Q&A: Martha Kearney - Woman’s Hour

Published Friday 6 October 2006 at 12:05 by Liz Thomas

Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour turns 60 this Saturday, October 7 and the station is planning a whole day of celebration as well as a gala concert to mark the occasion. The Stage talks to presenter Martha Kearney about the show.

Why has Woman’s Hour made it to 60?

Because the programme has made such a huge effort to stay in touch with a modern audience with an immense range of subjects which appeals not just to women but increasingly large numbers of men - 40% of our audience.

How do you feel it has changed over the years?

The first items in 1946 included items on cooking with whale meat and how to hang your husband’s suit. I don’t think either of those would appear today! It has maintained those traditional areas like cooking, gardening, even knitting - which we are doing next week with Tracey Ullman - along with issues like politics, equal rights issues, work/life balance, changing ideas of masculinity, childcare.

Best/worst Woman’s Hour moment?

Best has to be when we made a special Woman’s Hour programme from Afghanistan after the fall of the Taliban. It is such a fascinating country. Worst has to be when I had a terrible coughing fit on air and ended up under the table while my poor guests carried on without me.

How do you keep your interest and the format fresh?

The variety keeps me going from interviewing novelists like Hilary Mantel or Rose Tremain, chefs like Gordon Ramsay or the world’s most famous women like Hillary Clinton, Jane Fonda or Cherie Blair.

How did you get into broadcasting?

I started at LBC radio just off Fleet Street.

Do you think women and men have an equal status in the industry?

I think the position of women has improved hugely over my time in the job but we have yet to have a female director-general at the BBC or head of ITV or Channel 4. I think it’s still the case that more attention is paid to a woman’s appearance on screen than that of men.

Does sexual discrimination still occur?

Not on the programmes I work on - Woman’s Hour and Newsnight.

What advice would you give those starting out?

Be extremely persistent. The BBC wouldn’t interview me after university and I wrote to every commercial radio station - hardly any replied.