4.2 • 2.9K Ratings
🗓️ 27 May 2025
⏱️ 59 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Known to many as Kayleigh in Peter Kay’s Car Share, Sian Gibson joins Kylie Pentelow to discuss her hit BBC comedy The Power of Parker which returns for a second series this week. Sian co-wrote and stars in the series as Kath, a mobile hairdresser by trade and the devoted mistress of her sister’s husband. Set around the fortunes of the Parker family’s electrical shop in 1990s Stockport, the next instalment sees a shift of power between the trio of Kath, her sister Diane and the object of their affection, Martin Parker.
If you open the website for online retailer Shein, a pop-up immediately appears offering a ‘special deal’ just for you. But are these savings what they seem? Yesterday the EU told the Chinese fast-fashion website that these discounts, as well as other pressure-selling tactics on its website, infringe EU consumer law and they’ve given Shein one month to respond or face fines. Mitch Labiak, senior business journalist for the BBC, explains more.
Argentinian author Agustina Bazterrica’s novel Tender is the Flesh became a worldwide sensation, with sales of over half a million copies in the English translation alone. She talks about her most recent novel, The Unworthy, which is set post-climate apocalypse in a walled sanctuary known as the Sacred Sisterhood. But is it a refuge from the disease and violence that exist outside its walls or a dangerous prison for the women who live there?
Announcements of cuts to foreign aid this year from both the UK government and US government, amongst others, have left many organisations facing funding issues and putting their programmes at risk. As humanitarian crises continue across the world, including in Ukraine, Gaza, Sudan, with many vulnerable people suffering including women and girls, the need to provide aid remains as high as ever. Dr Helen Pankhurst, Senior Advisor on Gender Equality for Care International UK, and Sofia Calltrop, the UN Women Chief of Humanitarian Aid, discuss the effects of these cuts on women and girls globally and the importance of gender equality programming.
Since Labour has come to power, there’s been a number of issues that have divided the party. From tax rises to whether it should be a two or three-child benefit cap, the tension has been tangible. And with accusations of briefings against female cabinet ministers, what impact is this Labour in-fighting having on women in the party? We spoke to chief political commentator for the I paper, Kitty Donaldson, and UK politics commentator for Bloomberg, Rosa Prince.
Presenter: Kylie Pentelow Producer: Kirsty Starkey
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0:00.0 | Before you listen to this BBC podcast, I'd like to introduce myself. |
0:03.7 | My name's Stevie Middleton and I'm a BBC Commissioner for a load of sport podcasts. |
0:08.4 | I'm lucky to do that at the BBC because I get to work with leading journalists, experienced |
0:12.2 | pundits and the biggest sports stars. |
0:14.3 | Together we bring you untold stories and fascinating insights straight from the player's mouths. |
0:19.1 | But the best thing about doing this at the BBC |
0:21.6 | is a unique access to the sporting world. What that means is that we can bring you podcasts that |
0:27.3 | create a real connection to dedicated sports fans across the UK. So if you like this podcast, |
0:33.0 | head over to BBC Sounds where you'll find plenty more. Hello, this is Kylie Pentalo and you're listening to The Woman's Hour podcast. |
0:40.6 | Hello and welcome to the program. Coming up today, we'll be talking to comedy actor Sean Gibson, |
0:46.4 | who is back in a new series. Now, she says she'd pretty much given up on acting and was working |
0:51.7 | in a call centre when none other than comedian Peter Kay |
0:55.4 | asked her to start in his hugely successful show, Car Share. Well, that changed everything for |
1:01.8 | Sean. So we want to hear from you on this. What have you almost given up on but then made a success |
1:08.2 | of? Now, it could be work-related, maybe also a relationship. So you can text |
1:12.6 | the program. The number is 84844. On social media, we're at BBC Women's Hour and you can email |
1:18.6 | us through the website or send us a WhatsApp message or voice note. The number is 0300-100-44. We're looking forward to hearing your stories of success or maybe otherwise. |
1:31.4 | Also coming up, how cuts to international aid are impacting projects specifically for women |
1:37.1 | with almost half of global women's rights organisations expected to shut down within six months |
1:42.9 | unless further funding is secured. |
1:46.6 | And we speak to two political journalists who help us make sense of what's going on within |
1:51.8 | the Labour Party with talk of a leadership coup and briefings against senior women. |
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