Woman’s Hour

Masturbation, homosexuality, the Pill, frigidity, transsexuality, impotence and flatulence — complete with sound effects — were all taboo subjects on radio until they were brought into the open on the BBC’s Woman’s Hour, which, although never quite shaking off its middle-class, Home Counties tone, was never as cosy as some supposed.

This clever mix of Women’s Institute and women’s lib has certainly changed. Debuting in the grey days of rationing and food coupons on 7 October 1946, the daily programme has evolved from post-war domestic guidance into a sharp, agenda-setting cultural institution that attracts millions of listeners.

The history of the programme, through austerity, affluence, permissiveness, feminism, Thatcherism and post-Thatcherism, is almost the story of women in Britain since the end of the Second World War.

The programme was conceived by Norman Collins, creator of the Light Programme, to help women with their domestic lives in the one hour they were presumed to have to themselves (2.00 pm to 3.00 pm) while doing the washing-up.

Despite early segments focusing on light topics like rationing and “how to de-slime your flannels” – encompassing topics such as cookery, infant welfare, poultry keeping, tennis, beauty culture, electricity in the home, society gossip and gardening – Woman’s Hour quickly transformed into a radical space,

It broke massive broadcasting taboos by openly discussing equal pay, menopause, and – in 1960 – bringing the first mass-media discussion of postnatal depression to the UK.

The show officially transitioned to its permanent home on BBC Radio 4 in 1973.

Over its decades on the air, the microphone has been passed to some of the UK’s most formidable broadcasters, including Jenni Murray and Jane Garvey.

Today, it maintains its reputation as a sharp, thought-provoking forum for women’s perspectives worldwide.

Presenters
Alan Ivimey (1946)
Mary Hill (1946 – 1963)
Joan Griffiths (1947 – 1949)
Olive Shapley (1949 – 1953)
Jean Metcalfe (1950 – 1968)
Violet Carson (1952 – 1956)
Marjorie Anderson (1958 – 1972)
Teresa McGonagle (1958 – 1976)
Judith Chalmers (1966 – 1970)
Sue MacGregor (1972 – 1987)
Jenni Murray (1987 – 2020)
Martha Kearney (1998 – 2007)
Jane Garvey (2007 – 2020)