W INTERVIEW
L
ANITA RANI
ANITA RANI HOSTING
BLUE PLANET II CONCERT
Wirral Life talk to Anita Rani ahead of the
Blue Planet II Concert at M&S Bank Arena next month.
Following the incredible success of the BAFTA award winning BBC
ONE television series Blue Planet II, BBC Studios have announced a
13 date UK live tour, which will bring the wonders and mysteries of
the planet’s oceans and wildlife to the UK arena stage.
The concert will be hosted by BBC presenter Anita Rani, a highly-
respected TV personality. Anita is a household name as one of the
presenters of the BBC One series Countryfile, and regularly appears in
and presents the BBC’s One Show. She has also presented programmes
including Bollywood: The World’s Biggest Film Industry and Watchdog.
In 2015 Anita was also a contestant on Strictly Come Dancing.
What would you say to people that have enjoyed watching Blue Planet
II on the TV who are thinking of going to the Live in Concert?
If you watch Blue Planet II, I don’t think there’s a person who watched
it that didn’t fall in love with it. It was more than a TV show, it was a
moment, and it’s a moment that’s gone down in television history already.
So, if you watched it, you loved it, then you cannot miss this live tour
because it’s a fully immersive experience. You’ll be able to see those
iconic moments – surfing dolphins on a huge screen with an 80 piece live
orchestra playing that incredible soundtrack by Hans Zimmer. It’s not to
be missed, you’d just be bonkers if you didn’t come!
Are there any parts of the event that you’re personally looking forward
to?
I can’t wait to be part of it! The penny hasn’t quite dropped that I’m
hosting it because I will be standing there in front of thousands of people
and holding the show together… which will be interesting! I just can’t
wait to be part of it; it’s such an honour to be asked to do this show. I’ve
done the Strictly tour, which was an incredible thing to be part of, but to
be part of the Blue Planet brand, which is so well loved and is some of the
greatest TV on earth.
What inspired you to join Blue Planet II Live in Concert?
It was a no-brainer for me. I love everything the NHU produce, obviously
growing up, David Attenborough was a huge part of my life as he is
with everybody, and Blue Planet II is just an overwhelming television
programme that just stayed with me, so to be asked to host the tour is,
yeah, such an honour.
22 wirrallife.com
Blue Planet II has highlighted the damage plastic does to the marine
life. Have you made any changes to using single-use products, such
as plastic straws? Do you have any tips for people wanting to make
changes to their own lives where plastics are concerned?
I think Blue Planet, it just shows the power of television, and it really did
change the attitude of the nation I think towards single-use plastic and
made us aware about the damage we are doing to our beautiful planet and
our oceans. What am I doing? I’m doing as much as I can at the moment.
So there’s lots that people can do, and you’re quite right, the first thing
people can do is stop using plastic straws, because we’re adults… we don’t
need straws, we can drink from a glass! * laughing *
Carrier bags – I think that’s really sunk into people’s brains. Little things
that you can do, just have a canvas sack with you when you go to the
supermarket. There’s lots you can do and there’s lots I’m discovering as
well.
Our planets, and especially our oceans, are often misunderstood due
to how vast they are. How do you think the event will ignite more
people’s curiosity?
I think it’s very easy to live in our little concrete bubbles that we do and
programmes like Blue Planet and all those natural history programmes
open our eyes to the world – that’s television at it’s best. That’s why I love
working in television because it’s a medium that can really impact people
and show them what’s happening elsewhere outside of their living rooms.
Two thirds of our planet’s surface is ocean and we know so little about
it. The alien kingdom isn’t over there in the stars somewhere, it’s right
here, and this programme has taken us deeper than we’ve ever been and
shown us all those bizarre creatures that have been there for way longer
than we have; the one that sticks in my mind is the Bobbit Worm, do
you remember the Bobbit Worm? The weird alien creature that’s about a
metre long, and I think the fact was, which really stuck with me, it’s been
on Earth for 400 million years! So, it kind of puts us into perspective
really, doesn’t it? We’ll be long gone but the Bobbit Worm will still be
going!
The best part about attending Blue Planet II Live in Concert is…
It will change your life!