Front Row - 23/06/2009

In her new memoir, Iranian-born comic Shappi Khorsandi remembers moving from Tehran to London with her father, a politically active writer, in the 1970s. Khorsandi talks about growing up as a stranger, learning to play kiss-chase and to eat fish fingers, and explains how the family was tested when the Islamic Revolution erupted and her father became a wanted man in exile. Lyricist and art collector Sir Tim Rice reveals his enthusiasm and admiration for Pre-Raphaelite artist JW Waterhouse, the subject of a new exhibition. Jilly Cooper, Fay Weldon, Emily Bell, Sarah Phelps and Lowri Glain break out the Chardonnay to discuss why women-centred TV drama, from Sex and the City to BBC Three's latest, Personal Affairs, always feature four main female characters.