Entertainment

BBC’s Anita Rani announces new Bollywood programme

The Countryfile presenter’s documentary about the Indian film industry will be screened in the summer.
The Countryfile presenter’s documentary about the Indian film industry will be screened in the summer.

BBC presenter Anita Rani has revealed that she has made a new documentary about Bollywood and its place in modern India.

The Countryfile host teased the show with posts on her Twitter and Instagram profiles.

Alongside a photo of her in a group of four people clasping hands and wearing traditional Indian clothing, the presenter wrote: “Major announcement!

“I’ve made a programme I’ve been wanting to make forever, all about Bollywood!

“It’s coming to a TV screen near you this summer.

“A look into the World’s Biggest Film Industry and modern India.

“I think you’re going to love it.”

Rani, 40, previously appeared on the series Who Do You Think You Are? in 2015, where she explored her own Indian family history.

She was born in Bradford to a Hindu father and a Sikh mother. 

During the programme she uncovered more information about her maternal grandfather’s first wife and their children, who died during the violence of the partition of India.

In 2011, she  co-hosted two programmes with fellow journalist Justin Rowlatt called India On Four Wheels. 

The documentary analysed the changes growing car usage had brought to the country over the previous 20 years.

Strictly Come Dancing Live Tour Photocall – Birmingham
Anita Rani with partner Gleb Savchenko ahead of the Strictly Come Dancing Live Tour in 2017. (Joe Giddens/PA Wire)

Rani has appeared as a contestant on Strictly Come Dancing, where she reached the semi-final of the 13th series. 

She also hosted the Strictly Live Tour last year.