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Woman's Hour

Weekend Woman’s Hour: Sugababes, Lockdown babies, June Sarpong, History of abortion, Women in construction

Woman's Hour

BBC

Society & Culture, Health & Fitness, Personal Journals

4.22.9K Ratings

🗓️ 22 March 2025

⏱️ 57 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

The Sugababes started their music career together in 1998 but, after Siobhán left the band in 2001, it wasn't until 2019 that Mutya, Keisha and Siobhán came back together as the Sugababes. All three members joined Nuala McGovern to celebrate the release of their brand new single, Jungle, and their biggest ever UK and Ireland tour.

Five years on from the first Covid lockdown, what can be done to support the 200,000 ‘Lockdown babies’ born when lockdown was at its most restrictive, between 23 March and 4 July 2020? Nuala was joined by Nicola Botting, Professor of Developmental Disorders at City St George’s, University of London, Jane Harris, CEO of Speech and Language UK, and mum of three, Frankie Eshun.

Broadcaster June Sarpong co-founded the Women Inspiration and Enterprise Network and in 2019 was appointed the first BBC Director of Creative Diversity. She joined Nuala to discuss her biography of Una Marson, the poet, playwright, feminist and activist who made history as the first black female broadcaster at the BBC.

A new book Abortion – A History, gives the long view of ending pregnancy. From ancient Greece to Roe v Wade, Mary Fissell charts changing practices of and attitudes towards abortion. She joined Nuala in the Woman’s Hour studio to explain why she wrote the book and what she has learned.

Work has started on a home extension and renovation that is being built and designed entirely by women. In an industry facing huge labour shortages, women remain a minority in construction, only making up 15% of the industry and only 1% of those in manual, skilled roles. Nuala was joined by the project's lead, Kat Parsons and builder, Yas Poole.

Presenter: Nuala McGovern Producer: Annette Wells Editor: Laura Northedge

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

He tells her that she will be sent to France as a secret agent, and if she's caught, she's going to be shot.

0:09.3

I'm Helen Obalam Carter, and this is history's secret heroes, where I shine a light on extraordinary stories from World War II.

0:17.6

What they wanted was someone to get themselves arrested and sent to Auschwitz.

0:22.0

Tales of deception and incredible acts of resistance and courage. She was a born soldier.

0:27.4

She's a freedom fighter in its widest sense. The brand new series of history's secret heroes.

0:32.8

Listen first on BBC Sounds. BBC Sounds, music, radio podcasts.

0:39.9

Hello, I'm Nula McGovern and welcome to Woman's Hour from BBC Radio 4.

0:44.5

Just to say that for rights reasons, the music in the original radio broadcast has been

0:48.7

removed for this podcast.

0:51.0

Hello and welcome to a selection of standout moments from the week.

0:54.8

Coming up today, we have the original Sugar Babes, Kisha, Mutia and Chauvin,

0:58.9

who are back with a bang for their first ever arena tour,

1:02.1

and they are here to tell us all about it.

1:04.7

Also, the women who set out to build a house using only trades women.

1:08.9

What's it like working in this industry that is so male

1:11.7

dominated? Plus, the presenter and author, June Sarpong, on her new book about the first

1:16.9

black female broadcaster at the BBC, Una Marson. When Haile Selassie was exiled in 1935, she

1:25.0

became his right-hand woman. So there's a speech that's gone viral at the moment of

1:29.9

Halees Salasi speaking at the League of Nations, which, you know, has so many parallels with everything

1:35.3

going on right now with Ukraine. And Una was part of the team that wrote that speech.

1:42.1

And through a new book, we delve into abortion's long political history, from ancient

1:46.8

Rome to medieval nuns, through to the modern day.

...

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