Hour friend in the North

Broadcaster Jenni Murray is hanging up the Woman’s Hour mic later this year, but she still has plenty to say

- Susan Griffi

Dame Jenni Murray recently announced she’s leaving Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour after 33 years at the helm. Some people might see this as another example of the BBC’s seemingly new ‘out with the old’ mentality, but the acclaimed broadcaster turned 70 in May, so perhaps it’s no surprise she’s keen to embark on a new chapter.

When we chat, it’s a couple of weeks before the announcement is made and she firmly tells me ‘retirement is not on my agenda’, highlighting the sharpest people she knows are the ones who keep themselves busy in their later years. There’s little doubt then we’ll continue to hear Jenni’s familiar voice on the airwaves following her final episode of Woman’s Hour on October 1, and can expect more books, too.

Over the years, she’s written about historical female figures, the menopause and raising boys [she has two sons, Ed and Charlie]. Her latest tome is Fat Cow, Fat Chance: The Science and Psychology of Size.

‘I love going on tour and talking to people and we had one planned, it’s absolutely delightful, but that’s all been put on hold,’ says Jenni, who examines her own struggles with weight throughout the book, as well as the wider factors that contribute to obesity.

‘I think the reason men and women will be interested in the book is that it explains why some of us can eat as many chips as we like and not put on an ounce, and others of us look at a chip and put on half a stone,’ she explains.