Actor Ophelia Lovibond shares the moment - aged 10 - when she knew she was going to be an actor, and which book inspired her to make the decision. Ophelia began honing her skills in a youth theatre club at the age of ten. Since then she has been working for over two decades, taking a variety of roles, including Apple’s Trying , BBC’s Roadkill , Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy , CBS’s Elementary , and recently This England - a series about British Prime Minister Boris Johnson in which she plays ...
Feb 23, 2023•59 min•Season 5Ep. 24
Labour MP Lisa Nandy gives her advice on how we can all stay hopeful and keep progressing even in dark political times. Lisa was first elected as the Labour MP for Wigan in 2010. During her time in Parliament, she has served on the front bench in a number of roles and is currently serving as Shadow Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities. She is also the co-founder of the think tank Centre for Towns which was set up to ensure priority is given to the viability and prosperity...
Feb 16, 2023•59 min•Season 5Ep. 23
Author and Women’s Prize founder director Kate Mosse reveals the books that have shaped her and also makes an exciting announcement: the intention to launch a new annual book prize, the Women’s Prize for Non-Fiction. Kate is the author of ten novels and short story collections, her books have sold more than 8 million copies worldwide and her fiction has been translated into 38 languages. She has also written four works of non-fiction including the critically acclaimed memoir An Extra Pair of Han...
Feb 09, 2023•1 hr 6 min•Season 5Ep. 22
Gillian Anderson is an award-winning film, television and theatre actor, producer, activist and author who rose to international fame playing FBI Special Agent Dana Scully in The X-Files . She has had countless notable roles - from Lady Dedlock in Bleak House , Margaret Thatcher in The Crown to DSU Stella Gibson in the BBC crime series The Fall , sex therapist Jean Milburn in Sex Education and most recently Mrs Marquis in Netflix’s gothic-horror film The Pale Blue Eye with Christian Bale. Her ex...
Feb 02, 2023•47 min•Season 5Ep. 21
Broadcaster Cherry Healey brings in books that spark discussions on the perimenopause, divorce, sibling bonds, feminism and the art of manifesting. Cherry Healey started her onscreen career as a presenter for numerous lifestyle documentaries for BBC Three focusing on her own life - Cherry Gets Married, Cherry Has a Baby and Cherry Gets Pierced , to name just a few. She now presents Inside the Factory and 10 Years Younger in 10 Days . In 2022 Cherry launched a series with Channel 5, Women’s Healt...
Jan 26, 2023•1 hr 2 min•Season 5Ep. 20
Green MP Caroline Lucas and Vick Hope discuss feminism and Green Party principles and reveal which book from the list would benefit the Prime Minister. Caroline Lucas is the UK’s first Green MP, first elected as Member of Parliament for Brighton Pavilion in 2010. She served as leader of the Green Party of England and Wales from 2008 to 2012, and co-leader from 2016 to 2018. She is a passionate campaigner involved in a wide range of organisations including animal charities, theatres, environmenta...
Jan 19, 2023•42 min•Season 5Ep. 19
Historian Lucy Worsley sits down with Vick to talk about forgotten women, fan fiction from the 1930s and the misunderstandings around beloved crime writer Agatha Christie. Lucy Worsley OBE is a British historian, author, television presenter and chief curator of Historic Royal Palaces. Lucy has written numerous history books including: Queen Victoria: Daughter, Wife, Mother, Widow ; Jane Austen at Home: A Biography ; and The Courtiers: Splendor and Intrigue in the Georgian Court . She has presen...
Nov 09, 2022•37 min•Season 5Ep. 18
Sunday Times bestselling author Candice Brathwaite reveals how she found her voice, why the UK was long overdue an inclusive book on motherhood and how - if you let it - social media can stifle your best work. Candice’s debut book I’m Not Your Baby Mother was described by the Observer as ‘an essential exploration of the realities of black motherhood in the UK’. She is also the founder of Make Motherhood Diverse - an online initiative that lets more mothers see themselves reflected online. When s...
Nov 03, 2022•56 min•Season 5Ep. 17
Author and journalist, Dawn O’Porter joins Vick Hope to discuss everything from old Hollywood to Spice Girl Mania and reveals why she’s no longer hungry for fame. Dawn is a renowned broadcaster, novelist and journalist. She has made documentaries about everything from free love to childbirth, is the co-founder and director of refugee charity Choose Love and designs dresses for Joanie Clothing. Dawn is the bestselling author of eight books, including The Cows, So Lucky and her newest novel Cat La...
Oct 27, 2022•59 min•Season 5Ep. 16
2012 Women’s Prize winner Madeline Miller joins Vick Hope and explains why as a writer, you have to be your own biggest cheerleader. Madeline is a New York Times bestselling author and Women’s Prize for Fiction winner. Her debut novel The Song of Achilles came out in 2011 after a whopping 10 years of blood, sweat and tears, which all became worth it with its phenomenal success. Her next novel, Circe , came out in 2018 and is currently being adapted for television. Her latest book Galatea is a sh...
Oct 19, 2022•48 min•Season 5Ep. 15
Activist, broadcaster, author and founder of Mother Pukka, Anna Whitehouse delves into the underbelly of the internet and the fight for flexible working. Anna’s campaign, Flex Appeal has been quoted in parliament, featured on national TV and seen her lead lycra-clad flash mobs around UK town centres. Anna is also a columnist for Grazia, is co-presenter of the Dirty Mother Pukka Podcast, hosts her own Sunday night radio show on Heart FM and - with her husband - has co-authored two Sunday times be...
Oct 13, 2022•54 min•Season 5Ep. 14
For another very special bookshelfie episode, Noor Murad chats to Vick live from Wilderness Festival. The unbelievably talented Bahraini-British chef discusses the contradictions between private and public life in a Muslim country. After gaining work experience in Germany and New York, plus studying at the Culinary Institute of America for three years, Noor Murad eventually met Israeli chef Yottam Ottolenghi while working at the Spitalfields deli. She’s now the Head of the Ottolenghi Test Kitche...
Oct 06, 2022•36 min•Season 5Ep. 13
2020 Women’s Prize winner Maggie O’Farrell joins Vick Hope and reveals what it was like to win the prize over a zoom call and what level of research is really required to write a masterpiece like Hamnet . Maggie O’Farrell won the Women’s Prize for Fiction for her novel Hamnet - a moving exploration of death and grief in Elizabethan England told through the story of William Shakespeare’s real life son Hamnet. Maggie is the author of nine novels, the memoir I Am I Am I Am , and two children’s book...
Sep 28, 2022•46 min•Season 5Ep. 12
In a special episode in front of a live audience at Latitude Festival, Vick Hope talks to the hilarious, multi-award winning comedian, writer and actor Aisling Bea about her early career, writing and starring in her much loved Channel 4 show This Way Up , and becoming the face of loneliness. Armed with the stage name ‘Bea’, a tribute to her late father, Aisling broke away from the family tradition of working with horses to pursue a career in performing. After winning awards at the Edinburgh Frin...
Sep 21, 2022•52 min•Season 5Ep. 11
For this very special episode, Minnie Driver talks to Vick in front of a live audience in Bedford Square Gardens, London. The actor, author and singer opens up about her yearning for freedom and the pieces of herself that were sacrificed for fame. Minnie became known for her lead roles in Good Will Hunting and Circle of Friends . She broke into Hollywood where she performed in some incredible films, like The Governess and Hard Rain , alongside some equally incredible actors. She now has three st...
Jun 23, 2022•58 min•Season 5Ep. 10
Writer, academic and broadcaster Emma Dabiri talks about identity, ghost stories and why she could make a whole podcast about Toni Morrison's books. Emma’s first book, an essay collection called Don’t Touch My Hair , explores the way that colonisation, oppression and, ultimately, liberation are all expressed in Black women’s hair – and it gained critical acclaim from just about everyone. Emma’s second book - a Sunday Times bestseller - What White People Can Do Next: From Allyship to Coalition , ...
Jun 16, 2022•51 min•Season 5Ep. 9
Vick Hope speaks to the six brilliant authors who have been shortlisted for the 2022 Prize - Elif Shafak, Lisa Allen-Agostini, Louise Erdrich, Maggie Shipstead, Meg Mason and Ruth Ozeki. The winner of this year’s prize will be announced on June 15th. The 2022 shortlist: The Island of Missing Trees by Elif Shafak The Bread the Devil Knead by Lisa Allen-Agostini The Sentence by Louise Erdrich Great Circle by Maggie Shipstead Sorrow and Bliss by Meg Mason The Book of Form and Emptiness by Ruth Ozek...
Jun 09, 2022•41 min•Season 5Ep. 8
Presenter, broadcaster and author Laura Whitmore chats with Vick about their early MTV days, Love Island and why women should take up more space in a room. Best known for presenting shows like I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! NOW!, Survival of the Fittest and of course, Love Island , she has become a familiar face on our screens. But she’s also a regular voice on her own BBC Radio 5 Live series, The Laura Whitmore Show . She’s an actress, and she’s competed on Strictly and the Great Celebrit...
Jun 05, 2022•52 min•Season 5Ep. 7
Actor, producer and director Adjoa Andoh covers everything from Bridgerton to reincarnation and tells us why she doesn’t care about fame. Coined ‘the undisputed queen of audio and radio drama’ by Penguin Random House, Adjoa is now better known for her leading role as Lady Danbury in Bridgerton . For 30 years she was a BBC Radio actor, and was a welcome addition to popular TV shows like Doctor Who, Eastenders and Casualty . Her theatre credits are extensive, including Great Expectations and A Str...
May 26, 2022•47 min•Season 5Ep. 6
Singer and songwriter Joy Crookes talks about rude awakenings and the feeling of being ‘slapped in the face’ by books. Joy was initially recognised in 2013 for her cover of Hit the Road Jack which she posted on YouTube, gaining over 600,000 views (one of whom was to be her manager). Three years later, she released her debut single, New Manhattan, at just age 17. She went on to release her debut EP, Influence, with Speakerbox and Insanity Records, performing one of the songs on global music platf...
Apr 27, 2022•45 min•Season 5Ep. 5
Baroness Doreen Lawrence OBE shares her life of relentless campaigning for justice for her son, Stephen Lawrence. She’s a multi-award winning campaigner and an author, but most importantly she’s a fighter. Her tireless campaigning led to the MacPherson inquiry, which described the Metropolitan Police as “institutionally racist”. In 2003, she was given an OBE for services to community relations and founded the Stephen Lawrence Charitable Trust to promote community legacy in her son’s name. Her me...
Apr 20, 2022•50 min•Season 5Ep. 4
Activist and author Scarlett Curtis celebrates Virginia Woolf and her brave and trailblazing attitude to mental health. Former Women’s Prize for Fiction judge, Scarlett, is co-founder of The Pink Protest which has helped change two laws: a bill to help end period poverty and another to include FGM in the Children’s Act. She’s curated two books, Feminists Don’t Wear Pink (and Other Lies) and It’s Not Okay to Feel Blue (and Other Lies) ; the former is a National Book Award winner. Her podcast, Fem...
Apr 15, 2022•51 min•Season 5Ep. 3
Campaigner, Gina Miller tells Vick Hope how she has taken adversity and turned it into power. Gina is a businesswoman and dedicated philanthropist who strongly believes in standing up for what she thinks is right, no matter the cost. She has shown this through her social justice work, her True and Fair Campaign, and through the legal challenges she launched against the government during Brexit. Her memoir, Rise , tells Gina’s remarkable story. Gina’s book choices are: ** The Art of War for Women...
Apr 06, 2022•42 min•Season 5Ep. 2
Join this season’s new host Vick Hope as she talks to Gabby Logan MBE, sports presenter and former gymnast, about the three M’s – midlife, motherhood and her MBE. Gabby is a broadcaster, prolific writer, podcaster and former gymnast. She became a familiar face on our TV screens in the 1990s, and since then has presented every major sporting event in the UK. In 2020 she received an MBE for services to sports broadcasting and the promotion of women in sport. Gabby tells us about the loves and loss...
Mar 30, 2022•53 min•Season 5Ep. 1
In a special episode to mark International Women’s Day 2022, multi-award winning author, screenwriter and playwright Malorie Blackman OBE joins host Zawe Ashton to tell her why writing about black joy is so important to her. After being discouraged from being a teacher because of the colour of her skin, Malorie went on to write over 70 children’s, YA and picture books (some of which have been adapted into hugely successful TV dramas and stage plays), and was the first black Children’s Laureate b...
Mar 10, 2022•1 hr 1 min•Season 4Ep. 10
We are closing the season with a bang as multi award-winning singer songwriter Emeli Sandé joins host Zawe Ashton to tell her how women’s writing supported her through her journey from quiet medical student to chart-topping megastar. Emeli doesn’t really need an introduction, as you’ve undoubtedly heard of her, or her incredible music. She’s got an MBE, she performed at the London Olympics opening AND closing ceremonies, and she’s been making brilliant music for over a decade. She’s one of those...
Dec 22, 2021•1 hr 9 min•Season 4Ep. 9
Journalist and writer Bim Adewunmi talks about why female desire needs to be brought out of the shadows and explains why women’s fiction is about more than pastel coloured covers and 3 for 2 tables at bookshops. Bim is a producer at the infamous storytelling podcast This American Life but was thrust in to the spotlight through her own show, Thirst Aid Kit - a musing on female desire and lust - which she co-hosted with writer Nichole Perkins from 2017 to 2020. She’s a former Guardian columnist an...
Dec 16, 2021•1 hr 3 min•Season 4Ep. 8
Actor, presenter and advocate Jameela Jamil tells Zawe why we need to own the narrative around women’s bodies. Jameela started out on T4 in 2009, before becoming the first solo female presenter of the Radio 1 Chart show. But it was her move to the States in 2016 which really propelled her into the international spotlight. Taking on acting for the first time, she landed a role in the NBC series The Good Place, she’s appeared in numerous films and TV shows and has recently been cast by Marvel. All...
Dec 02, 2021•1 hr 4 min•Season 4Ep. 7
Activist, playwright, novelist, critic, broadcaster and ‘searcher’ Bonnie Greer tells Zawe about the power of being on the outside looking in. Bonnie is one of the UK’s most influential black cultural figures - having played a part in running numerous major institutions including the British Museum, the Royal Opera House, London Film School, RADA, Serpentine Gallery and Theatre Royal Stratford East. You may well have seen her on TV, as a regular contributor to Newsnight Late Review, or a panelis...
Nov 25, 2021•1 hr 2 min•Season 4Ep. 6
Film director Nia DaCosta chats to Zawe Ashton about directing the new Marvel film - The Marvels and why she’s proud of the label ‘black, female director’. Nia is an American Director and Screenwriter. Her debut feature film Little Woods , which she wrote and directed, won her the Nora Ephron Prize at the Tribeca Film Festival and her ambitious update of the classic 1990s horror film Candyman was released earlier this year to critical acclaim, addressing issues such as racial justice, gentrifica...
Nov 17, 2021•1 hr 1 min•Season 4Ep. 5
