Rose Ayling-Ellis in As You Like It, Whistleblower: Helen Evans, Children with Mothers in Prison

The Canadian Grammy winning singer Celine Dion, who had a mega hit with the track 'My Heart Will Go On', has revealed her diagnosis of Stiff Person Syndrome, an incurable, rare neurological disorder that causes muscle rigidity and episodes of severe spasms. In an emotional video, shared with her 5.2 million followers on instagram she announced that the condition will leave her unable to play planned shows in Europe. Music journalist Lisa Verrico discusses what this will mean for her and her career.

You may remember the video that went viral in 2021 of Rose Ayling-Ellis and her Strictly Come Dancing partner Giovanni dancing in complete silence during their Couple’s Choice dance. Rose is deaf and uses British Sign Language to help her communicate. They wanted to use their dance to show what it is like for the deaf community on a daily basis. She went on to win the show and won a BAFTA after the dance was voted by the public as the Must-See TV Moment that year. Now she’s back on stage in Soho Place theatre’s production of Shakespeare’s romantic comedy As You Like It. She joins Anita Rani to talk about her West End debut in the show and the work she’s doing to make theatre more accessible for deaf audiences.

A new documentary about whistleblowers has just been released. 'When We Speak' follows the stories of three women, Helen Evans a former Oxfam employee who spoke out about sexual exploitation and abuse at Oxfam GB, British intelligence employee Katharine Gun who leaked a memo from GCHQ in the run up to the Iraq war and Rose McGowan who spoke out about sexual abuse in Hollywood. The documentary shares the motivations, experiences and fallout of each of their cases. Joining Anita Rani is one of these whistleblowers, Helen Evans, who until 2015 was global head of Safeguarding at Oxfam.

An estimated 17,000 children are impacted by maternal imprisonment every year but their needs are rarely considered when their mum is arrested, sentenced or sent to prison. So today The Prison Reform Trust has issued an urgent call for action for better support for those who are among the most vulnerable children in society. As part of this call for action, the charity has published a new toolkit to help practitioners, who are involved with these children, ensure they are properly supported, listened to and their needs identified and met. We hear from Layla, one of six children, whose mother was first imprisoned when she was seven, and associate of the Prison Reform Trust, Sarah Beresford project lead for the toolkit.

Presenter: Anita Rani Producer: Kirsty Starkey

Interviewed Guest: Lisa Verrico Interviewed Guest: Rose Ayling-Ellis Interviewed Guest: Helen Evans Interviewed Guest: Sarah Beresford