Anita Anand (journalist)

Anita Anand (/ˈɑːnənd/ AH-nand; born 1972) is a British radio and television presenter, journalist, and author.

For the Canadian professor and politician, see Anita Anand.
Anita Anand
Anita Anand during an outside broadcast in 2011
Born1972 (age 48–49)
London, England
Alma materKing's College, London
OccupationRadio and television presenter, journalist, and author
Spouse(s)
​
(m. 2007)​
Children2

Early life and education

Anand was born in London, England, to Punjabi Sikh parents who migrated to India shortly after the partition of India and then, later, to the UK.[1] Her family, prior to the partition, originated from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in present-day Pakistan.

Anand was privately educated at Bancroft's School in Woodford Green in Redbridge, east London.[2] 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.[3] 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 10:00 pm till 1:00 am slot on Monday to Thursdays on BBC Radio 5 Live. She went on to co-present the station's weekday Drive (4:00–7:00 pm) slot with Peter Allen, having replaced Jane Garvey in 2007. Aasmah Mir replaced her when she left for maternity leave.[4]

Anand has presented the BBC Radio 4 show Midweek, and on television she 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", 2004–2005[5][6]).

In July 2011 Anand left the Daily Politics to present a new show called Double Take on Radio 5 Live on Sunday mornings.[7] In June 2012, Anand took over from Jonathan Dimbleby as the presenter of Radio 4's Any Answers? Saturday current affairs phone-in programme between 2:00 and 2:30 pm.[8]

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.[9] She also presented Sophia, Suffragette Princess, a 30-minute television documentary programme based on the book, which aired first on BBC One in late November 2015.

She is co-author with William Dalrymple of Koh-i-Noor: The History of the World's Most Infamous Diamond. The Patient Assassin: A True Tale of Massacre, Revenge and the Raj appeared in April 2019 and relates to the Amritsar massacre of 1919.[10]

Awards

On 18 November 2005, Anand won the Nazia Hassan Award for 2005 in the category of Upcoming Television Broadcasters.[11][12] Her book The Patient Assassin won the 2020 Hessell-Tiltman Prize.[13]

Personal life

Anand married science writer Simon Singh in 2007. The couple have two sons and live in south-west London.[14]

See also

References
  1. "Anita Anand: Interview - The Bookseller". Retrieved 6 November 2016.
  2. 'Guide to Independent Schools' – Bancroft's School – Former pupils Archived 11 February 2012 at the Wayback Machine Guide to Independent Schools Retrieved: 22 November 2011.
  3. "Biographies - Anita Anand: Presenter, Radio 5 Live and The Daily Politics". BBC Press Office. Archived from the original on 11 December 2010. Retrieved 6 November 2016.
  4. Dale, Iain (21 September 2009). "Iain Dale's Diary: Daily Politics: Who Will Cover For Anita Anand?". Retrieved 6 November 2016.
  5. Anand, Anita. "Heads or tails". The Guardian. Retrieved 2 February 2015.
  6. Anand, Anita. "Small miracles". The Guardian. Retrieved 2 February 2015.
  7. "Anita Anand leaves BBC2's Daily Politics for 5 Live role". 12 July 2011. Retrieved 6 November 2016 – via www.bbc.co.uk.
  8. "Jonathan Dimbleby hands Any Answers? baton to Anita Anand on Radio 4". BBC Media Centre. 23 May 2012. Retrieved 11 August 2012.
  9. Anand, Anita (2015). Sophia: Princess, Suffragette, Revolutionary. Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 978-1408835456.
  10. The Patient Assassin: A True Tale of Massacre, Revenge and the Raj; amazon.co.uk
  11. "NRI, Anita Anand, TV presenter won the Nazia Hassan Award for 2005". Retrieved 6 November 2016.
  12. Anita Anand receives Nazia Hassan award Archived 23 April 2007 at the Wayback Machine
  13. "British Indian author Anita Anand's Jallianwala Bagh story wins history prize". The Indian Express. 2 December 2020. Retrieved 2 December 2020.
  14. Levin, Angela (7 August 2012). "My perfect weekend: Anita Anand, radio and TV presenter". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 16 December 2018.

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