Woman's Hour

The Royal Ballet School (RBS) has reached a financial settlement with former student Ellen Elphick who said the body-shaming she experienced while at the elite institution has left her with lifelong psychological damage. The London-based school accepts no liability for the former dancer’s case and has not issued an apology. Ellen talks to Anita Rani about the experience along with her lawyer, Dino...

In the last year, women with disabilities experienced domestic abuse at more than twice the rate of those without, according to the latest figures from the Crime Survey for England and Wales. Yet data from Women’s Aid shows less than 1% of refuge vacancies in England are suitable for wheelchair users. Where does this leave women with disabilities impacted by domestic abuse? Anita Rani hears about...

Reality star turned documentary filmmaker Vicky Pattison joins Clare McDonnell to discuss her latest project, Vicky Pattison: My Deepfake Sex Tape. The documentary sees her exploring the proliferation of videos generated by AI whereby people’s faces are placed onto pornographic images and shared without their consent. Vicky talks about creating her own deepfake sex tape and looks at the impact the...

Mrs Robinson is a feature-length documentary about Ireland’s first female president. Telling her own story of her childhood and career for the first time on screen, it was filmed over three years, and takes a deep-dive into Mary Robinson’s career as she discusses the significant controversies throughout her tenure and her own professional regrets; and examines how her gift for bridging differences...

Felicity Jones has been nominated for an Oscar and a BAFTA for her role in The Brutalist, in which she plays Erzsébet, a Hungarian journalist who emigrates to the US in the late 1950s to join her architect husband. She joined Anita Rani to discuss her portrayal of this complex character and the other memorable roles she’s taken on, from Ruth Bader Ginsberg to Jane Wilde Hawking. Zla Mavka is a non...

Zla Mavka is a non-violent all-female Ukrainian resistance group, fighting against Russian occupation. It spreads newsletters and shares experiences aiming to support others. Anita Rani is joined by the Guardian's chief culture writer, Charlotte Higgins, who has spoken to some of the members and Tetyana Filevska, the curator at the Ukrainian Institute to find out more. When bicycles were first inv...

It has been reported that USA women's footballer Naomi Girma has agreed terms to join Chelsea FC for a world record transfer fee of £900,000 or $1.1 million. Anita Rani is joined by Tom Garry, Woman’s Football writer at The Guardian. Nearly three decades ago, Marianne Jean-Baptiste was Oscar nominated for her role in Mike Leigh’s film Secrets & Lies. Now, she’s receiving rave reviews with a st...

Felicity Jones has been nominated for a Best Supporting Actress BAFTA for her role in The Brutalist, in which she plays Erzsébet, a Hungarian journalist who emigrates to the US in the late 1950s to join her architect husband. She joins Anita Rani to discuss her portrayal of this complex character and the other memorable roles she’s taken on, from Ruth Bader Ginsberg to Jane Wilde Hawking. A new re...

Trudie Styler has had a career spanning decades, from starting out as an actress for the Royal Shakespeare Company to the last 20 years as a film-maker. Trudie’s newest film Posso Entrare: An Ode to Naples sees her exploring the streets of the Sanita district of the city, meeting residents and finding out more about Naple's history of conflict and violence – and how people are working to heal thos...

After 15 months of devastating conflict, a ceasefire agreement has been reached between Israel and Hamas, and three female hostages – Romi Gonen, Emily Damari, and Doron Steinbrecher - have been released and are now back in Israel. This release is the first of several expected over the next six weeks, with a total of 33 hostages to be returned. Ninety Palestinian prisoners were released overnight...

The Right Reverend Rose Hudson-Wilkin, the Bishop of Dover, is a trailblazer, who has been right at the heart of a changing nation for over 40 years. Despite discrimination due to her gender and ethnic minority background, Bishop Rose has never wavered from the call she received to enter ministry at the age of 14. She joined Nuala McGovern to discuss her memoir, The Girl from Montego Bay. A Royal...

Can AI improve the success rates of women undergoing fertility treatment? Anita Rani discusses the impact of AI on IVF with Dr Cristina Hickman, an embryologist, co-founder of Avenues, and Chair of the Global AI Fertility Society, and Dr Ali Abbara, a Clinician Scientist at Imperial College London, and Consultant in Reproductive Endocrinology at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust. The second re...

The communications regulator, Ofcom, has published new industry guidance for online services, in which it sets out how it expects online platforms - including social media and porn sites - to introduce highly effective age check measures to prevent children from accessing online pornography and to protect them from other types of harmful content. To discuss the new guidance and its potential impac...

Services for children with special education needs and disabilities (SEND) in England are ‘unviable’. That’s the judgement from a report out today by the Public Accounts Committee, who look at the value for money of government services. Anna Dixon MP, who sits on the committee, joins Nuala McGovern to explain more, alongside Katie Ghose, Vice-Chair of the Disabled Children’s Partnership. Four Wome...

The term ‘sticky floor’ refers to the difficulties women face in progressing to higher-paid and higher-powered job roles whilst balancing the demands of their careers with personal, unpaid responsibilities. They can get stuck at lower levels, leaving the most senior positions to be occupied by, predominantly, men. Nuala McGovern discusses some of the reasons and solutions with Claire Reindorp, CEO...

The Right Reverend Rose Hudson-Wilkin is the Bishop of Dover and the Bishop in Canterbury - Britain's first black woman bishop. She’s a trailblazer, who has been right at the heart of a changing nation for over 40 years. Despite discrimination due to her gender and ethnic minority background, Bishop Rose has never wavered from the call she received to enter ministry at the age of 14. She joins Nua...

Victims groomed and raped by gangs have told the BBC's Senior UK Correspondent Sima Kotecha that they are adamant the crime is still happening to girls across the country. This week, a Tory amendment to the government's Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill, which wanted a national inquiry into grooming gangs, was voted down. Krupa Padhy talked to Sima and Simon Morton, a former senior investigati...

2025 is a big year for former Strictly professional Oti Mabuse who is judging Dancing on Ice starting this weekend, then going on tour and publishing her first adult novel. She joins Krupa Padhy to tell us all about these projects, becoming a mother and how being on I’m A Celebrity taught her the importance of talking about feelings. The term Eldest Daughter Syndrome is not an official mental heal...

Victims groomed and raped by gangs have told the BBC's Senior UK Correspondent Sima Kotecha that they are adamant the crime is still happening to girls across the country. Yesterday, a Tory amendment to the government's Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill, which wanted a national inquiry into grooming gangs, was voted down. Krupa Padhy talks to Sima and Simon Morton, a former senior investigatin...

A new law change has made the creation of explicit deepfakes illegal, with those found guilty facing up to two years in prison. Nuala McGovern is joined by Durham Law Professor Clare McGlynn to hear more about what this means, and Channel 4's Cathy Newman, who was a victim of deepfakes herself, gives her thoughts. Author Clare Whitfield joins Nuala to discuss her novel Poor Girls. The title of the...

The debate around widescale child sexual abuse and exploitation continues following calls from the Conservatives and Reform UK for a new national inquiry into the issue. Professor Alexis Jay chaired the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse. It took seven years and was published in 2022. It warned of "endemic" abuse across society in England and Wales for girls and boys. Professor Jay has ca...

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, completes his final official duties today before stepping down. So what’s next for the Church of England? And how are women playing a part in the reform of safeguarding? Nuala McGovern is joined by the BBC’s Religion Editor, Aleem Maqbool. Also joining the conversation is Rowena Pailing, who used to be Vice Dean of Blackburn Cathedral but who resigned ov...

The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Wes Streeting, has proposed "a new National Care Service", as part of the government's plan to shake-up adult social care with increased funding and an independent commission headed by crossbench peer Baroness Louise Casey. As adult social care is a predominantly female work force - and women make up the majority of people carrying out unpaid cari...

This morning the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Wes Streeting, has proposed "a new National Care Service", as part of the government's plan to shake-up adult social care with increased funding and an independent commission headed by crossbench peer Baroness Louise Casey. As adult social care is a predominantly female work force - and women make up the majority of people carrying ou...

In 1974, a group of around 40 women met in London to discuss the ongoing rape crisis and what to do about it. That meeting eventually led to the establishment of the UK's first ever Rape Crisis centre, which opened its doors and helpline on 15 May 1976. Since then, an entire network of Rape Crisis centres has been established by passionate groups of women around the country. Kylie Pentelow is join...