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Indian-Origin TV Host Finds Out The Shocking Truth About Her Family Through BBC Show

Indian-Origin TV Host Finds Out The Shocking Truth About Her Family Through BBC Show
Anita Rani poses for photographers at the Strictly Come Dancing 2015 launch event at Elstree Film Studios, London, Tuesday, Sept. 1, 2015. (Photo by Jonathan Short/Invision/AP)
Jonathan Short/Invision/AP
Anita Rani poses for photographers at the Strictly Come Dancing 2015 launch event at Elstree Film Studios, London, Tuesday, Sept. 1, 2015. (Photo by Jonathan Short/Invision/AP)

Indian-origin British TV host Anita Rani has discovered the tragic fate of her family during the violence that followed India's partition in 1947 at the end of British rule through a BBC show.

In the programme on 'Who Do You think You Are?' to be telecast on BBC One on October 1, 2015, Rani said she learned her grandfather's first wife was killed during the violence and she did not know the terrible details until the show.

The Strictly Come Dancing star's grandfather Sant Singh was caught in the conflict and his first wife Primtam Kaur died after falling into a well.

Rani, 37, said she was more shocked to know that Primtam and Sant's young daughter was killed during the partition and she did not know about the girl until the BBC programme on the partition.

In the programme, Rani breaks down as she learns that Sant and Primtam had a 7-year-old daughter who also died in the bloodshed.

"Nobody in my family talks about the daughter. Nobody knows this. I don't know what I am going to do but this has changed me," she said.

Bradford-born Rani also learns in the show that her family, who are Sikhs, lived in an area of the Punjab that is now part of Pakistan.

Rani is an English radio and television presenter and a journalist. She developed an early interest in journalism, hosting her first show at the age of 14 on Sunrise Radio in Bradford.

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This article exists as part of the online archive for HuffPost India, which closed in 2020. Some features are no longer enabled. If you have questions or concerns about this article, please contact indiasupport@huffpost.com.