ANITA Rani's mother knew her daughter was going to be a journalist when she started uttering her first words.

"From the minute I could speak I was asking her questions all the time, I always wanted to know 'why', and was interested in people's stories," says the former Bradford Girls' Grammar School pupil, currently wowing viewers on TV's Strictly Come Dancing.

But Anita's own family story left her lost for words, and she says tracing her ancestry has "changed" her.

The radio and television presenter was left stunned discovering how her predecessors suffered during the brutality of the partition of India for BBC1's Who Do You Think You Are? In the episode, shown last week, Anita travelled to India to find out what happened to her maternal grandfather's first wife following the independence of India and Pakistan in 1947. What she discovered was the horrific violence, including rape, murder and "sacrifice" that women were subjected to during the violent clashes.

Using historical records to trace her grandfather Sant Singh's background, Anita, 37, discovered his first wife had most likely been among the women who killed themselves to avoid being raped when their village in Western Punjab came under attack in 1947. Their young daughter is believed to have died with her mother while Mr Singh was away serving with the Anglo-Indian army. His parents also died in the brutal months that followed independence.

A survivor from the village, 84-year-old Bier Hador Singh, recounted the harrowing details for the presenter, talking of how they were all gathered together by her father, the head of the village.

"The Muslims were demanding 'a young and beautiful girl'. Our father rejected their demand and said 'No, we won't give you our girls to save ourselves. Rather than let our girls succumb to this shame, we will kill them ourselves and hope they forgive us'."

Anita was reduced to tears as she heard how wives and daughters were beheaded by their husbands and fathers, while other women threw themselves down wells to escape "shame".

She said: "It's the most shocking, horrifying account of what humans are capable of. I feel really angry. I hate that the world was in such a way that that was the only choice that women had. That men would decide their fate."

After speaking to Indian author Ritu Menon, who has documented women's experiences during partition, and learning how hundreds of thousands of Muslim, Sikh and Hindu women would have suffered a similar fate, Rani said her "blood was boiling".

"It makes me think if you were a cow at this time you had more chance of survival," she said. "I don't know what I'm going to do but it's changed me."

Through the programme, Anita also learned how much her grandfather valued women. "He really wanted his daughters to be educated, and that's what my parents instilled in me. Because of the man he was, my mother was the woman she was," she said. "I was honoured to be asked to do Who Do You Think You Are? It's a wonderful opportunity. They filmed it over two weeks, the researchers and historians were amazing.

"Partition was a huge moment in history which affected millions of people. My grandfather was one of them."

Anita started presenting aged 14 on Bradford's Sunrise Radio. She studied broadcasting at university, appearing on student radio, and later worked as a researcher, landing her break on Channel 5 show, The Edit. She has worked on the BBC Asian Network and fronted pop and arts programmes, as well as being a regular reporter on Channel 4's Cricket Show and presenting on Sky Sports.

She has also presented the BBC's Watchdog, is a reporter on The One Show and a regular on Countryfile, and has several documentaries under her belt, including travelogue India on Four Wheels, follow-ups in China and Russia, and The World's Busiest Railway.

With such a varied CV, what does she enjoy most? "I love travelling, so making documentaries is great," she says. "My job is varied because it's the nature of what I do. It's all about people and their stories - whether it's a farmer in a muddy field in the Dales or a woman with eight children in the Philippines.

"I'm fiercely proud of Bradford, it was very special to me when I presented Countryfile from Saltaire. I felt like I was flying the flag!"

This autumn it's wellies and waterproofs one day, sequins and heels the next, as Anita juggles presenting duties on Countryfile and The One Show with Strictly. On Saturday viewers saw her dance a lively Charleston with Russian partner Gleb Savchenko, who has been accompanying her on reporting assignments.

"We fit in a quick rehearsal whenever we can," she smiles. "I knew I'd always say yes to Strictly; it's a show where people really grow.

"I've never been a dancer, I came as a blank canvas, but I adore it. You have to re-train your brain in how you move, it takes over your life. In a good way."

* Strictly Come Dancing is on BBC1 on Saturday.