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Woman's Hour

Marian Keyes, SEND, Designer Tolu Coker, Student midwives

Woman's Hour

BBC

Society & Culture

4.13K Ratings

🗓️ 23 February 2026

⏱️ 59 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Irish author Marian Keyes has sold over 30 million copies of her books worldwide over the past three decades. From her 1995 debut Watermelon to Rachel's Holiday and last year's 'menopause romance' My Favourite Mistake, she’s championed telling ordinary women's stories in all their glory, with plenty of humour thrown in. Now some of her most-loved books and characters have been adapted into a TV series called The Walsh Sisters which has just debuted on BBC One and BBC iPlayer. Marian and the show’s co-creator Stefanie Preissner talk to presenter Nuala McGovern about bringing Rachel and her sisters to life on screen. As the Government prepares to unveil its plans for a major overhaul of the SEND system, we hear from BBC Political Correspondent Alex Forsyth on what's been said so far and what's expected. The government has said it will spend billions to make English mainstream schools more inclusive for pupils with special educational needs and disabilities, with Sir Keir Starmer saying that the experience of his late brother, who had learning disabilities, makes him "determined to change Britain so that it is truly built for all." The number of people with education, health and care plans (EHCPs) up to the age of 25 in England has doubled in a decade. Student midwives have contacted us to say many of them are struggling to find jobs despite a serious shortage of midwives in the NHS. A new survey from the Royal College of Midwives echoes that finding. It says 31% of those newly qualified midwifes are still not employed in the role and the majority of those who have found employment are on fixed term contracts. This comes a year after the government announced it's Graduate Guarantee pledging that every newly qualified nurse and midwife in England would have the opportunity to apply to join the NHS workforce. We hear from Safia, who is in her final year of midwifery training, and Gill Walton, Chief Executive of the Royal College of Midwives. Award-winning British Nigerian fashion designer Tolu Coker joins Nuala in the studio fresh from kicking off London Fashion Week with King Charles in the front row. Her latest collection, Survivor’s Remorse, is inspired by grief, nostalgia and childhood memories and is a joyful celebration of growing up in 1990s London and the community that shaped her. Presenter: Nuala McGovern Producer: Sarah Jane Griffiths

Transcript

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0:00.0

BBC Sounds, Music, Radio, Podcasts.

0:07.0

I'm no longer ravenous. I'll no longer eat until I fall asleep.

0:11.0

The Hunger Game, a new five-part series exploring the meteoric rise of weight loss drugs.

0:16.0

It's been an incredible story with these drugs.

0:18.1

The uptake, the amount of product that's been sold, the amounts of

0:20.9

money is cost. What the drugs do, how they work, and the knock-on effects of their widespread use.

0:26.5

We'll be sitting here in three years' time going, oh, it caused problems that we're now going

0:31.3

to have to fix. The Hunger Game with me, Professor Gilesio. Listen first on BBC Sounds.

0:38.2

Hello, I'm Neula McGovern, and you're listening to The Woman's Hour podcast.

0:43.1

And while you're here, I wanted to let you know that the Woman's Hour Guide to Life is back.

0:49.0

You might have listened to some of the episodes from the first series, including ambition without burnout, or turning

0:55.4

aging into your superpower. Well, we've got six new episodes for you over the coming weeks

1:01.3

that will give you practical tips on issues like self-promotion without feeling awkward, caring

1:07.5

for aging parents, navigating infertility with family and friends,

1:12.6

and also how to love your face, whatever your age.

1:17.0

I'm really excited about this series of The Woman's Hour Guide to Life,

1:21.3

so I really hope you'll join us.

1:23.3

You will find the episodes in the Woman's Hour podcast feed on Sundays.

1:27.4

It's only on BBC Sounds.

1:29.7

But now, back to today's Woman's Hour.

1:35.1

Hello and welcome to the programme.

1:37.3

Well, today, as you've been hearing in the news bulletin,

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