This episode is sponsored by Lloyd's Banking Group, serving Britain's communities and households for more than 250 years.

Hello and welcome to Women with Balls, where I Katie Balls speak to today's trailblazers.

My guest today grew up during the Trou troubles in a town close to the Irish border.

Her experience of conflict began when she was nine and witnessed the IRA's attempt to kill her

father. In 1988, she survived another attack by their IRA when a bomb was planted under her school bus.

Her political journey began at Queen's University in Belfast, where she studied law.

First, she joined the Unionist Association, part of the Ulster Unionist Party.

Weeks after her election to the Assembly in 2003, my guest quit that party in opposition to the Good Friday Agreement and joined the Democratic Unionist Party.

Her rise for the ranks was rapid and she soon became the leader of the DEP. Following the UK's 2017 General Lexington, my guests became

one of the biggest names in British politics after joining in coalition with Theresa May's

Conservative government. She says, for me the decision to enter politics was never about party or a person.

It was about speaking up for the voice of this and building a northern island which could prosper

and be at peace in the United Kingdom. My guest today is Arlene Foster. Arlene, thank you so much

for coming on the podcast today. We have been trying to get you on for years. So I'm delighted.

Exactly. And you're here in person. So I'm delighted it has finally come together. Now, to begin

with on this podcast, we always ask guests was there's a happy childhood. How would you describe

yours? Your experience of the troubles began early. It did. But I have to say, I did have a very

happy childhood. I was born in Ineskillen

and I lived in a very rural part of County Fremanna. My father was a police officer but also a

part-time farmer so we lived on a small farm. And so very happy childhood because my birthday was in

July, so it was during the haymaking time and, you know, all of that. But when I

was eight and a half, the IRA came to murder my father and he was outside about half past nine

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