I joined a discussion on wild swimming, its history and benefits, hosted by Georgina Godwin, with Ruth Rose of the Seaford Mermaids and Isabel Hardman, on Times Radio Continue reading
Category Archives: Broadcasting
The Ponds on BBC4
The hit film The Ponds will be aired on BBC Four tonight, July 22nd. It was previously aired last May, under the title Swimming through the Seasons: The Hampstead Ponds. Continue reading
Favourite Children’s Book
The Royal Literary Fund’s ‘In Focus’ presents short films featuring RLF writers. In the latest film, we respond to the question ‘What’s Your Favourite Children’s Book?’ I chose Lima’s Red Hot Chilli. Watch the film. Continue reading
Inside Holloway
Channel 5 have re run their Inside Holloway documentary that first aired in 2014, in which I talk about the first women to be executed at Holloway, Edwardian baby farmers Amelia Sach and Annie Walters. It was during filming that I heard there were recently discovered archives inside the prison. Unfortunately, after the programme… Continue reading
Writer’s Block
Vox is a series of bite-size audio recordings in which Royal Literary Fund Fellows explore topics around writing. I attempt to respond to the issue of ‘Writer’s Block‘… Continue reading
Marketing & Me
Vox is a series of bite-size audio recordings in which Royal Literary Fund Fellows explore topics around writing. Here I attempt to respond to the issue of ‘Marketing and Me’… Continue reading
The Ponds nominated for National Film Awards
The Ponds has been nominated for Best Documentary at the annual National Film Awards UK. The awards will be broadcast on March 20th. See the full list of nominations here and vote for the winner here. Continue reading
RLF Podcast
I attempted to interview dad for the Royal Literary Fund Podcast, discussing how publishing has changed since his first books were published in the 1960s. Listen here Continue reading
‘Favourite Book in Translation’
The Royal Literary Fund’s ‘In Focus’ presents short films featuring RLF writers. In the latest film, we respond to the question ‘What’s Your Favourite Book in Translation?’ Mine is Mrs Pepperpot! Watch the film here Continue reading
‘Why I Write’
Vox is a series of bite-size audio recordings in which Royal Literary Fund writers explore topics around writing. Here I attempt to respond to the question of ‘Why I Write’… Listen Continue reading
World This Weekend: Thames swimming
Today’s The World This Weekend on BBC Radio4 focused on climate change, and included a segment on the clean up of the River Thames. I was asked to talk about Downstream and the history of swimmers. Continue reading
The Ponds on BBC TV
The hit film The Ponds will be aired on BBC Four on May 20th, at 9pm, with the slightly different title of Swimming through the Seasons. Tune in for a ‘heartwarming celebration of eccentricity and sheer bloody-mindedness’ from some ‘unusual people’ (!) Continue reading
Soyez Synchro!
Filmmaker Anne-Sophie Gomez has made a series of short thematic videos about swimming pools in art. In her latest, Soyez Synchro!, she takes a look at synchronized swimming, which features an appearance by Agnes Beckwith and Daisy Belle. It includes some beautiful archive shots of synchronized swimming routines. Watch the full video here. Continue reading
RLF Short Film
The Royal Literary Fund’s ‘In Focus’ presents short films featuring RLF writers. In the latest film, we responded to the question ‘What Book Are You Reading at The Moment?’ Watch the film here Continue reading
‘How I Write’ Royal Literary Fund recording
RLF Fellows feature in regular, bite-sized audio recordings, exploring issues related to the writing life. Here’s mine on ‘How I Write’. Listen here Continue reading
The Ponds film premiere
The Ponds: Still Waters Run Deep follows the swimmers of Hampstead Heath over the course of a year. It’s a joyous film that really captures the spirit of pond swimming, at a place where people having been enjoying the waters since the early 1800s. Watch a trailer here. The film, directed and produced by Patrick… Continue reading
Daisy Belle on BBC Radio London
October 12th I joined Yasmeen Khan on BBC Radio London to chat about Daisy Belle and the history of swimming in London. Listen here (1hour, 8 mins into the programme) Continue reading
Bad Girls Podcast
I joined the team at the Standard Issue podcast to discuss ‘The real women of Holloway Prison.’ Listen here Continue reading
Standard Issue Podcast
August 8th Yesterday I met the fantastic team from the Standard Issue podcast, editor Mickey Noonan and deputy editor Hannah Dunleavy. The podcast was founded by comedian Sarah Millican, to provide a mix of news, stories and entertainment and not to ‘pander to society’s narrow definition of what women are interested in’. We met at… Continue reading
Women Pulverise Records
Manchester Metropolitan University have released videos of their Sports and Leisure Symposium held on the Cheshire campus in February 2016, including my talk on ‘Pulverising Records: Forgotten Women Champions and the Victorian Art of Swimming the Thames.’ The videos can be found on Playing Pasts, the online magazine for Sports and Leisure History. Watch the… Continue reading
Badass Women’s Hour
I joined ‘Inspirational Conversations’ on talkRADIO’s award winning Badass Women’s Hour on May 12th, to talk about the inmates and staff of Holloway Prison. Listen here Continue reading
Monocle 24 interview
I chatted about Bad Girls, the history of Holloway Prison and what will happen to the prison site now, with Georgina Godwin on The Weekend Edition, Monocle 24 Radio. Continue reading
Interview on the Yasmeen Khan Show
I talked about Bad Girls and the 164-year old history of Holloway Prison with Yasmeen Khan on talkRADIO. Questions ranged from ‘what is the point of prison?’ to what should be done with the derelict Holloway Prison site. Listen here Continue reading
Interview with Woman’s Hour
I chatted to Tina Daheley on Woman’s Hour, BBC Radio4, about Bad Girls and the inmates of Holloway Prison – including Selina Salter, a young girl imprisoned 60 times in the 1860s, the Duchess of Sutherland, jailed in 1893 for contempt of court, and the thousands of Jewish refugees locked up in World War Two… Continue reading
The great reformer Mary Size
After speaking about Mary Size on the Moncrieff Show, two relatives have been in touch to say how happy they are that Mary is ‘finally getting the recognition she deserves’ for her work within the English penal system. They explained that Mary began her career as a English teacher at a local school in County… Continue reading
Interview with the Moncrieff Show
I chatted to Sean Moncrieff on Newstalk about the history of Holloway Prison, and particularly the great reformer Mary Size (below) who hailed from County Galway. Mary was born in 1883 and became a prison wardress after moving to England. In 1927 she was appointed Deputy Governor of Holloway and introduced a whole range of… Continue reading
Interview with Jo Good, BBC Radio London
Jo Good has long been interested in prison – she once played a prison officer in the 1999 TV mini series Daylight Robbery – and she had plenty of questions to ask about both inmates and governors at Holloway. She found Bad Girls ‘such a good read…fascinating.’ Listen here Continue reading
Feature on Open Book: suffragette reading in prison
I joined Open Book, BBC Radio 4, to explain the importance of books to the suffragettes imprisoned in Holloway. While their cells were provided with a book on domestic hygiene, A Perfect Home and How to Keep It, the suffragettes wanted a more challenging read. Some favoured Dickens’ prison novels, others chose the work of… Continue reading