Surviving cancer five times, Government's independent rape advisor, Miners’ strike 40 years on, My Life with the Walter Boys

Violence and abuse against shop workers rose to 1,300 incidents a day last year, up by 50% in the year to September 2023. That's according to new figures by the British Retail Consortium. Nuala hears from Michele Whitehead, a workplace rep for USDAW who has worked at a convenience store in Wolverhampton for 20 years.

Dr Natalie Yates-Bolton is 57 and has survived cancer five times. The senior lecturer in nursing was first diagnosed at the age of 22 whilst still at university. She's had 11 operations, 30 sessions of chemotherapy and 55 rounds of radiotherapy. Natalie joins Nuala McGovern to discuss what’s helped her get through three decades of cancer care.

Professor Katrin Hohl is the new independent advisor to the Government on rape. She joins Nuala to discuss her new role, and her priorities for change.

Forty years ago next month most of the coal miners in the UK went on strike over pit closures and proposed redundancies. The strike lasted a year and was one of the most divisive conflicts of a generation. On Sunday, BBC Two is broadcasting Miners’ Strike: A frontline Line Story, which features personal testimony from men and women on the frontline of the strike. Nuala’s joined by two women who were there at the time to discuss their experiences: Lisa McKenzie appears in the film and was a teenager when her dad was on the picket lines and Heather Wood was also very active in the strike.

My Life with the Walter Boys is a teen drama on Netflix that hit 12 million views in it’s first week alone. It was adapted from a book written by Ali Novak when she was just 15 years old. She joins Nuala to talk about the transformation of her book to a hit series along with the executive producer who adapted the story, Melanie Halsall.

Presenter: Nuala McGovern Producer: Dianne McGregor