Women With Balls

Dehenna Davison is the MP for Bishop Auckland, and a rising star in Boris Johnson's 2019 'red wall' intake. On this episode, recorded just after Conservative party conference, Dehenna tells Katy about what it was like to lose her father to a pub brawl so young, getting her work marked in Latin by Jacob Rees-Mogg and her plans to go to a Taylor Swift concert with the Foreign Secretary Liz Truss. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sarah Rainsford was a BBC foreign correspondent stationed in Moscow for 20 years until August when the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) declared Rainsford a national security threat. They expelled her from Russia and gave her only three weeks to pack up her things, bring home her husband and their dog. On the podcast, Sarah goes back to her youth to share how she fell into learning Russian and the adventures she got up to as a Cambridge student during her year abroad in St Petersburg during the fall of the Soviet Union.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Joanna Scanlan, an actress best known for her role of Terri in the The Thick of It, had a long and winding road before becoming a star of stage and screen. Born in Cheshire and moved to Wales aged three, she went to two convent schools before an Anglican school where she broke every possible rule she could. On the podcast she talks about her dreams of becoming an actor, working first at the arts council and as a lecturer whilst pursuing her love of acting. In her new film After Love, she plays a woman uncovering the secret life of her late husband, which is out now. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Trudy Harrison is the Conservative MP for Copeland and currently works as the Prime Minster's Parliamentary Private Secretary. On the podcast, she talks about how when she was younger she always thought she'd be a nanny and how that maternal nature developed into her own childcare business, then local politics and finally the House of Commons. Trudy also bought in a bunch of her own home grown flowers for the podcast team, making her one of our favourite guests ever.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Katie Perrior is a public relations expert who co-founded inHouse Communications. She's worked for two prime ministers and several senior Tory MPs, and today her clients include the spiritsmaker Diageo and the football Super League. On the podcast, she talks about leaning into Boris Johnson's rambunctious style on the London mayoralty campaign; coming into blows with Theresa May's chief advisors Nick Timothy and Fiona Hill; and, reflecting on the Super League disaster, how there are more liars in football than even in politics. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Polly Morgan is an artist whose trade is taxidermy. She recently won the First Plinth Award, and in her time has sold to celebrity clients including Kate Moss and Courtney Love. On the podcast, she tells Katy about her unusual childhood growing up on a farm with ostriches, goats and llamas; why she got fired by Prue Leith; and the ins and outs of taxidermy. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The past year has served as a reminder how quickly one's personal circumstances can change. In uncertain times such as these, financial resilience is more important than ever. But whilst savings for some Brits have surged in the pandemic, it's not been the case for everyone. 41pc of UK households could not last more than three months without their main source of income. If you are in a bad place, what are the best steps?Katy Balls is joined by Tracey Crouch, Conservative MP and former minister for sports, civil society and loneliness, who's also been a leading campaigner on gambling reform; Bridget Phillipson, shadow chief secretary to the Treasury; and Nicola Bannister, Lloyds Banking Group's Collections Effectiveness Director for Retail.Sponsored by Lloyds Banking Group. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Katy Searle is the Executive Editor of Politics at BBC News. She is known for overseeing numerous blockbuster political moments, including the infamous kitchen interviews with Ed Miliband and David Cameron, where the Labour leader showed off his two kitchens. On the podcast, she talks to Katy Balls about leaving school at 16, working with Rod Liddle on the Today programme and what it's like to produce interviews with prime ministers. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Over the last year of intermittent lockdowns, most of us have spent more time staring at the four walls of our living room than we ever thought possible. One of the biggest factors affecting someone's pandemic experience is the type of accommodation they're in, and 8.4 million people in England are living in unaffordable, insecure or unsuitable homes. There are, however, attempts being made to help fix the problem, with promises to build new homes, a stamp duty holiday, and a new mortgage guarantee system. To discuss the problem of unaffordable homes, and the potential solutions, Katy Balls is joined on this sponsored podcast by Thangam Debbonaire, the shadow secretary of state for housing; Natalie Elphicke, the Conservative MP for Dover and chair of the New Homes Quality Board; and Esther Dijkstra, the managing director of intermediaries at Lloyds Banking Group.Sponsored by Lloyds Banking Group. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Nusrat Ghani is the Conservative MP for Wealden, having previously served as a transport minister under the May then Johnson governments. On the podcast, she tells Katy Balls about her upbringing under a father who was a headteacher; how she narrowly escaped arranged marriage through university; and how it feels to be one of nine Brits to be sanctioned by the Chinese Communist Party. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.