Anita Rani has revealed she hasn’t yet turned to Who Wants To A Millionaire? host Jeremy Clarkson for advice.
Confident in her own abilities, the 44-year-old Countryfile star, who is launching spin-off show Fastest Finger First on Bank Holiday Monday, says: “I haven’t caught up with him, but I like his farming show.”
It comes as Anita calls on TV bosses to give more women jobs presenting quiz shows after University Challenge hired Amol Rajan last week to replace Jeremy Paxman.
READ MORE: Countryfile’s Anita Rani vamps it up in plunging ensemble for All Star Musicals
A sexism row erupted after it was reported Paxman’s understudies Emma Barnett, 37, and Samira Ahmed, 54, were promised auditions which failed to materialise.
(Image: PA)
She says: “These opportunities don’t come around very often. I’ve wanted to do a quiz for ages.
“Something as iconic as Millionaire, the same brand, deciding to do an offshoot is a dream come true.
“And how many women present quiz shows? I don’t know why it’s taken so long.
“It’s the question we keep asking ourselves.
“Women are ready. We’ve done the graft, we’ve got the CV, we’ve got the experience. You’ve got to wait for people to believe you’ve got the capacity to do it, and then finally, it’s good.”
(Image: Dave Benett/Getty Images)
Fastest Finger First sees contestants play Millionaire’s first round, with the chance to win a guaranteed place in the main show.
But straight-talking former Strictly semi-finalist Anita has no plans to go down the cheesy catchphrase route.
She adds: “I was like, ‘I’ve got a quiz show, what am I going to do – wink?’ The wink is gone.”
(Image: ITV)
Laughing and shaking her head she says, “My catchphrase will be, ‘Yeah, call that a f***ing answer’.
“If we get a massive run, we’ll see what tic develops naturally.
“I didn’t feel under any pressure. It’s either going to be natural or the worst thing in the world.”
It’s surprising that since Millionaire launched in 1998, with Chris Tarrant at the helm, it’s taken until now – 24 years later – for a spin-off.
(Image: Getty Images)
Anita says: “This programme starts on Monday and you watch it through to Friday then our first winner will be on Millionaire on Saturday.
“I don’t know how they’ve done – I’m going to watch it with everyone else.
“The penalty shoot-out is what people are going to get to see – that level of jeopardy and question.
“That is almost the biggest compliment when people have watched it and said, ‘It’s so obvious’ to have a spin-off.
(Image: BBC One)
“That’s what you want with a quiz, because it is a dark art and no-one knows what’s going to work in telly.
“If the public love it then hopefully it’ll be around for a bit. Growing up, TV and radio were my source of culture. I absorbed everything and loved Millionaire.
(Image: Dave Benett/Getty Images)
“Even now, it’s still as exciting – a million pounds is a million pounds.
“There are only so many people realistically who are going to get on a TV game show to win money, but to watch and feel hope.
She added: “That feeling of ‘it could be me’ is what we need at the minute.
“The public want shows that are full of hope and we like to back people – we don’t want to bring people down.”
(Image: Getty Images)
The broadcaster, who also co-presented The World’s Busiest Railway in 2015, alongside Dan Snow, 43, and Robert Llewellyn, 66, continues: “I am someone who likes to build people up rather than laugh at other people’s expense.
“That’s why Strictly is so successful and MasterChef – we want to see people progress.
“This is brilliant because you can watch someone win Fastest Finger then follow them through to watch Millionaire and really root for them.”
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The Bradford-born lass knows how it feels to be on the other side of the stage after appearing on The Chase Celebrity Special in 2020.
And she enjoys getting direct feedback from viewers about her shows, adding: “Countryfile fans are brilliant to meet – there’s been a lot of hugs with random women in the street.
“It’s nice to be part of a show that’s so loved.”
Fastest Finger First hits ITV on August 29 at 4.30pm and continues the rest of the week at 4pm.
The winners will feature in the first two episodes of the new series of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? kicking off on Saturday at 9pm.
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
