Countryfile star Anita Rani makes her debut on Woman’s Hour following a major revamp of the BBC Radio 4 show, telling listeners ‘pour yourself a G&T’
- Anita Rani, 43, will share presenting duties with fellow new host Emma Barnett
- The Countryfile star will present the Friday and Saturday editions of the show
- Woman’s Hour’s long-term presenters Jane Garvey and Dame Jenni Murray have stepped aside in recent weeks, with Rani and Emma Barnett taking over
- Barnett faced drama three days in when actress Kelechi Okafor left a Zoom call moments before it went live in a row over comments she made in 2017
Countryfile star Anita Rani has stepped behind the microphone on Woman’s Hour as part of a revamp of the BBC Radio 4 favourite – telling homeschooling parents to ‘pour yourself a G&T’ while tuning in.
Rani, 43, who will share presenting duties with fellow new host Emma Barnett, shared her debut on Instagram, asking listeners to tune into a discussion on female superheroes, Netflix drama Bridgerton and the campaign to make virginity testing illegal.
While Rani is at the helm on the Friday and Saturday editions of the programme, Barnett presents Monday to Thursday, following the departure of long-term presenters Jane Garvey and Dame Jenni Murray.
Rani, who grew up in Bradford, West Yorkshire, told listeners: “Welcome to your new-look Friday Woman’s Hour.”
Scroll down for video
Let’s go: Anita Rani joins Emma Barnett as co-host of Woman’s Hour, taking the helm on Fridays and Saturdays while Barnett presents Monday to Thursday
First day done! Rani, 43, leaving the BBC studios following her first edition of Woman’s Hour on Friday
The programme also heard from teenage activist Anjali Raman-Middleton, who is one of the founders of Choked Up, on calls to improve clean air laws.
Jane Garvey hung up her headphones on January 1st after 13 years on the show, while Dame Jenni left the show last year following 33 years as one of its presenters.
She has since revealed she left Woman’s Hour because she was getting too ‘cosy’ – adding that she has always found Radio 4 listeners a ‘puzzling breed.’
The broadcaster, 56, signed off her final show declaring that it ‘needs to move on and now it can. I only left because I could have stayed, cosy in my velvety rut,’ she said, speaking to Radio Times.
‘And I’m not sure that would have been a good thing for me or the programme, which is approaching its 75th birthday this autumn.’
New weekday host Emma Barnett faced an exiting guest just days into her new job.
The star shared a video from the hotseat with fans, joking with homeschooling parents that they should pour themselves a ‘G&T’ while listening into her debut
Jane Garvey (pictured), 56, has revealed she left Woman’s Hour because she was getting too ‘cosy’ – adding that she has always found Radio 4 listeners a ‘puzzling breed’
Kelechi Okafor was set to talk about the MeToo movement on the Radio 4 show but left the Zoom call moments before it went live after the new host – in her third day in the hotseat – left her mic on during a conversation with producers.
The actress was accused of anti-Semitism in 2017 when she defended Reggie Yates after he praised musicians who were not signed to ‘some random fat Jewish guy’.
Ms Okafor said in the now-deleted podcast: ‘Black people in the entertainment industry have been short-changed so much by the kinds of people Reggie Yates describes. Apart from the ”fat part” I don’t see what he said wrong.’
Quite a start: Emma Barnett, who replaced Jane Garvey, faced an exiting guest just days into her new job after actress Kelechi Okafor was set to talk about the MeToo movement on the Radio 4 show but left the Zoom call moments before it went live
Barnett, who took over hosting the popular Radio 4 show on Monday, said she had invited Ms Okafor to debate the matter and ‘stands by her queries’.
She said it was her ‘duty to ask people what qualifies them as a leading voice in a space. And about any previous issues which may influence their views.’
She added: ‘Just before I went on air this morning to present a special programme about Me Too – pegged to the anniversary of Harvey Weinstein’s court case – it came to my attention that Kelechi Okafor had made alleged anti-Semitic remarks.
‘I stand by my questions to my team and to Kelechi. I would have happily hosted her on the programme with a question on this issue.’