Woman's Hour

A new report out today is calling for urgent reforms to better protect and support children affected by parental domestic homicide, following an examination of the long-term impact on young people across the UK and Ireland. Reporter Jo Morris has been speaking to a woman, we are calling Katy, who experienced the unimaginable as a child, when her father killed her mother. Despite this, when he was released from prison, Katy was required to stay with him at weekends. How should children and young people be supported? Chloe Tilley is joined by Sarah Burrows from the charity Children Heard and Seen, and Professor John Devaney from the University of Edinburgh and author of the report. Two of the government ministers who resigned yesterday, Jess Phillips and Alex Davies-Jones, were responsible for the government's violence against women and girls strategy. In her resignation letter, safeguarding minister Jess Phillips highlighted the need for urgent action to combat the spread of online child sexual abuse imagery, where progress has been 'repeatedly stalled and delayed'. The government says it wants to make it 'impossible' for children in the UK to take, share or view nude images. Hannah Swirsky from the Internet Watch Foundation joins Chloe to discuss. At the height of the Cold War, women led one of the most enduring protests against nuclear weapons. What began as a march to Greenham Common became a peace camp that lasted nearly 20 years - inspiring Eleanor Anstruther’s new novel, Fallout. Presenter: Chloe Tilley Producer: Dianne McGregor

In netball, once you’ve got the ball you have to pivot. It turns out that skill can be applied just as neatly to careers for Tracey Neville. The former England netball coach joins Nuala McGovern to discuss her new role as the new managing director of the Stockport County Women Football Club. A new medical device to assist at birth is now in use in eight NHS trusts in the UK and 40 hospitals in the whole of Europe. The OdonAssist can replace forceps in many situations and is a much gentler way to deliver a baby which is stuck in the birth canal. NHS Specialist registrar Dr Emily Hotton has worked on the UK clinical trials. She describes how the device works and why it can give a much better outcome for both mothers and babies. New research suggests the age of 28 is a key turning point for women’s finances. Investment platform AJ Bell says that’s when many start to fall behind on pension savings. And women retire with around 48% less wealth. Charlene Young, Senior Pensions and Savings expert at AJ Bell explains. Mina came to the UK from Iran 15 years ago. She is appearing on Channel 4’s Your Song, a new series celebrating the power of music and storytelling. Growing up where women’s voices were restricted, she learnt to sing secretly as an act of quiet rebellion. On the show, she performs a song that has followed her from childhood through exile to her new life in the UK. For Mina, this performance isn’t just personal — it’s about representing millions of women still silenced. She talks about identity, resistance, and what it means to finally reclaim her voice. An online safety group, the Early Warning Working Group, is encouraging schools across the UK to rethink how they use photographs of pupils online, amid growing fears that images taken from school websites and social media accounts are being stolen and manipulated into sexually explicit content using AI tools. Nuala speaks to Carole Osborne - a mother of two daughters who used to work in school communications. After hearing growing concerns from parents and headteachers about AI-generated abuse imagery, she decided to try to do something about it herself. Presenter: Nuala McGovern Producer: Kirsty Starkey

In its 80-year history no woman has ever held the role of United Nations secretary-general. The race for the job, which happens every ten years, began in January and the candidates have recently appeared in their one and only TV debate. Four people are currently in the running, two of whom are female. Should it matter if the top job goes to a woman? Nuala McGovern speaks to actors Liv Hill and Tanya Reynolds, stars of the new West End play 1536. Set in Tudor England, the drama follows three young women in Essex as they grapple with the shockwaves of Anne Boleyn’s execution. Through the stories of Jane, Anna and Mariella, the play explores how events at the royal court ripple through ordinary lives, and what the fall of a queen means for women far beyond the palace walls. Marks and Spencer have announced that following a successful trial they are ditching the measuring tape for bra fittings. Other underwear retailers have done this for years, but how does it work fitting a bra by eye? Nuala is joined by Joanna Wakefield-Scurr, professor of biomechanics at Portsmouth University, and virtual bra fitter Katie Weir. Presenter: Nuala McGovern Producer: Andrea Kidd

Motherland spin-off Amandaland is back for a second series, starring Lucy Punch as Amanda and Joanna Lumley as her frosty mum, Felicity. Nuala McGovern talks to the show’s award-winning writer and co-creator Holly Walsh about what’s in store for the SoHa crew second time around, as Amanda navigates life as a single mum of teenagers, juggling online influencing and her ‘co-labs’ with her dreams of moving up in the world. The classically trained pop musician Rosalía topped many end of year polls for her opera-influenced album, Lux. This week she graced the stage at the O2 Arena as her sell-out tour reached London and last week it was announced she'll receive the 2026 Ivor Novello award for International Songwriter of the Year. Pop Critic of The Observer, Kitty Empire joins us to profile the artist. TV personality Vicky Pattison, psychotherapist Gabrielle Rifkind and comedian Helen Thorn join Nuala to discuss tackling difficult conversations in our personal lives. The mainstreaming of violent sexual content is reshaping society, according to Clare McGlynn, a Professor of Law at Durham University, whose first book, Exposed, was published yesterday. In Clare’s view, the problem isn’t porn per se, it’s patriarchal porn - pornographic content that was once niche and difficult to find, including incest, racism and rape, that has been normalised and is widely consumed. Clare joins Anita Rani to discuss the harms of extreme pornography. It was Sir David Attenborough’s 100th birthday on Friday 8 May and the BBC has launched a week-long celebration of his work and legacy. So we wanted to take this moment to shine a spotlight on women working in nature programmes. Sophie Darlington was one of the first female wildlife cinematographers and her work has earned her a BAFTA and an Emmy. She joins Nuala to talk about her work and Sir David. Presenter: Anita Rani Producer: Simon Richardson

Megan Boxall is a 33-year-old runner who has been running clockwise around the coast of Britain, aiming to complete the equivalent of 200 marathons in 204 days. She began at Sizewell Beach in Suffolk in October and is now just one day away from that same point, having circumvented the whole island. Megan joins Anita Rani to talk about how she is feeling so near to completion. Violent sexual content in the mainstream is reshaping society, according to Clare McGlynn, a Professor of Law at Durham University, whose first book, Exposed, was published yesterday. In Clare’s view, the problem isn’t porn per se – it’s patriarchal porn; Pornographic content that was once niche and difficult to find – including incest, racism and rape - has been normalised and is widely consumed. Clare joins Anita to discuss the harms of extreme pornography. The prevalence of chronic pain is higher among women than men, but for millions of people living with it, the hardest part can be the sense that it is taking over their life. New research from University of Warwick shows how ‘mental defeat’ drives suffering and causes people with chronic pain to withdraw from everyday activities. Anita speaks to Professor Nicole Tang, lead researcher and Fiona, a former nurse who has lived with chronic pain for over 30 years. Samantha Harvey, winner of the 2024 Booker Prize with novel Orbital, has adapted Barbara Pym's 1977 book - Quartet in Autumn - for the stage. This is Harvey’s debut play and it opened last night at the Arcola Theatre in London. Samantha talks to Anita about what drew her to choose Pym’s book, about four lonely 60-something office workers. Presenter: Anita Rani Producer: Rebecca Myatt

A BBC investigation has uncovered misleading fitness adverts featuring AI‑generated characters that breach UK advertising rules. If you use social media you've probably seen them: polished fitness videos promising dramatic body transformations in weeks. They show chiselled physiques, striking before‑and‑after images and claims that you can look years younger by following a simple routine. The results often look too good to be true and in many cases, they are. Anita Rani is joined by Katie Gornall, BBC Sport Correspondent to tell us about her report alongside Kate Rowe-Ham, women's strength and longevity coach, who talks about how to stay fit for real. The classically-trained pop musician Rosalía topped many end of year polls for her opera-influenced album Lux. Last night she graced the stage at the O2 Arena as her sell-out tour reached London and last week it was announced she'll receive the 2026 Ivor Novello award for International Songwriter of the Year. Pop Critic of The Observer, Kitty Empire joins us to profile the artist. As a sex educator, Milly Evans knows more about contraception than most. But in the run-up to getting a hormonal coil (IUS), her social media feed was "flooded" with content discouraging her from using hormonal contraception, and she found herself doubting her choice. Anita talks to Milly about this experience and what she decided to do, as well as to Dr Zara Haider, President of the College of Sexual and Reproductive Healthcare. Brazilian jiu-jitsu is regarded as one of the UK’s fastest-growing sports, with membership soaring from around 10,000 in 2016 to over 40,000 in 2025, according to the UK Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Association. An increase in the number of women taking up the sport has been a factor in this growth. To find out more, Anita is joined by Lauren Brown, chair of the UK Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Association, and Frankie Renda, a Brazilian jiu-jitsu European silver medallist and coach at ARMA Gym in London, where 40% of members are now women. Presenter: Anita Rani Producer: Simon Richardson

Women's voices and women's lives - topical conversations to inform, challenge and inspire.

A BBC News investigation exposes an unregulated, booming industry of so-called baby sleep influencers or "sleep consultants". Some people who become sleep consultants have relevant medical licenses, but others hold no qualifications and are pushing dangerous practices to desperate mothers, which doctors say risk causing harm. Those women now feel “traumatised” by the advice they’ve been given from "consultants" like these, and “guilty” for putting their babies through procedures they did not need, after paying high fees for the advice. Senior BBC reporter Divya Talwar and Olivia Hinge, NHS midwife and lactation nurse, join Nuala McGovern. On 18 June 2023,19 year-old Suleman Dawood died alongside his father, Shahzada, and three other men in the Titan submersible as it attempted to dive to the Titanic. They were 500 metres above the wreck when the submersible imploded. It was a horrifying tragedy that made headlines around the world. Christine Dawood has now written a book, Ninety-Six Hours and joins us to talk about what happened during the 4-day search for the lost sub. It's Sir David Attenborough’s 100th birthday on Friday 8 May, and the BBC has launched a week-long celebration of his work and legacy... so we wanted to take this moment to shine a spotlight on women working in this industry. Sophie Darlington was one of the first female wildlife cinematographers and her work has earned her a BAFTA and an Emmy. She joins Nuala. KOGG is an experimental electronic duo created by Selena Kay and Cerys Hogg. Both formally trained - Selena has her roots in classical contemporary composition and Cerys in jazz improvisation and art. They combine their skills in composition and improvisation, create new instruments and have developed their own distinctive sound world, from recorded sources. KOGG discuss their sound, their debut album Mechanista and receiving a Women Make Music Grant. Presenter: Nuala McGovern Producer: Kirsty Starkey

We all have to have difficult conversations at some point in our lives. We have them at work, at home, and with friends and family. So why do we often feel ill-equipped to initiate that challenging chat? And why are we not more optimistic that airing our issues will lead to a more positive outcome for all involved? In this special edition of Woman's Hour, Nuala McGovern explores how we can have better difficult conversations. She is joined by psychotherapist, international conflict mediator and author of How to Agree to Disagree: Turning Conflict into Connection, Gabrielle Rifkind. She reflects on what makes a conversation difficult and the skills we require to tackle them. In our personal lives, difficult conversations can feel especially daunting, because they’re usually with the people we care about most. TV and podcast host Vicky Pattison and comedian and author Helen Thorn reveal how they approach discussing sensitive topics with their loved ones. And difficult conversations at work can make even the most confident among us feel strangely tongue‑tied: asking for a pay rise, giving feedback or managing conflict. Entrepreneur Izzy Obeng MBE and former social worker Sophie Baker explain how to have the hardest conversations at work. And romance author, Talia Hibbert, explains how she scripts difficult conversations and explores how they work as plot devices in novels and on screen. Presenter: Nuala McGovern Producer: Sophie Powling

Dame Maureen Lipman joins Chloe Tilley to talk about Allegra, the joyful new musical play that begins a nationwide tour just two days after her 80th birthday. She tells us about playing a woman who finds happiness in a world that can't quite handle it, and the physical demands of singing and dancing eight times a week. The use of illegal, unregistered children's homes in England has surged by more than 370% in five years, according to a new report, Hidden Children: An investigation into Unregistered Children’s Homes, published by Commonweal Housing and written by Public First. Nuala is joined by Fraser McLean, Policy and Communications Manager for the charity Commonweal Housing and Rebekah Pierre, Deputy Director of the charity Article 39. Simone Pennant, the founder and CEO of The TV Collective, has just been presented with the 2026 BAFTA Television Craft Special Award at this year’s ceremony. It was in recognition for her outstanding contribution in championing diversity within the screen industries. Is it time to retire the term 'bouncer'? We hear from Satia Rai, CEO of the International Professional Security Association, who told the largest gathering of the security profession in Europe this week that we should ditch it in favour of 'guardian' to help women feel safer, and to attract more women into the job. We also get the view of Tee, a female door supervisor at a Birmingham bar. And as the spring dawn chorus reaches its peak, a new book is challenging long held assumptions about birdsong, and revealing the overlooked role of female birds. Researcher Lucy McRobert, collaborator for the new book, The Sound of Birding: Second Edition, joins Anita to tune our ears to a richer, more complex soundscape. Presenter: Anita Rani Producer: Kirsty McQuire

Women's voices and women's lives - topical conversations to inform, challenge and inspire.

Shrink Solves Murder is the first novel by the artist and psychotherapist Philippa Perry. She talks to Anita Rani about her new book and protagonist Patricia Philipps, who like Philippa is also a psychotherapist. However the similarity ends when Patricia turns sleuth after one of her patients turns up dead. Two Jewish men were stabbed in Golders Green in north London yesterday, in an incident police are treating as a terrorist incident. The attack took place in an area with a large Jewish population and comes amid a wider rise in antisemitic incidents across the UK. The government’s independent adviser on terrorism legislation, Jonathan Hall KC, has said attacks targeting Jewish people now represent "the biggest national security emergency" in almost a decade. To talk more about the impact on families, children and communities we are joined by Debbie Fox, the chief executive of the Jewish Leadership Council, which represents the largest Jewish organisations in the UK. The NHS says there are around 6,000 children born each year in the UK with genetic conditions so rare they remain undiagnosed and unnamed. This group of children, known as SWAN children, Syndromes Without A Name, have complex medical needs. Ten years ago Roald Dahl’s Marvellous Children’s Charity funded the world’s first nurse specialising in this area at Great Ormond Street. They have now secured a second post. We hear from SWAN nurses Anna Jewitt and Lucy Michaels along with Tali Drumgoon, the mother of Roscoe who is undiagnosed and who's under the care of the SWAN nurses at Great Ormond Street Hospital. Simone Pennant, the founder and CEO of The TV Collective, has just been presented with the 2026 BAFTA Television Craft Special Award at this year’s ceremony. It was in recognition for her outstanding contribution, championing diversity within the screen industries. She joins us to discuss her work and what it means to receive the award. Presenter: Anita Rani Producer: Andrea Kidd

Dame Maureen Lipman joins Chloe Tilley to talk about Allegra, the joyful new musical play that begins a nationwide tour just two days after her 80th birthday. She tells us about playing a woman who finds happiness in a world that can't quite handle it, and the physical demands of singing and dancing eight times a week. A University of Cambridge study has found that socioenvironmental stressors - such as racism or poverty - may influence the body’s ability to function healthily in pregnancy - they say it could help to explain why black women and their babies face significantly higher rates of complication than white women. We hear from the lead author of the study Dr Grace Amedor. Is it time to retire the term 'bouncer'? We hear from Satia Rai, CEO of the International Professional Security Association, who will tell the largest gathering of the security profession in Europe this week that we should ditch it in favour of 'guardian' to help women on a night out feel safer, and to attract more women into the job. We also get the view of Tee, a female door supervisor at a Birmingham bar. And we've heard today that Afghan women footballers will be able to play international matches from as early as June, after FIFA have said they will recognise the women's national team. The players haven't been allowed to play any official competitive internationals since the Taliban returned to power in 2021. Mahjooba Nowrouzi, senior reporter from the BBC Afghan service, discusses the significance of the decision. As Lena Dunham’s new book Famesick debuts at the top of the bestseller charts, we discuss the art of memoir and how tricky it can be for women’s stories to navigate the line between emotional honesty, ‘oversharing’ and self-protection. Chloe is joined by bestselling author Cathy Rentzenbrink, whose memoirs include The Last Act of Love, and Sarah Gwonyoma, book reviewer and founder of @whatsarahreadnext. Presenter: Chloe Tilley Producer: Helen Fitzhenry

Women's voices and women's lives - topical conversations to inform, challenge and inspire.

£30m is being invested in the games industry in the UK, mainly to help develop ideas for the next big games. But will this government funding benefit women, in an industry where just 16% of leadership roles in UK studios are held by women and women-founded studios receive less than 3% of total investment? Nuala McGovern is joined by Marie-Claire Isaaman, CEO of Women in Games, and Kirsty Ridgen, CEO of FuturLab studios and Deputy Chair of the UK Video Games Council. The use of illegal, unregistered children's homes in England has surged by more than 370% in five years, according to a new report, Hidden Children: An investigation into Unregistered Children’s Homes, published by Commonweal Housing and written by Public First. To discuss some of the reasons behind this, the implications and what can be done, Nuala is joined by Fraser McLean, Policy and Communications Manager for the charity Commonweal Housing and Rebekah Pierre, Deputy Director of the charity Article 39, who fight for children’s rights in England. Sheer fashion – that is clothing with a see-through element - is having a moment. Actors Nicole Kidman, Gwyneth Paltrow and Naomi Watts have all worn it recently. And all of these women are over 50. So, what’s the appeal? And is there judgement of women of a certain age wearing ‘invisible clothes?’ Nuala is joined by Deborah Joseph, former editor of Glamour magazine and Kassia St Clair, a cultural historian to talk about the latest trend for see-through materials. 'Men's health to get 60% more new funding that woman's' - that's a headline in the Times newspaper today, comparing the women's health strategy, published by government earlier this month with the men's health strategy that was launched last November. Rosie Taylor is an independent investigative journalist reporting on women's health in the UK who worked on this for the Times and she joins Nuala.

Melanie C has been a household name for the past three decades, since the Spice Girls burst into the charts with Wannabe and went on to become the world’s biggest ever girl group. She says her new solo album Sweat is a chance to bring together all the different aspects of herself, from pop star to superstar DJ, teenage raver to being fit in her 50s. She joins Anita Rani to discuss her latest album, body image, and finding confidence in her 40s and 50s. At the height of the Covid pandemic, hundreds of women undergoing treatment for breast cancer had mastectomies without reconstruction - procedures that would usually happen at the same time, but were paused because they were considered non-essential. Many women were told they would be able to have reconstructive surgery once the restrictions lifted. But five years on, some are still waiting: living with pain and discomfort, and unable to move on with their lives. Joining Nuala McGovern are journalist Rosie Taylor, who has been speaking to the women affected, and Alison from Stockport On Monday, Sarah Finch became the European recipient of the Goldman Environmental Prize, for her work against oil drilling in Surrey, with the Weald Action Group. Their long legal battle led to a landmark judgement on fossil fuel emissions. The Goldman Prize, often referred to as the ‘Green Nobel’, honours grassroots environmental activists from around the world. For the first time since its inception, all six prizes were won by women. Sarah joins Anita to discuss what the award means to her. Presenter: Anita Rani Producer: Dianne McGregor

Women's voices and women's lives - topical conversations to inform, challenge and inspire.

Women's voices and women's lives - topical conversations to inform, challenge and inspire.

Naomi Parry, the costume designer who worked closely with Amy Winehouse to craft her iconic style, has this week been vindicated in a high court judgement. Amy Winehouse's father brought the case against Naomi, and another of Amy’s friends Catriona Gourlay, challenging their right to auction items that had belonged to the late singer. Naomi joins Nuala McGovern in the Woman’s Hour studio to tell us what Monday’s judgement means to her. Women have never walked on the Moon until now - at least not for real - but in the living rooms of East Belfast artist, Deby McKnight has made it her mission to get 100 women to take a moonwalk, recreating Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin's historic steps in 1969. Using nothing more than imagination, moon boots and a small piece of the moon itself. We hear from Deby and Aislinn Duffield, who has taken part in her project. At the height of the Covid pandemic, hundreds of women undergoing treatment for breast cancer had mastectomies without reconstruction - procedures that would usually happen at the same time, but were paused because they were considered non-essential. Many women were told they would be able to have reconstructive surgery once the restrictions lifted. But five years on, some are still waiting: living with pain and discomfort, and unable to move on with their lives. Joining Nuala are journalist Rosie Taylor, who has been speaking to the women affected, and Alison from Stockport. 'Passport Bros' is the name given to Western men travelling to countries like Vietnam, searching for what they call "good women" who hold traditional values. A new edition of The Economist’s Weekend Intelligence Podcast has been exploring the phenomenon - what’s attracting these men to relationships abroad and what’s pushing them away from dating in the UK or USA. Reporter Carla Subirana explains more. Presenter: Nuala McGovern Producer: Kirsty Starkey

Earlier this year, the UK lost its status as a measles-free country after a rise in deaths from the disease and a fall in the proportion of children having the MMR jab. Yesterday, the House of Lords Childhood Vaccinations Rates in England Inquiry questioned witnesses from a range of healthcare settings, including GPs and practice nurses, health visitors and midwifery experts to find out exactly what is happening and why vaccination rates are falling. Presenter Nuala McGovern is joined by the Chair of that inquiry, Baroness Joan Walmsley. Women make up 75% of those who have used the Couch to 5k app, which turns 10 years old today. Over the past decade, the running companion has been downloaded more than eight million times and inspired an incredible one billion minutes of movement. Nuala is joined by Jo Whiley, the most popular coach on the app, and Claire Baird and Ellen Morris, who have completed the challenge. Earlier this month, in a landmark verdict in the Scottish courts, Lee Milne was found guilty of culpable homicide after his wife Kimberly took her own life. Culpable homicide is similar to the charge of manslaughter in England and Wales. His coercive and controlling behaviour was said to have been a significant contributing factor in Kimberly’s death. Laura Buchan, Legal Director with the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service and Kate Ellis, Joint Head of the Litigation Team at the Centre for Women’s Justice, join Nuala to discuss. On what would have been Queen Elizabeth II’s 100th birthday, we explore her enduring legacy, the new monuments that will commemorate her reign, and how future generations may remember her. We hear from Tessa Dunlop, author of Lest We Forget: War and Peace in 100 British Monuments, and BBC Royal Correspondent Daniela Relph. Presenter: Nuala McGovern Producer: Sarah Jane Griffiths