Woman's Hour

Presented by Jane Garvey. Pamela Stephenson is an author, comedian and a psychotherapist - and now a ballroom dancer. What inspired her to join the cast of Strictly and how useful is psychology in building a dancing partnership. Margaret Atwood reflects on her classic novel 'The Handmaid's Tale'. Published in 1985, it imagined a society under the violently oppressive rule of a far-right Christian sect, where women were back in the home to perform domestic or reproductive functions. She discusses why its central message has never been more relevant. Biographer Giles Tremlett talks about Catherine of Aragon, viewing Henry VIII's first wife as a woman who battled with eating disorders while teetering on the brink of religious martyrdom. We discuss the impact of dentures on relationships, and housework - can there be any satisfaction in turning it into an art or will it always remain a chore? There's also sexual politics in the Maldives, and performance poetry on striving for perfection in the female form.