Nikita Kanda (born 29 July 1995) is an English radio presenter and broadcaster. After joining the

BBC Asian Network BBC Asian Network is a British Asian radio station owned and operated by the BBC. The station's target audience is people "with an interest in British Asian lifestyles", especially British Asians between the ages of 18 and 34. The station has ...

in 2021, she became the presenter of the ''Asian Network Breakfast'' in July 2022. In 2023, she competed in the twenty-first series of '' Strictly Come Dancing''.

Life and career

Nikita Kanda was born on 29 July 1995 in

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1. ...

West Midlands West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some ...

. She is of Indian descent. She studied film and screen media at university, and after graduating, worked on Zee TV and presented the drivetime show on Asian Star 101.6FM. She took part in

West End theatre West End theatre is mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres in and near the West End of London.Christopher Innes, "West End" in ''The Cambridge Guide to Theatre'' (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1998), pp. 1194–1 ...

productions including ''

The Wiz ''The Wiz: The Super Soul Musical "Wonderful Wizard of Oz"'' is a musical with music and lyrics by Charlie Smalls (and others) and book by William F. Brown. It is a retelling of L. Frank Baum's children's novel '' The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' ...

'', ''

Bugsy Malone ''Bugsy Malone'' is a 1976 gangster musical comedy film written and directed by Alan Parker (in his feature film directorial debut). A co-production of United States and United Kingdom, it features an ensemble cast, featuring only child actor ...

'', ''

Annie Annie may refer to: People and fictional characters * Annie (given name), a given name and a list of people and fictional characters with the name * Annie (actress) (born 1975), Indian actress * Annie (singer) (born 1977), Norwegian singer The ...

'' and ''

Pocahontas Pocahontas (, ; born Amonute, known as Matoaka, 1596 – March 1617) was a Native American woman, belonging to the Powhatan people, notable for her association with the colonial settlement at Jamestown, Virginia. She was the daughter of ...

''. Kanda also appeared as one of the thirty women on the final series of the ITV dating show '' Take Me Out'' in 2019. In March 2021, Kanda joined the

, serving primarily as a regular relief presenter and hosted on Saturday afternoons. In July 2022, she began temporarily presenting the ''Asian Network Breakfast Show'', and was subsequently appointed as the permanent host in January 2023. For her work on the station, she was nominated for Presenter of the Year at the Asian Media Awards. Kanda is also a frequent reporter on ''

The One Show ''The One Show'' is a British television magazine and chat show programme. Broadcast live on BBC One weeknights at 7:00 pm, it features topical stories and studio guests. It is currently co-hosted by Alex Jones, Jermaine Jenas, and Ronan K ...

'', and has fronted a range of topics including the rise of cashless businesses and government support for female sport. In August 2023, it was announced that Kanda would be a contestant on the twenty-first series of '' Strictly Come Dancing''. Kanda described her participation as a "dream come true" and said she was "still pinching erself, adding that she " idn'tthink it

ould Ould is an English surname and an Arabic name ( ar, ولد). In some Arabic dialects, particularly Hassaniya Arabic, ولد‎ (the patronymic, meaning "son of") is transliterated as Ould. Most Mauritanians have patronymic surnames. Notable p ...

properly sink in until he steppedonto the dancefloor". She was the second celebrity to be eliminated.

References

External links

*
''Asian Network Breakfast''
(BBC Asian Network)
''Asian Network Certified''
(BBC Asian Network) {{DEFAULTSORT:Kanda, Nikita 1995 births Mass media people from Birmingham, West Midlands BBC Asian Network presenters English radio personalities English people of Indian descent British women radio presenters Living people