BBC presenter Anita Rani talks to Leisure Live about presenting the Blue Planet Live in Concert tour, which comes to the BIC on March 13

What would you say to people that have enjoyed watching Blue Planet II on the TV who are thinking of going to the Live in Concert?

If you watch Blue Planet II, I don’t think there’s a person who watched it that didn’t fall in love with it. It was more than a TV show, it was a moment, and it’s a moment that’s gone down in television history already. So, if you watched it, you loved it, then you cannot miss this live tour because it’s a fully immersive experience. You’ll be able to see those iconic moments – surfing dolphins on a huge screen with an 80 piece live orchestra playing that incredible soundtrack by Hans Zimmer. It’s not to be missed, you’d just be bonkers if you didn’t come!

What inspired you to join Blue Planet II Live in Concert?

It was a no-brainer for me. I love everything the NHU produce, obviously growing up, David Attenborough was a huge part of my life as he is with everybody, and Blue Planet II is just an overwhelming television programme that just stayed with me, so to be asked to host the tour is, yeah, such an honour.

Blue Planet II has highlighted the damage plastic does to the marine life. Have you made any changes to using single-use products, such as plastic straws? Do you have any tips for people wanting to make changes to their own lives where plastics are concerned?

I think Blue Planet, it just shows the power of television, and it really did change the attitude of the nation I think towards single-use plastic and made us aware about the damage we are doing to our beautiful planet and our oceans. What am I doing? I’m doing as much as I can at the moment. So there’s lots that people can do, and you’re quite right, the first thing people can do is stop using plastic straws, because we’re adults… we don’t need straws, we can drink from a glass! * laughing *

Carrier bags – I think that’s really sunk into people’s brains. Little things that you can do, just have a canvas sack with you when you go to the supermarket. There’s lots you can do and there’s lots I’m discovering as well.

Our planets, and especially our oceans, are often misunderstood due to how vast they are. How do you think the event will ignite more people’s curiosity?

I think it’s very easy to live in our little concrete bubbles that we do and programmes like Blue Planet and all those natural history programmes open our eyes to the world – that’s television at it’s best. That’s why I love working in television because it’s a medium that can really impact people and show them what’s happening elsewhere outside of their living rooms. Two thirds of our planet’s surface is ocean and we know so little about it. The alien kingdom isn’t over there in the stars somewhere, it’s right here, and this programme has taken us deeper than we’ve ever been and shown us all those bizarre creatures that have been there for way longer than we have.

During the filming of Blue Planet II, film crews embarked on over 125 expeditions, travelled to 39 countries and spent over 6,000 hours of deep sea diving. Could you see yourself taking part in a similar expedition?

Oh my god, yeah! In my heart, alright, not even in my heart, I wear it quite openly on my sleeve - I am an adventurer, so any opportunity to go on an adventure. But that is dedication, isn’t it? 4 years of your life to make a TV show, I mean, I don’t know if I have that much patience, but if the product you’re producing is of the quality of Blue Planet, then it’s worth the investment, isn’t it? It would be amazing to be a part of a programme like that.

Being involved with Countryfile, are you made more aware of environmental issues and have you had much experience of seeing the effects of the issues first hand?

I think working on Countryfile and the important role that Countryfile has to play is that it connects rural Britain to urban Britain. It’s a rural affair show, but half of the audience are living in urban areas. I live in a city, and I love living in London, I think it’s just important to connect the dots to know where your food comes from, to know that you wanting to pay not very much for your milk has an impact in what is happening in our rural communities. In that sense, absolutely Countryfile does draw our attention to the impact we have on the environment.

Have you ever been to Bournemouth or the south coast?

Yes, of course, it’s beautiful. Aren’t they lucky, the smug so and so’s! I think people who live on the south coast are very smug, aren’t they? Because they’ve get the best weather and they’ve got the ocean, so lucky them. I’m looking forward to going to Bournemouth. What should I do? Maybe I’ll have some fish and chips, always have fish and chips when you’re by the sea.