'I’m not a lunatic, I’m just a woman in her 40s': Anita Rani on the wild ride of Celebrity Race Across the World and the 'privilege' of sharing it with her dad
The star is about to embark on the challenge of a lifetime, and taking it on alongside her father has been life-changing for both of them
Anita Rani has been open about many of her midlife challenges, including how others react to her being single and childless in her 40s - although she is perfectly content with the path her life has taken.
Grabbing life by the hands, the presenter is welcoming new experiences life can throw at her, saying, "I feel like I'm stepping into a new era of stepping out, and embracing all of it."
Her latest challenge is one of her toughest yet, and she's doing it all alongside her dad - the father and daughter duo will be appearing on Celebrity Race Across the World.
Anita, 48, and her father, Bal, will be one of four celebrity duos making their way from a Caribbean island all the way to Colombia's Peninsula de La Guajira, with no smartphones or internet, and next to no money.
In conversation with The Sun TV Mag, Anita reflects on undertaking this incredible feat, and the "privilege" of doing it beside her dad, discussing how their relationship has evolved over the years.
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Asked whether she feels she's entered "chapter two" of her life, Anita agreed she definitely had. Her dad is also on the brink of a new phase of life.
"Both me and dad are in really interesting places," she says, adding, "dad's on the cusp of retirement, and I'm sort of in a new phase of my own life." Anita humorously suggests her dad sees her as a "lunatic" for the challenges she takes up.
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"I'm not a lunatic, I'm just a woman in her 40s," she laughs. She continues to explain that spending so much time on the show without a phone, gave her plenty of time to think about where she currently finds herself in life.
And she's taking on this "new era of stepping out" with gusto, "embracing all of it." Having her dad along for the ride, made it even more special.
Anita shares that her parents had a very strong work ethic and rarely took holidays when she was growing up. "Holidays weren't part of my childhood," she says, explaining, "holidays are a privilege, they're not a right. It's certainly not a cultural thing for Indians."
Because of the lack of holidays her dad has taken, Anita wanted him to "experience magic" on the Race Across The World adventure.
When asked whether that objective was achieved, Anita gave the sweetest answer. "He did. What a privilege that I got to have this five weeks with my dad," she says.
Anita adds, "Just the two of us doing the wildest thing - the highs, the laughs, the lows, it's all precious time."
However, as much as Bal enjoyed the exciting events of the show with his daughter, it appears he might be willing to return to a quieter retirement for the time being.
When Anita asked him whether he'd like more adventures, his answer was simple: "No thank you!"
During season 1 of the celebrity edition of the show, a notable mother and daughter duo included former All Saints singer, Melanie Blatt and her mother Helene. Recently seen on explosive BBC documentary Girlbands Forever, Melanie took part in the show to step outside her comfort zone in midlife.
Celebrity Race Across the World airs from Thursday, November 6 at 8pm and can be found on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.

Lucy is a multi-award nominated writer and blogger with seven years’ experience writing about entertainment, parenting and family life. Lucy worked as a freelance writer and journalist at the likes of PS and moms.com, before joining GoodtoKnow as an entertainment writer, and then as news editor. The pull to return to the world of television was strong, and she was delighted to take a position at woman&home to once again watch the best shows out there, and tell you why you should watch them too.
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