Anita: Hi there.
Jennie: Hi, welcome back to Bradford.
Anita: It's lovely to be back.
Jennie: For those who don't know, why are you here?
Anita: I am here because I am the new Chancellor of the University.
Jennie: So let's get started with some easy questions. What did you have for
breakfast this morning? Anita: I had a bacon
butty on the train with brown sauce. Jennie: Is there a favourite food that you
have to have when you come back to Bradford? Anita: Yeah, you've got to come to Bradford
and have a curry. I used to love going to the Kashmir having a bowl of keema and some roti.
Jennie: And possibly most important question of the day: are you a tea or a coffee drinker?
Anita: I am a tea drinker with full fat milk, no sugar.
Jennie: All right that's handy I've got one ready for you.
Anita: Ah cheers! Jennie: Let's go!
Jennie: We're here in one of our TV studios which will seem very
familiar territory to you, can you tell us a bit about how you got into broadcasting?
Anita: Yeah, I started working in local
radio when I was 14, went to Leeds Uni to study broadcasting and then went
off to work in London, in music TV, worked at Top of the Pops.
Jennie: Can you tell us a favourite thing about your career then?
Anita: Oh, I love that I get to travel and I love that I get to interview people from
all walks of life and sometimes I get to dress up and wear false eyelashes.
Jennie: Do you have any standout celebrities or people that you've interviewed?
Anita: Yeah it depends what you're into.
Big celebrities - Tom Cruise, Salma Hayek. How about David Attenborough? Mic drop.
Jennie: So you do lots on TV, but you also do those on the radio as well so
tricky question but if you had to pick between TV or radio which would you pick?
Anita: Impossible can't choose, love them both. Jennie: Before going live, do you have a song that
you listen to, to get you motivated? Anita: Yep, Original Nuttah!
Jennie: Now we've got you all fired up after listening
listening to your favourite song, a lot of people might know you appeared
on Strictly Come Dancing. What was your favourite dance on the show?
Anita: Oh! It's got to be my Paso. I performed it in Blackpool. It's passionate, fiery and strong.
Jennie: Do you think you could show us a move? Anita: Yeah, sure.
Jennie: I’d give that a ten. We’re lucky that here in Bradford we've got some of the best countryside
on our doorstep, which the Students’ Union makes the most of, and there's loads of sports and
societies to get stuck into like baking or our boxing Society. You can even make your own group
if you wanted to as well. So if you were to get involved in any sport or society what would it be?
Anita: Oh, I would have to join the book club, the film club, I'd start a feminist society. I'd have
to join the hiking society and get up on those moors every weekend and of course boxing club.
Jennie: So now we're outside the library where loads of our students will be studying
hard. What kind of student were you? Did you spend lots of time in the library?
Anita: Oh yeah loved spending time in the library. Also the pub. Let's just say I
made the most of every aspect of University life. Jennie: And what advice would you give to students
then, to make the most of their experiences? Anita: Ah, for students this is the biggest
privilege ever. You've got time just to better yourself, so make the most
of it. Work hard, definitely play hard. Jennie: You're becoming Chancellor at
the University an exciting time, so Bradford is going to be City of Culture 2025, there's
loads of exciting research opportunities going on at the University such as the
Bradford-Renduchintala Centre for Space AI, which is aiming to launch a satellite into
space in 2024. How does it feel to be joining the university as Chancellor at this time?
Anita: I mean what a privilege to be the chancellor of the University of Bradford
at a time when so much is going on. There's so much research, so much forward thinking
this is one of the best places to be a student. Jennie: Here at Bradford we've been recognized
as one of the most socially inclusive universities and we've got a hugely diverse student population.
We're committed to raising aspirations and widening access to higher education,
so how important is this to you? Anita: Hugely important. As well
as being from the city, the reason I said yes to being Chancellor was because these
values completely align with my own. I believe people should have access to higher education,
I believe aspiration is queen and a more diverse student body, means a more creative student body.
Jennie: Okay we've got one final location and I think we've saved the best until last.
Anita: Great. Jennie: We're in the Great
Hall where you'll be residing over graduations as Chancellor so let's end on an easy one. Give us
three words to sum up how you're feeling. Anita: Oh honoured, excited and humbled.
Jennie: Perfect, that's a wrap. Thank you for your time.
Anita: Thank you, loved it.