logo
episode-header-image
Apr 2023
56m 48s

Actor Helen George, 'Stevenage Woman', A...

Bbc Radio 4
About this episode

She is best known for her role as the Poplar-based midwife Trixie Franklin, in Call the Midwife. Helen George has also been a star of Strictly Come Dancing, sung with Elton John and at Buckingham Palace to mark the 75th anniversary of VE Day. She now brings all her theatrical skills together by stepping into Deborah Kerr's shoes to play the part of Anna in a UK tour of the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical The King and I.

Is ‘Stevenage Woman’ the new ‘Mondeo Man’? The Labour Party leader Sir Keir Starmer is being urged to focus on this female swing voter group in a new report by left-leaning think tank Labour Together. But how useful are these profiles and why are they used? And from ‘Workington Man’ to ‘Essex Man’, why are they typically male? We discuss with Rosie Campbell, Professor of politics and Patrick English, Associate Director at Yougov.

A House for Alice is the new novel by Diana Evans, a sequel to the much acclaimed Ordinary People. It is a multigenerational portrait of a black British family, and explores the impact of matriarch Alice’s decision to return to the country of her birth, Nigeria, to live out her later years. Diana joins Nuala in the studio to discuss the inspiration behind the novel.

Did you ever flick through Carole Jackson’s hit book ‘Colour Me Beautiful’ to “find your season”? The popular 1980s trend of ‘getting your colours done’ is back. The hashtag #colouranalysis has 766million views on TikTok and you can even find a filter to work out your colours for yourself. So, as we are once again asking ‘what season am I?” We talk to Journalist Kat Brown who is a big believer in the power of colour, and Nisha Hunjan, founder of Style ME UK, who uses colour analysis.

Presenter: Nuala McGovern Producer: Emma Pearce

Up next
Yesterday
Christine McGuiness, Dianaworld, Marcia Grant inquest, Weight loss ads
The TV presenter and autism advocacy campaigner, Christine McGuinness, is mother of three autistic children, and she received an autism diagnosis herself as an adult. She is highlighting new research from Barrett Redrow which found that half of parents of children with disabiliti ... Show More
57m 8s
Jul 8
Caroline Eshghi, Fats Timbo, Malaria drug for babies
In the 1970s and 80s, Caroline Eshghi was a young girl living in Bristol, Somerset, and Wiltshire. From the moment she was born until she ran away at the age of 15, Caroline was beaten, burned and starved by her mother. In May this year, Melanie Burmingham was jailed for 20 month ... Show More
57m 20s
Jul 7
7/7 attacks, Writer Bolu Babalola, SEND
It’s been 20 years since the 7/7 attacks in London, which claimed the lives of 52 civilians and injured almost 800. Krupa Padhy talks to Gill Hicks, who was on the Piccadilly line Tube that morning and lost her legs in the blast, and nurse Kate Price, who was working in intensive ... Show More
57m 21s
Recommended Episodes
Oct 2020
Gutsy Women (with Gloria Steinem and Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha)
By now it’s an all-too-familiar phenomenon: A woman who dares to defy stereotypes or step out of her “place” gets called “shrill,” “bossy,” “ambitious,” or worse. But more often than not, those are the women who get the job done. Hillary talks to feminist activist Gloria Steinem ... Show More
44m 3s
Sep 2023
Trendsetters: Helen Gurley Brown
Helen Gurley Brown (c.1922-2012) helped shape a new vision of working girls. As editor and chief of Cosmopolitan magazine and author of the international bestseller “Sex and the Single Girl,” she advocated (sometimes controversially) for women’s sexual freedom and autonomy. For F ... Show More
4m 38s
Jun 2020
Helen McCrory, actress
Helen McCrory shares the eight tracks, book and luxury she would want to take with her if cast away to a desert island. Helen McCrory OBE is one of the most versatile and critically acclaimed actresses working today. On screen she has played Anna Karenina, Cherie Blair (twice), H ... Show More
38m 57s
Jun 2022
Paula Rego Remembered, Cressida Cowell, Elif Shafak, Stones In His Pockets
Artist Paula Rego remembered. Following the sad news today of the death of one of the most important figurative painters of our times, we look back on her life and work with art critic Louisa Buck.Outgoing Children’s Laureate Cressida Cowell on why she’s pushing the government to ... Show More
42m 18s
May 2016
Upstart Crow, Midsummer Night's Dream, Knight of Cups, Louise Erdrich, Mona Hatoum
Ben Elton has a new sitcom on BBC2; Upstart Crow starring David Mitchell as The Bard of Avon. Could it be a return to his golden form of Blackadder? A Midsummer Night's Dream is the first production by Emma Rice, the new Artistic Director at London's Globe Theatre. Does it auger ... Show More
42m 1s
Feb 2014
Martin Scorsese and Thelma Schoonmaker; Lesley Sharp; Only Lovers Left Alive
With John Wilson.The legendary film-making duo of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger were commemorated today with the unveiling of an English Heritage blue plaque. The plaque was unveiled by Thelma Schoonmaker, film-editor and Powell's widow, and by film-director Martin Scorse ... Show More
28m 25s
Jun 2022
82* Zadie Smith in Focus (JP)
In this 2019 episode, John interviews the celebrated British writer Zadie Smith. The conversation quickly moves through Brexit (oh, the inhumanity!) and what it means to be a London–no, a Northwest London–writer before arriving at her case against identity politics. That case is ... Show More
54m 28s
Nov 2021
#81 - Danièle Obono, récit d'une femme noire en politique
Depuis une quinzaine d'années et après être longtemps restée très masculine et monochrome, la sphère politique française laisse de plus en plus la place aux femmes et aux minorités raciales. Si cette avancée tend à contrer l’idée reçue selon laquelle la politique serait réservée ... Show More
53m 14s
Jul 2016
Caroline Overington: The Woman Who Healed Oprah
Not many people can say they influenced Oprah, but Caroline Overington can. The award-winning author and journalist interviewed the most famous woman in the world at her Harpo studios last year, and it did not go as expected. A woman who believes in "fake it till you make it", sh ... Show More
1 h
Jan 2024
Women of Science Fiction: Pauline Hopkins
Pauline Hopkins (1859-1930) was a pioneering writer who published articles and serialized novels across genres. She’s known as the author of the first science fiction novel by a woman of color – written decades before the term sci-fi was widely used. Today, you can see her ideas ... Show More
5m 42s