Vicki Pepperdine, Beauty pageants in 2019, Labour women for leader - a podcast by BBC Radio 4

Worzel Gummidge is back this Christmas with a remake of the classic books by Barbara Euphan Todd. Vicki Pepperdine - star of ‘Getting On’ and podcast ‘Dear Joan and Jericha’ - plays the fairground doll Aunt Sally. But this is a very different character from the rosy-cheeked femme fatale made famous by Una Stubbs. How has the story been updated for the modern day? What’s it like to spend hours having your head wrapped in latex? And what’s the attraction to playing female roles that defy expectation?

For the first time, five major beauty pageants - Miss Universe, Miss World, Miss America, Miss USA and Miss Teen USA - have been won by black women. People around the world have seen this as a milestone in representation. But are beauty pageants still relevant and necessary in 2019? And can these competitions be feminist? Salma Haidrani is a journalist who documented her experiences as a contestant in Miss England’s 2018 heats. Tanya Gold is a journalist at the Guardian. Leanne Levers is a political scientist.

There are currently six women being discussed as a future Labour leader: Jess Phillips, Lisa Nandy, Emily Thornberry, Rebecca Long-Bailey, Angela Rayner and Yvette Cooper. How likely is it that the Labour Party will select a woman? And what do Labour’s women voters want from the party’s next leader – both those who voted for them this time – and, those who cast their vote elsewhere?

Presenter - Jane Garvey
Producer - Anna Lacey
Interviewed guest - Vicki Pepperdine
Interviewed guest - Salma Haidrani
Interviewed guest - Tanya Gold
Interviewed guest - Leanne Levers
Interviewed guest - Helen Lewis
Interviewed guest - Helen Pidd

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