Anneka Rice Challenge!

About

Few television personalities have captured the British public's imagination quite like Anneka Rice. From leaping out of helicopters in Treasure Hunt to racing against the clock to transform communities in Challenge Anneka, her infectious enthusiasm, extraordinary energy and trademark jumpsuits made her one of the most recognisable faces on British television.But behind the adventures, the laughter and the seemingly boundless confidence lies a remarkable and sometimes deeply moving personal story.In her revealing new memoir, Challenge!, Anneka tells the story of a childhood marked by loneliness and extraordinary responsibility, and how those early experiences forged the resilience that would shape her life. She recalls setting off for Hong Kong as a teenager with a one-way ticket, knowing nobody, and the transformative experience of volunteering in a refugee camp that helped her discover the importance of making herself useful to others.Her subsequent career would take her from pioneering television formats to extraordinary charitable projects, while behind the scenes she navigated the pressures of fame, family life, personal setbacks and the constant need to reinvent herself.Described by Gyles Brandreth as a story of "heart, humour and heroism", and by Clare Balding as "a riotous romp", her memoir has also won praise from Philippa Perry for its powerful lessons about choosing to be guided by one's values rather than ruled by anxiety.In this entertaining and revealing talk, Anneka reflects on five decades in broadcasting, the remarkable people she has encountered, the risks she has taken and the lessons she has learned about courage, kindness, resilience and finding purpose.Expect wonderful anecdotes, unexpected revelations, plenty of laughter and the irrepressible spirit of a woman who has spent her life embracing the seemingly impossible.Anneka is donating all her author royalties from Challenge! to Alzheimer's Research UK.Anneka Rice is an award-winning broadcaster, television pioneer, adventurer, artist and campaigner. Beginning her career as a BBC trainee in the 1970s, she subsequently worked as a journalist in Hong Kong before becoming a household name through Channel 4's groundbreaking Treasure Hunt. She went on to devise and present the hugely successful BBC series Challenge Anneka, mobilising volunteers and businesses to complete ambitious projects for communities and charities against seemingly impossible deadlines. The award-winning format was sold internationally and transformed thousands of lives.Away from television, Anneka has pursued painting, writing, comedy and charitable work. Her memoir, Challenge! marks fifty years since she first joined the BBC and reveals the extraordinary personal story behind one of Britain's best-loved broadcasters.A Q&A Session will follow.