Faced 'triple whammy' in early career, says BBC presenter Anita Rani

BBC presenter Anita Rani has said that she faced 'triple whammy' of being Asian, northern and a woman in early career and termed it as “tougher struggle”.

Though positive about the industry, Rani said that the “power structures need to change”. "I’m a woman but I’m also an Asian woman and I’m a northerner – that’s a triple whammy," she said recently in an interview.

Rani was raised with brother Kuldeep, now 40, in Bradford, West Yorkshire, by parents Balvinder and Lakhbir, now in their 60s, who moved to the UK four decades ago to run a clothing business.

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.

She said: ‘I’ve got three things that are different from most people who work in TV. It’s funny that people have preconceived ideas of you. I just think you only see a certain aspect of everybody.”

Rani discovered a talent for broadcast at 14 when she secured her first radio show at Bradford’s Sunrise Radio, where her mother presented her own show. As a non-white, northern TV host, Anita says she has had to work harder than others to achieve her multifarious career spanning over two decades.

She admitted that she failed to speak up for herself when TV chiefs asked her to justify why she should present documentaries that weren't Asian.

In her opinion, more people from different backgrounds, more women, more people from working-class backgrounds, more people from black and Asian communities should join the industry for a complete change.