Anita Rani admits showing ‘side ass’ on Strictly was ‘terrifying’

‘It was really exposing’, the ‘Countryfile’ presenter admitted

Anita Rani has revealed that showing “side ass” during her 2015 appearance on Strictly Come Dancing was “terrifying”.

The Countryfile presenter opened up about clothing and sexuality during a recent interview on the Amanda Wakeley: StyleDNA podcast.

When asked whether the often revealing outfits that form part of the Strictly uniform took her out of her comfort zone, she replied: “Every single one.”

She explained: “Like the first one I wore... I'm not someone who is particularly slinky or sexy. That terrifies me. And also I don't believe that makes a woman sexy, I've always said confidence does.

“The first outfit they put me in… I've never experienced it before in an outfit, side ass on show. It's a thing! It was really exposing, and terrifying.”

Despite this, the BBC Women’s Hour broadcaster learned to differentiate between the glittery world of Strictly and reality.

“But the funny thing is, when you step into the bubble that is Strictly, [you discover] that what you do in your outside world and what you do in the Strictly world are two completely different things,” she added.

Her comments come after a 2021 interview in which she questioned whether she would have reached the Strictly Come Dancing final if she “didn’t have a brown face”.

Anita Rani appeared in the popular show in 2015 (Tim P. Whitby/Getty Images for D)

In an interview with the Radio Times, she said: “I still find myself wondering whether I would have got into the final if I didn’t have a brown face.

“There are various points in my career where I wonder what would have happened if I was blonde-haired and blue-eyed, and sometimes I don’t think things would have played out the same way if I was white.”

Rani was partnered with professional dancer, Gleb Savchenko, before being knocked out in the semi-final.

Saturday (17 December) saw the 2022 winners awarded the glitter ball in the popular reality dance show.

Hamza Yassin and Jowita Przystal were crowned the winners in the 20th series of the primetime programme.

The pair competed against Fleur East and Vito Coppola, Molly Rainford and Carlos Gu, and Helen Skelton and Gorka Marquez in the grand final.

On winning the show, Yassin said: “This is the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”