Woman’s Hour at 70: The best bits

For the last seventy years, Woman’s Hour has been entertaining listeners with its compelling combination of wit, warmth, insight and humour. As you’d imagine, the programme has had its fair share of memorable moments. So, here are just a few to celebrate this auspicious anniversary…

Dame Lilian Braithwaite
2 February 1948
One of the early recordings of Woman’s Hour features the English actress Dame Lilian Braithwaite, who shared her passion for the theatre and the importance of an engaged audience for the ‘Why I Love My Profession’ section.

Lillian Gish
19 January 1957
Dubbed the First Lady of American Cinema, Lillian Gish, whose career spanned 75 years, talked fondly about the transition to talkies and why mental asylums inspired her silent film acting techniques.

Mary Richardson
12 September 1957
Mary Richardson was at the forefront of the Suffragette Movement. She also smuggled a chopper into London’s National Gallery, where she slashed the Rokeby Venus painting as an act of defiance against the government for, as she put it, “destroying” the movement’s leader, Emmeline Pankhurst.

Enid Blyton
13 January 1963
A children’s writer who needs no introduction, Enid Blyton shared how her desire to inspire children to live moral, happy lives motivated her writing.

Dame Kathleen Lonsdale
8 November 1967
Considered one of the leading women in science, thanks to her discovery that the benzene ring is flat, the prolific crystallographer considered the role of science in society and how she balanced family with a high-flying career.

Mary Quant
31 March 1971
The dynamic designer, Mary Quant, talked about what inspired her to create a number of her iconic styles, from the mini skirt to the ‘wet’ look.

Meryl Streep
4 November 1981
The multi-award winning actor might have discussed The French Lieutenant’s Woman and how she got to grips with an English accent for her starring role, but she also opened up, rather poignantly, about her newfound joy at being a mother.

Margaret Atwood
3 June 1987
Few other feminist novels have managed to capture readers’ imagination like Margaret Atwood’s dystopian masterpiece, The Handmaid’s Tale, which imagines a future United States run by a deeply oppressive Christian cult and examines women as subjugated beings. In this interview, the author sheds a light on what led her to write such a book.

Margaret Thatcher
18 October 1993
The first woman to be elected Prime Minister of Britain, who also became the longest to serve in the twentieth century, gave listeners an insight into leading the country through the Falklands War, the miners’ strike, negotiations with Europe, the Downing Street years - and why she felt ‘sick at heart’ when her cabinet deserted her.

Monica Lewinsky
27 December 1999
In an exclusive interview, the former White House intern, Monica Lewinsky, took over an entire edition of the programme to talk about her affair with President Bill Clinton during the Nineties.

Tracey Emin
19 May 2011
The introduction of a monthly Late Night Woman’s Hour with Lauren Laverne in January of this year has proven popular, examining everything from purity to masturbation in depth. While we’re on the subject of self-love, who could forget that moment when artist, Tracey Emin, asked Woman's Hour presenter, Jenni Murray, if she masturbated?

Oprah Winfrey
15 November 2013
The Queen of American Chatshow enjoyed considering how growing up surrounded by African-American Freedom Riders (who launched a number of bus trips through the American South to protest segregation at bus terminals) drove her ambition.

Angelina Jolie
17 June 2016
As a part of this summer’s Woman’s Hour Takeover, Angelina Jolie stepped into the hot seat. She focused on women surviving sexual violence in conflict, women’s health issues in refugee camps, how she is teaching her own children and why she has been so open about her preventative surgery after discovering she carried the gene associated with cancer that led to her mother’s death.

Amy Schumer
6 September 2016
Only last month, the rip-roaringly-successful stand-up comedienne told Woman’s Hour presenter, Jane Garvey, the harrowing way in which she lost her virginity and why more needs to be done to raise awareness over what is and isn’t acceptable when it comes to consensual sex.

Woman’s Hour is going digital. Look out for more features like this one, exclusive videos with the programme’s guests, and gifs to make your heart soar. Follow us @BBCWomansHour.