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In a recent introduction to plans for a Woman’s Hour show about ageing, presenter Anita Rani managed to say all the right things.
‘Why deny something you can’t control? And that idea that everything is about youth and beauty? Pah! Nonsense. There is nothing better, especially if you are a woman, than getting older, because with it comes wisdom, sophistication. You get to a point in your life where you know a little bit about yourself and you don’t care what other people think.’
That’s a relief, because she won’t care what I think about that dress she wore on the red carpet at Sunday’s Bafta ceremony. I can’t say whether I was more surprised or horrified that she appeared to be wearing little more than underwear (probably a little of both), but my predominant emotion was one of deep disappointment.
Woman’s Hour presenter Anita Rani wore a revealing outfit on the Baftas red carpet this week.
Like me, Anita has reached the top of one of the most difficult professions to conquer. We are both determined Yorkshire women: she from Bradford; Me, Barnsley.
We work hard to do well in the tough and demanding girls’ primary schools in the north. We went to northern universities (Hull in my case, Leeds in hers) and became highly respected journalists. My TV job was Newsnight, hers is Countryfile. We both became presenters of Woman’s Hour. A role that was never about being glamorous or sexy, but rather about being knowledgeable and having the sharpest intellect.
I have some sympathy that Anita is trying to find her place after the recent end of her 14-year marriage and is now reinventing herself from an upper-class woman to a seductive middle-aged free spirit.
I can see why he might seek to emphasize his erotic, rather than intellectual, capital. But jumping on the bandwagon of wearing as little as possible to show off what is undoubtedly a pretty fine figure doesn’t sit well with her stated intention that getting older (she’s 46) isn’t about youth and beauty.
But why did her flimsy, see-through dress depress me so much? I wasn’t mad when I saw Rita Ora in a beaded half-dress at this month’s Met Ball in New York.
Because Rita, 33, is a pop star who doesn’t really have to worry about surprising customers with a scandalous dress. She doesn’t have to worry about her reputation as a thinker. Anita, I’m afraid, yes.
It’s not hard to get hired to work in television if you’re drop-dead gorgeous and every suit with the power to hire and fire is lusting after you. It is extremely difficult for a woman to sell herself solely on her intellectual abilities.
A little girl has been lucky, like me, to be valued for her mind, her ability to write and act well. She is trusted to understand complex ideas and communicate them to the BBC audience.
Once you reach such a high position, what you do matters. There is still a long way to go in terms of gender equality. Being one of the few women to reach the top cannot be taken for granted. That status should be valued and protected, and hopefully you should help make way for others to follow.
That’s what I always thought during the long years I was on Woman’s Hour. Do not climb the ladder behind you. Leave it in place so the next generation can scale it too.
Rita Ora wore a daring dress at the Met Gala, but as a pop star she doesn’t have to worry about her reputation as a thinker, unlike Anita Rani as a presenter on Woman’s Hour or Countryfile.
Anita has not made a mistake on Countryfile. She is comfortable and trustworthy. On Woman’s Hour, it’s important for a presenter to become a kind of everywoman: warm, intelligent, cultured and informed, challenging when necessary and always holding on to the feminist principle that women should be considered valued for their minds.
Women who have achieved the position Anita now enjoys should forget about dressing like porn stars or wearing risqué outfits to attract men’s attention. It’s not attractive.
That pale, pale dress made Anita look desperate to be the most talked about woman on the red carpet, which is far from a good look. There are many young artists whose careers have stalled and who may feel like they have to put themselves out there to get attention. Anita’s career is going higher and higher. She must cherish and protect him.
Young women will get mad at me for saying all this. They’ll say I’m a dinosaur who doesn’t understand that being a powerful feminist means you can wear exactly what you want and be as sexy and exposed as you want.
They are right: women can dress however they want. But they must admit that there are consequences. The way you dress influences the way other people, both men and women, see you. You may not like it, but it’s a fact.
We still live in a patriarchal society and you are unlikely to be noticed for the quality of your mind if everyone was talking about how little you wore.
That doesn’t mean you don’t need to pay attention to your appearance. Day after day, when I went to the studio to meet guests at Woman’s Hour, they would do my hair and makeup. My clothes were stylish and comfortable. People wondered why I bothered listening to the radio. I was upset because I cared about the guests’ opinions.
Now it’s your turn, Anita. By the way, you look great in your field clothes: fresh, healthy and with a mind to take into account. Don’t undermine your feminist credentials by following the near-nudity trend.
Semaglutide, sold as Ozempic and Wegovy, is said to protect against heart attacks and strokes.
Like so many people who need to lose a little weight, I tried Ozempic last year on the NHS.
Perhaps I should have continued taking it because, like statins, the drug semaglutide (found in both Ozempic and Wegovy) is now said to protect against heart attacks and strokes. But I just couldn’t face it.
For the first few weeks on a 0.25mg dose I felt fine with the weekly injections and lost about half a stone. But over the next few weeks, when I went up to 0.5 mg, I never felt so bad in my life. She was so sick that she couldn’t eat. No wonder he lost weight. I’ll continue with the statins, thank you.
Finally… punch without hitting the wife
A puppeteer in London’s Covent Garden has updated his show to make his stars partners in crime – and Mr Punch doesn’t hit his wife Judy with his cane.
Blackpool beach during my childhood holidays offered me two great pleasures. Donkey rides and Punch and Judy.
Dozens of children gathered around the store and laughed at Punch, the lord of misrule, who beat a crocodile or a police officer. But I never liked him raising the cane to his wife Judy.
In London’s Covent Garden, a young puppeteer has made Punch and Judy partners in crime. No more domestic violence.
That’s the way to do it!
Tainted blood killed my friend
Anita Roddick died at age 64 after contracting hepatitis C from a blood transfusion.
I knew Anita Roddick, the founder of Body Shop, very well and was shocked when she died in 2007 at the age of just 64.
He had contracted hepatitis C during a blood transfusion after the birth of his daughter Sam in 1971. As we learn more about the infected blood scandal (at least 3,000 people have died from treatments they believed would save their lives), Sam she writes about “the moral criminals that infected her blood” and cut short a life Anita loved to live.
How is it possible that blood imported from abroad has never been tested for infections?
My dogs don’t take drugs!
Scary story of the week: 450 dogs have been treated in the UK for cannabis poisoning since 2020. My dogs are so small that if they picked up a discarded joint in our local park, they could die. So, addicts, take your joints home. Minnie, Madge and Frieda don’t do drugs!