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Weekend Woman's Hour: Birgitte Hjort Sorensen; Lady Justice Hallett; Scrunchies

Birgitte Hjort Sorensen. Lady Justice Hallett. Raising children in Fiji and China. Michelle Young. Family politics at Christmas. Aspergers in women and girls. With Jane Garvey.

Birgitte Hjort Sorensen on Danish TV drama Borgen and playing Virgilia in Coriolanus. Michelle Young tells Jane about her 'fight for equality' in one of the UK's most colourful divorce cases. Child care around the world - we hear very different experiences in Fiji and China. And, love it or loathe it, the scrunchie is back. We talk about the best way to wear a scrunchie and if it's really fashionable to tie your hair back like its 1985 with Amber Jane Butchart and Leillah Sekalala. Singer Susan Boyle has revealed she has Aspergers, a form of Autism. Why is the condition so hard to diagnose in women and what is the impact of finding out later in life? Sarah Hewitt and Dr Judith Gould, from the National Autistic Society Lorna Wing Centre for Autism discuss. And the politics of a family Christmas, with Ulrika Johnson.

Presenter: Jane Garvey
Producer: Katie Langton
Output Editor: Jane Thurlow.

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58 minutes

Birgitte Hjort 厂酶谤别苍蝉别苍

Birgitte Hjort plays ambitious reporter Katrine Fonsmark in , 91热爆4鈥檚 hit Danish TV series that follows the life of Denmark鈥檚 fictional first female prime minister. She also takes on the role of Virgilia in Coriolanus at the Donmar Warehouse in London this month. So how much is the real life Sorensen like her characters? And what鈥檚 it like being part of such a successful Danish export?

Starting next Monday and running all week on Radio 4 is , a radio spinoff from the popular TV series. Read more about聽the drama series聽.

Michelle Young and the multi-million pound divorce

Described as the most colourful divorce case in British legal history, for seven years Michelle Young has pursued her property developer husband Scot, claiming he has hidden billions of pounds in a complex web of offshore trusts and companies. Michelle joins Jane to talk about what she regards as a fight for equality. Family lawyer and mediator, Julia Thackray, talks about the complications of divorce law, whether an assumption of an equal divide of assets is reasonable and do the laws in this area need updating?

The Return of the Scrunchie

Carrie Bradshaw, in Sex and the City, famously declared that 鈥渘o woman would be caught dead at a hip downtown restaurant wearing a scrunchie鈥 - and yet the likes of Cara Delevigne, Cressida Bonas and Hilary Clinton have all been seen sporting the 1980s favourite recently and they鈥檝e been featured in Vivienne Westwood, Missoni and Louis Vuitton catwalk shows. What鈥檚 the best way to wear a scrunchie and is it really fashionable to tie your hair back like its 1985?

Asperger Syndrome in Women

Susan Boyle has revealed aged 52 that she has Asperger Syndrome a form of autism. It鈥檚 estimated that one in five people with autism is over聽60, according to the National Autistic Society. We look at the particular difficulties of identifying the condition in women and whether the services they鈥檙e offered following diagnosis are geared up for meeting their needs.聽

More information and advice can be found through

Lady Justice Hallett

Lady Justice Hallett was eighth on the Woman's Hour聽Power List. She is one of the country鈥檚 leading appeal court judges and she was the first woman to chair the Bar Council in 1998. She acted as the Coroner at the inquest into the July 7 London bombings in 2005, a role which won her great praise for the dignity and humanity she brought to the proceedings. She joins Jenni to discuss her career and her place on the Power List.

Childcare Around the World: China

What鈥檚 the best way to after small children if the parents need, or want, to work? The 91热爆 World Service asked reporter, Madeline Morris to look at different models of childcare around the world. Today she looks at boarding kindergarten schools in China where children weekly board from the age of three and see their parents only at weekends.

to more on alternative childcare from the World Service.

The Politics of Christmas

We鈥檙e talking about the politics of organising your family Christmas. How harmonious are the negotiations in your family? Do you love getting everyone together or resent every moment? And what about present buying - who makes the rules on what to buy and how much to spend? Are you happy to go along with the majority or are you fed up with others dictating YOUR Christmas? Ulrika Jonsson, presenter and mother of four, talks to Jane about how to cope with the politics of Christmas.

Credits

Role Contributor
Presenter Jane Garvey
Interviewed Guest Birgitte Hjort Sorensen
Interviewed Guest Michelle Young
Interviewed Guest Amber Jane Butchart
Interviewed Guest Leillah Sekalala
Interviewed Guest Sarah Hewitt
Interviewed Guest Judith Gould
Interviewed Guest Ulrika Jonsson
Producer Katie Langton
Editor Jane Thurlow

Broadcast

  • Sat 14 Dec 2013 16:00

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