On 7 May 1962, she joined the British children's television show Blue Peter as co-host, following the departure of Leila Williams.
She voluntarily resigned from the series because of her imminent divorce (in 1962) from the musician Ray Ellington and her own worries of the inappropriateness for a presenter of a children's programme.
[1] Anita was married to Ray Ellington for six years; the couple had a son, Lance, and a daughter, Nina.
In contrast, her replacement, Valerie Singleton, ahead of whom West had come in earlier auditions, became the show's longest-serving female presenter until Konnie Huq.
[citation needed] After leaving Blue Peter, West appeared in such shows as Space: 1999, Crossroads as Doctor Hilary Maddox, The Saint and Lovejoy.