Nikki Bedi

Nikki Bedi (pronunciation: /ˈbeɪdi/) is a British television and radio presenter, born Nikki Moolgaoker (Marathi: निक्की मुळगावकर) in Aylesbury, England to an Indian father of Maharashtrian origin and an English mother on 9 September 1966. Married to Kabir Bedi from 1992 to 2005, she retained her married name after an amicable divorce. She describes herself as Anglo-Indian.

She writes and presents The Arts Hour for the BBC World Service, is a regular interviewer on BBC Radio 4’s Loose Ends, presenting the show when usual host Clive Anderson is absent and has her own weekday show on BBC London 94.9.

Career

Both a stage and television actress, she began her career in Mumbai working with some of India’s finest directors. Spotted by the UK’s Channel 4, Nikki hosted Bombay Chat, an on-location celebrity talk show. Star TV gave her a primetime slot for Nikki Tonight which quickly proved to be Asia’s most widely viewed and controversial talk show, although it was subsequently cancelled by Star TV after a guest, gay rights activist Ashok Row Kavi, made a derogatory remark about Mahatma Gandhi.

Bedi then moved to live and work for a time in Los Angeles, before returning to the UK in 2000 to be the face of Universal’s film channel The Studio for over two years. She also presented two live film shows for NOW, Worldwide Screen and Bollywood Today.

In 2003, Bedi began working in radio, appearing on LBC and BBC Radio 4. In 2004, she became the presenter of a new weekend morning programme called Hot Breakfast on the BBC Asian Network before taking over as presenter of the weekday afternoon show, Drive in 2005. In May 2006, as part of wide-ranging schedule changes, she was given her own show called Nikki Bedi on the BBC Asian Network. The daily show featured music, films, books, art and all things cultural and included interviews with prominent figures from those worlds.

She has covered for a number of key presenters on BBC Radio 2, BBC London 94.9 and BBC Radio 4 and in October 2008 fulfilled a long held ambition by appearing in an episode of the BBC Radio 4 drama, The Archers. Bedi continued with her television work alongside radio, appearing as a presenter on BBC2's Desi DNA for three years and on the popular BBC One series To Buy or Not to Buy during 2010 and 2011.

Nikki was a Costa Book Awards judge in the New Novel category announced in Jan 2010 and has also been on the judging panel for the European Independent Film Festival Awards and the One World Media Awards. In February 2010, she presented a 3-part documentary series on BBC Radio 2 called Bollywood Britain. The series explores the history of Hindi film music and its lasting ties with generations of British Asians.

Bedi continues to be an voice over artist, having voiced or narrated a wide variety of shows from the BBC Four documentary series Indian School to the Millies on ITV.

BBC London 94.9 and the BBC World Service (2010 – present)

Joining BBC London 94.9 in 2010, Bedi presented an evening weekend show until taking over as presenter of the Monday to Thursday overnight show in 2011. She has also been a regular stand-in presenter for key BBC London 94.9 shows and presenters including, the Lesley Joseph Show, the Vanessa Feltz Show, Eddie Nestor’s Rum Shop, The Late Show with JoAnne Good and Gaby Roslin on The Breakfast Show.

Early in 2013, Nikki moved to the BBC London 94.9 evening weekend show (Friday to Sunday), making way for her new weekday show The Arts Hour on the BBC World Service. Curated, written and presented by Bedi, The Arts Hour is a weekly collection of the most interesting arts related stories from across the BBC and elsewhere. In February 2016, Nikki moved to the weekday early breakfast on the renamed BBC Radio London.