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For the Canadian professor and politician, see Anita Anand.

Anita Anand (/ˈɑːnənd/ AH-nand;[1] born 28 April 1972) is a British radio and television presenter, journalist, and author.

Early life and education

Anand was born in 1972[2] in London, England, to Punjabi parents who migrated to India shortly after the partition of India and then, later, to the UK. Her family, prior to the partition, originated from a village near the Northwest Frontier Province and Afghanistan.[3]

Anand was privately educated at Bancroft's School in Woodford Green in Redbridge, east London.[4] 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.[5] 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 succeeded Jane Garvey in 2007. Aasmah Mir replaced her when she left for maternity leave.[6]

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.

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 2:45 pm.[8]

In 2022, Anand collaborated with historian William Dalrymple to create the podcast Empire, which initially described and discussed the British East India Company and British involvement and influence on India.[9] The pair had previously worked together on the book Koh-i-Noor: The History of the World's Most Infamous Diamond.

Newspaper journalism

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[10][11]).

Publications

Awards

On 18 November 2005, Anand won the Nazia Hassan Award for 2005 in the category of Upcoming Television Broadcasters.[14][15] Her book The Patient Assassin won the 2020 Hessell-Tiltman Prize.[16]

Personal life

Anand married science writer Simon Singh in 2007. The couple have two sons and live in Richmond, London.[17][18]

Anand is a patron of the Richmond Society[17] and of the Museum of Richmond.[19]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Any Answers 11th November 2022" (Podcast). Event occurs at 00:05.
  2. ^ Company incorporation documentation
  3. ^ Sanderson, Caroline (16 October 2014). "Anita Anand: "I started picking at the thread of her story, and with every tug, an avalanche of stuff came down"". The Bookseller. Retrieved 21 October 2021.
  4. ^ '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.
  5. ^ "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.
  6. ^ Dale, Iain (21 September 2009). "Iain Dale's Diary: Daily Politics: Who Will Cover For Anita Anand?". Retrieved 6 November 2016.
  7. ^ "Anita Anand leaves BBC2's Daily Politics for 5 Live role". BBC News. 12 July 2011. Retrieved 6 November 2016.
  8. ^ "Jonathan Dimbleby hands Any Answers? baton to Anita Anand on Radio 4". BBC Media Centre. 23 May 2012. Retrieved 11 August 2012.
  9. ^ Nicol, Patricia (22 August 2022). "The best podcasts on the British Empire and East India Company". The Times. London. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 31 August 2022.
  10. ^ Anand, Anita (6 October 2004). "Heads or tails". The Guardian. Retrieved 8 August 2021.
  11. ^ Anand, Anita (3 August 2005). "Small miracles". The Guardian. Retrieved 8 August 2021.
  12. ^ Anand, Anita (2015). Sophia: Princess, Suffragette, Revolutionary. Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 978-1408835456.
  13. ^ The Patient Assassin: A True Tale of Massacre, Revenge and the Raj; Amazon
  14. ^ "NRI, Anita Anand, TV presenter won the Nazia Hassan Award for 2005". nriinternet.com. 18 November 2005. Retrieved 7 August 2021.
  15. ^ Anita Anand receives Nazia Hassan award Archived 23 April 2007 at the Wayback Machine
  16. ^ "British Indian author Anita Anand's Jallianwala Bagh story wins history prize". The Indian Express. 2 December 2020. Retrieved 2 December 2020.
  17. ^ a b "New Richmond Society Patron: Anita Anand" (PDF). Twickenham and Richmond Tribune. No. 248. 7 August 2021. p. 9. Retrieved 8 August 2021.
  18. ^ Levin, Angela (7 August 2012). "My perfect weekend: Anita Anand, radio and TV presenter". The Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved 16 December 2018.
  19. ^ "Museum of Richmond exhibition: Celebrating 800 years of St Mary Magdalene at the heart of Richmond". Richmond Local History Society. July 2019. Retrieved 8 August 2021.

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