The Queen, a Spice Girl and holding politicians to account: our verdict on Emma Barnett’s first Woman’s Hour

As first days back to work after the Christmas break go, Emma Barnett’s was particularly daunting. Today was her debut show as presenter of Woman’s Hour, a programme that has elicited fervent responses ever since it started on BBC Radio 4 75 years ago.

Presenting this juggernaut of a programme is a tough gig. Not only do you have to be at the helm of a live show about the stories of the day going out to 3.5 million listeners a week, but you will be scrutinised; people have strong opinions about a show with the word “woman” in the title.

There are those who say it marginalises issues as just for women (45 per cent of listeners are men), others who say it is preaching to the converted with liberal takes tempered by twee cooking and crafts. Then there are the devoted listeners who are firmly attached to the previous presenters, Jenni Murray and Jane Garvey, who have both left after 33 years and 13 years respectively. They like the cooking and crafts and are unsure about the show going in a new direction.

But Barnett is seemingly unfazed by all this noise. She hit the ground running, as you would expect from a woman who has fast earned a reputation as an interviewer who does not let her subjects off the hook, however important they think they are. I am a huge admirer of Jane Garvey and Jenni Murray but Barnett injected the show with new energy.

She presented a compelling, informative and varied show that set the news agenda. The guests were impressive – she began with a message from one of the most influential women in the world, the Queen, who stated how she saw the programme, as a friend, guide and advocate. Barnett succeeded in this but that’s not to say she let anyone off lightly. She has a keen news sense – she knows what she is talking about and dares to ask all the right questions, sparring with her guests. The Today programme could learn a lot from this new Woman’s Hour. It was political, starting with an interview with Sonia Khan, the special adviser who was sacked by Dominic Cummings. This was the first time Khan has spoken. Barnett valiantly pushed hard to get a tight-lipped Khan to speak specifically about her treatment. While Khan remained on the fence about Cummings and the role of special advisers, she did talk movingly about the sadness that comes when you “worked so hard to get a seat at the table” and then lose your position. It was engaging radio.

Barnett went on to speak to Richard Ratcliffe and Jeremy Hunt about the treatment of Ratcliffe’s wife Nazanin and was very much a friend, guide and advocate, holding the government to account about the foreign office saying that it can’t guarantee help for foreign nationals. She brought up pertinent points that take the story on, in this case asking Hunt if Boris Johnson is to blame for what is happening to Nazanin now because of how he approached the case when he was foreign secretary. She also managed to get Hunt’s views on school closures and a second lockdown (he is in favour), in a way that spoke to the concerns of Women’s Hour listeners.

The show is at its best when there is variety. This came from a beautiful cover of Here Comes the Sun by Mel C and - on the royal theme - the woman soon to play the Queen in The Crown, Imelda Staunton. The interview with Staunton was warm and entertaining, although Staunton is a pro and knew how to navigate harder questions about whether The Crown should have a disclaimer that it’s fictional and whether the Queen was a feminist icon (Staunton said she was the original Spice Girl instead, being there for us).

I started off listening with the show in the background while I did the washing up but I kept having to stop scrubbing to give it my full attention. It’s a brilliant start and if Barnett continues this strongly she will win new listeners and ensure that Woman’s Hour lasts another 75 years.