Maureen Lipman, Memoirs, Black maternal health, Women in security, Afghan women's football
Woman's Hour
BBC
4.1 • 3K Ratings
🗓️ 29 April 2026
⏱️ 58 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
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
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | BBC Sounds, Music, radio, podcasts. |
| 0:07.0 | If you need help on money matters, you're not alone. |
| 0:10.4 | In the Martin Lewis podcast, I'll give you tips to keep more cash in your pocket |
| 0:13.9 | and answer your important questions. |
| 0:16.7 | Now that we're starting from scratch, what is the best way for us to move forward? |
| 0:21.2 | To help your everyday finances just add up. |
| 0:24.8 | Let's see what we can do. |
| 0:26.2 | The Martin Lewis podcast, listen on BBC Sounds. |
| 0:30.0 | Hello, I'm Chloe Tilly and welcome to Woman's Hour from BBC Radio 4. |
| 0:34.3 | Just to say that for rights reasons, the music in the original radio broadcast has been |
| 0:38.8 | removed for this podcast. Good morning and welcome to the programme. Now Dame Maureen Litman is |
| 0:44.6 | joining us to talk about her latest play, Allegra, which she's taking on the road just days after |
| 0:50.0 | her 80th birthday. We're going to discuss the demands of a role that requires eight performances |
| 0:55.1 | a week of singing, dancing and acting, and what the joyful yet eccentric role tells us about the |
| 1:00.6 | way society views a person with a relentless, positive outlook. Stress from racism could help |
| 1:07.2 | explain why black women are more likely to die in childbirth, |
| 1:11.3 | according to a new study from Cambridge University. |
| 1:14.2 | We're going to examine the socio-environmental factors |
| 1:16.8 | that may impact the body's ability to function healthfully in pregnancy |
| 1:20.5 | with the help of the author of the study. |
| 1:23.5 | Also this morning, Afghan women footballers |
| 1:25.7 | are going to be able to play international matches from as early as this June after FIFA approved rule change. |
... |
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