SISTER act

ANITA RANI on investigating why the Brontës were ahead of their time

- CAREN CLARK

THE BRONTËS BY ANITA RANI: SISTERS OF DISRUPTION NEW TUE, 9PM, SKY ARTS FACTUAL

Growing up in the West Yorkshire city of Bradford, a few miles from Haworth Parsonage, where the Brontë siblings lived, Anita Rani has always felt an affinity with the Victorian authors.

Now, in new Sky Arts documentary The Brontës by Anita Rani: Sisters of Disruption, the Countryfile and Woman's Hour presenter travels back to Yorkshire to speak to literary experts and historians about how Charlotte, Emily and Anne's work pushed boundaries with themes of race and gender equality. Along the way, she also reflects on why the pioneering trio's novels resonated with her.

'We had a painting of them on the wall at school and they were like ghosts in the background of my childhood,' shares Anita, 47, in an exclusive chat with TV Times. 'As I've drawn parallels between the Brontës' lives and mine, I've realised what they were talking about 180 years ago is just as important to me now.'

Here, Anita tells us more...

Were you always a fan of the Brontës, even as a teenager?