "Heads or tails". The Guardian. Retrieved 2 February 2015.
  5. ↑ Anand, Anita. "Small miracles". The Guardian. Retrieved 2 February 2015.
  6. ↑ http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/13473851
  7. ↑ "Jonathan Dimbleby hands Any Answers? baton to Anita Anand on Radio 4". BBC Media Centre. 23 May 2012. Retrieved 11 August 2012.
  8. ↑ Anand, Anita (2015). Sophia: Princess, Suffragette, Revolutionary. Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 978-1408835456.
  9. ↑ NRI TV presenter gets Nazia award
  10. ↑ Anita Anand receives Nazia Hassan award

External links

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