Anita Rani has hit back at comments made by former Woman’s Hour stalwart Dame Jenni Murray, who criticised the Countryfile host for “wearing not much more than her underwear” to the Baftas. The 46-year-old, who has hosted Countryfile since 2015 and Woman’s Hour since 2021 , attended the TV awards in May wearing a floor-length dress made out of transparent mesh fabric with a nude-coloured bodysuit underneath , by designer Rebecca Vallance. Responding to Rani’s outfit, Murray, who hosted the BBC Radio 4 show for 33 years until 2020 , dedicated a Daily Mail column to expressing how “shocked and horrified” she was to see Rani “wearing not much more than her underwear – probably a bit of both – but my overriding emotion was one of profound disappointment”.
While Murray, 74, called Rani a “trustworthy” presenter, she criticised the host for “jumping on the bandwagon for wearing as little as possible to show off”. Murray compared Rani to popstar Rita Ora, who wore a dress of a similar style to the Met Gala in May. Murray, however, claimed that “Anywhere” singer Ora “doesn’t have to worry about her reputation as a thinker”, while Rani “does”.
She went on to tell her successor that Woman’s Hour presenters must hold “to the feminist principle that women must be seen to be valued for their minds”. Rani has now responded to that criticism, telling The Telegraph that she found Murray’s argument to be reductive and concerning. “What was.
