COUNTRYFILE viewers have put host Anita Rani on blast after she made a “disappointing and awkward” double blunder just minutes into last night’s show.
Anita, 46, met with Sir Henry Elwes, the owner of Colesbourne Gardens in The Cotswolds, which is home to one of the best snowdrop displays in the U.K., but she made two major blunders while introducing Henry and his estate to the audience.
In this Sunday’s episode of Countryfile, presenters Anita and Joe Crowley took a trip to the Cotswolds to visit a private 10-acre estate which is known to have one of the best snowdrop displays in the country with over 250 varieties.
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Later in the episode, Datshiane Navanayagam heads to Devon to investigate how more and more communities are banding together to save village pubs and shops from closure, but it’s Anita’s segment which got viewers talking.
Anita Rani made a double blunder just minutes into the show
As she began to introduce the breathtaking landscape of the Colesbourne estate at the beginning of the episode, Anita said: “The jewel of the Cotswolds is the 10 acres of private gardens and woodlands, home to early flowering shrubs, hellebores and cyclamen.”
However, viewers were quick to point out that Anita made a mistake in her voiceover, pronouncing the evergreen flowering plant “hellebore,” which she called “hellbores.”
A few minutes later, Anita made another blunder when introducing Sir Henry Elwes, the owner of the Colesbourne estate.
She began her voiceover as images of the estate’s vast snowdrop display were shown on screen.
“Colesbourne Gardens plant thousands of snowdrops each year, including new varieties. It’s renowned as one of the best displays in the U.K. and opens its doors to the public for a few weeks each year,” Anita said.
She continued: “Our love affair with these incredibly delicate yet tough spring flowers has grown over the years and now snowdrop bulbs are some of the most widely traded in the world.
“No wonder they have so many fans, or galanthophiles, as snowdrop lovers are officially known.
“And one of these is Colesbourne Park’s owner and former Lord Lieutenant, Sir Henry Elwes.”
However, Anita made another mistake in her introduction, mispronouncing the word “lieutenant.”
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Viewers were quick to comment on the awkward blunder
Viewers were quick to pick up on Anita’s second blunder as she pronounced the word “lieutenant” in its American form, rather than saying “leftenant,” which is the correct pronunciation in the U.K.
“Disappointed Countryfile’s Anita Rani pronounced lieutenant in the American vernacular,” one said on X, formerly Twitter.
“Anita and Countryfile, please use the UK English of ‘lieutenant’ and not the US pronunciation. Not for the first time recently on BBC have presenters used US pronunciation of words,” pleaded another frustrated viewer.
A third chastised: “Someone tell Anita how to pronounce lieutenant. We are not American.”
Viewers also addressed Anita’s other “awkward” pronunciation error, with one simply writing: “Hellebore not Hellbore, Countryfile.”
This is just the latest round of criticism on Countryfile
BBC viewers have recently voiced a lot of criticism about the “agricultural show” claiming it is “doom-filled” and “the most negative show on TV.”
Countryfile regularly investigates ecological issues in the U.K. However, many viewers believe the show has become “too political” in its reporting of agriculture and environmental topics.
Recently, viewers jumped to the defence of the farming community, feeling they were being “unfairly blamed” for environmental and climate issues.
Fuming, one viewer said: “And now they’re going after the farming industry and now emissions from farming are bad. What happened to Countryfile being an advocate for farming?”
Another complained: “I just think farmers are unduly blamed for all the country’s woes… you’d almost think there was a hidden agenda to make life difficult so it becomes untenable & for their land to be taken by housing developers … I know which is worse for the country in the long run.”
