Anita Anand

Biography

Anita Anand is a BBC news and politics broadcaster. She took over from Jonathan Dimbleby as host of Radio 4’s debate programme Any Answers. She previously co-presented The Daily Politics with Andrew Neil and also Double Take, The Anita Anand Show and 5Live’s Sunday morning show exploring the stories behind the headlines. Anita also co-hosts, alongside historian William Dalrymple, the popular history podcast Empire, which explores the history of empire-building and imperialism and how it's shaped the modern world

Starting her career at Zee TV, Anita was one of the youngest news editors in the country. She went on to become the channel’s political correspondent and made a series of documentary films about the political aspirations of Asian communities in marginal constituencies before the 1997 election. She then became co-host of Radio 5 live’s Drive.

Combining wit and insight, Anita’s breadth of knowledge and skill at thinking on her feet make her a popular live host for a wide variety of audiences. Anita has also presented Beyond Westminster, the Westminster Hour, Midweek and Saturday Live for Radio 4, and Have Your Say on the BBC World Service. She has written for The Independent, Guardian, Asian Age and India Today, and is the author of the acclaimed Sophia - Princess, Suffragette, Revolutionary, a biography of an Indian princess who was a key figure during one of the most fascinating periods of her country’s, and the British Empire’s, history. Her latest book, Koh-i-Noor, the story of the world’s most infamous diamond, is already an international bestseller.