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Weekend Woman's Hour: Leigh-Anne Pinnock, Rescuing seal pups, Tell-all celebrity memoirs

The chart-topping singer Leigh-Anne Pinnock speaks to us about her new memoir, Believe, all about her childhood, Little Mix and how she found her voice.

Leigh-Anne Pinnock - a name you may know, as a member of one of the biggest girl bands in the world, Little Mix. This year - almost two years since the band announced a hiatus - Leigh-Anne has embarked on her own solo career. She tells Anita Rani about her new memoir Believe, all about her life growing up, what it was really like going through The X Factor and how she found her voice.

Ukraine claims it has identified 20,000 children who it alleges have been abducted by Russia since the start of the war. Arrest warrants have been issued to President Putin and his Commissioner for Children's Rights. It's the subject of the latest work from film-maker Shahida Tulaganova, who joins us to discuss her ITV documentary Ukraine's Stolen Children.

Lizzi Larbalestier has cared for 139 seals in her home in Cornwall. She also helped set up a new seal hospital with the British Divers Marine Life Rescue, and has just won an animal action award from the International Fund for Animal Welfare.

Ruth Birch and Julia Curry are a couple from South Wales. They met as young women in the British Army, but had to leave because of the pressure they were under to lie about their sexuality and conceal their relationship. The stress led to them breaking up, but 20 years later they reunited. They join us to share their story.

Britney Spears has been in the news again after spilling personal stories in a memoir. Are women being pressured to overshare in order to sell books? And are men also expected to publicise their personal lives? Nina Stibbe, whose newest memoir is Went to London, Took the Dog, and Caroline Sanderson, Associate Editor of The Bookseller, joins us to discuss.

Presenter: Anita Rani
Producer: Lucy Wai

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56 minutes

Broadcast

  • Sat 28 Oct 2023 16:00

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