
Woman's Hour
Woman's Hour
UEFA's VP Laura McAllister, playwright Beth Steel, film director Gurinder Chadha
July 4, 2025
56 minutes
Available for over a year
Laura McAllister is the Vice-President of UEFA. During her own football career Laura was the captain of Wales' women's team, gaining 24 caps for her country. Wales have qualified for this year's Euros for the first time and will play their debut match tomorrow, as will England who are defending their title after winning at Wembley in 2022. Laura joins Datshiane Navanayagam ahead of those first games.
Award-winning playwright Beth Steel tells Datshiane how her working-class, northern roots inspire her hit play Till The Stars Come Down. Set at the wedding of Sylvia and Marek - the vodka flows and dances are shared, passions boil over and the limits of love are tested. She becomes the fifth female playwright to transfer from the National Theatre to the West End.
The film director Gurinder Chadha has released a trailer to celebrate this summer's cricket fixtures between England and India's women's teams. She joins Datshiane to discuss why she's chosen to put women's cricket under the spotlight and the legacy of her last hit film about women's sport, Bend It Like Beckham.
The musical icon Angélique Kidjo has become the first black African performer to be selected for a star on the prestigious Hollywood Walk of Fame. Kidjo, who comes from the West African country of Benin, and has won five Grammy awards, was among the 35 names announced as part of the Walk of Fame's class of 2026 list. Music journalist Kate Hutchinson tells us more.
Presenter: Datshiane Navanayagam
Producer: Corinna Jones