Monisha Rajesh is a travel writer who focuses on train travel adventures.

She wrote her first book ‘Around India in 80 Trains’ after being made redundant, and she wrote ‘Around the World in 80 Trains’ just after her first daughter was born. My favourite of all though is Moonlight Express, her most recent book which is all about her experiences on night trains. 

Monisha is a lovely writer, and I love so many of the pictures she paints of her journeys. One particular favourite is when she is travelling in India and the train door is open to the elements, and hearing the slap of leaves on the side of the train as it trundles along at just above jogging pace. Also I love the descriptions of dining cars. I flipping love a dining car! 

Monisha talked about taking her two small daughters on train adventures and I feel very inspired to do the same. I hope if I do that I am as brave as she is in imposing a ban on screens for my small people. I want us to look out the window and see all the little worlds going by.

Spinning Plates is presented by Sophie Ellis-Bextor, produced by Claire Jones and post-production by Richard Jones.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome to a new series of Spinning Plates! My podcast where I speak to working women who happen to be mothers. We are up to episode 171 now, and fast approaching 6 years since I started the podcast with Fearne Cotton in 2020. 

My first guest of the new series is Rachel Reeves, Chancellor of the Exchequer. She has made history as the first woman in 800 years to hold that title. 

I spoke to her in December, just after the budget, and she explained the long process that leads up to a budget, and the immediate aftermath. 

I must confess I was initially hesitant about taking up the invitation from Downing Street’s press office about having Rachel on the podcast. She has had a lot of public scrutiny and I know from experience that when I’ve had political guests, the comments can get fiery. That being said, I was too curious and intrigued to know what it feels like to be in that role.. the public gaze, the Westminster culture, the power of holding the UK purse strings and the reality of raising a young family alongside it all. 

We’re pretty much the same age and we discussed how there were only 19 women in parliament out of 650 when we were born, compared to now when there are about 250 female MPs. I know Rachel cares about encouraging women into politics and shared her belief that ‘you can’t be what you can’t see’. She hopes that young girls will feel a job at the top of politics is possible after seeing her as chancellor.

We spoke about what a shock it was for her children, now aged 10 and 12, to have to move house two weeks after the election, how their home life in No 11 Downing Street differs from ‘normal’ families, and how Rachel and her husband try to shield them from the news, tuning into Capital Radio rather than the Today programme when they're all together at breakfast time. 

I found our chat fascinating and I appreciate how open Rachel was, letting us get a little insight into how she navigates the pressures of work and power and motherhood.

Spinning Plates is presented by Sophie Ellis-Bextor, produced by Claire Jones and post-production by Richard Jones.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Amanda Ross is a highly influential TV producer who has brought us the likes of Saturday Kitchen which celebrates its 20th anniversary next year, the Richard and Judy show which ran for 9 years, and the book show, Between the Covers, which she is now touring live and presenting herself. 

Amanda and her husband and business partner Simon Ross, own and run Cactus TV. Amanda told me that running their own TV company means that they can organise their lives around bringing up their two adopted sons, now aged 16 and 19.

TRIGGER WARNING: Amanda also revealed to me that she suffered sexual abuse from her stepfather as a child. She wanted to share her story here, so that other people who might have gone through similar ordeals can, like her, learn that it wasn’t their fault, and that they should not feel guilty about what happened to them.

Amanda's other big message is: just do everything with your children because you can take your kids anywhere. It’s just about attitude.

Spinning Plates is presented by Sophie Ellis-Bextor, produced by Claire Jones and post-production by Richard Jones.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dame Jacinda Ardern is the former prime minister of New Zealand, who was elected in 2017 and in post for 6 years.

In 2018 she became the second elected World leader to ever give birth. Her partner Clarke (often referred to as 'first bloke'!) frequently took on the role of stay-at-home dad. Together they took baby Neve with them to many important meetings, including the UN summit in New York in 2018, while she was still breastfeeding. 

Jacinda told me she felt she needed to prove she could lead the country despite being a mother... and also show the world she was a mother, in order to be a positive role model. 

Jacinda and I talked about the fascinating and intimate documentary ‘Prime Minister’ which will have its UK release on December 5th, in which we get to see behind the scenes both in government, and at home through videos shot by Clarke. It really brings a humanity to the role of leadership and this insight makes Jacinda’s style of leadership all the more impressive, modern and inspirational. 

Jacinda really wanted to reiterate that she was lucky enough to have support, that she never did anything alone, and that we should not expect women to do everything on their own: ‘Yes, we can be wonder woman… but even wonder woman deserves a sidekick.’ She now still remains dedicated to helping encourage leaders to highlight their humantity by teaching empathetic leadership. 

Special shoutout to her gorgeous children’s book, Mum’s Busy Work. It’s so sweet to see a lovely picture book for young kids where the mum works hard, yes, but it doesn’t mean she’s any less dedicated to motherhood. Cheers to that! X

Spinning Plates is presented by Sophie Ellis-Bextor, produced by Claire Jones and post-production by Richard Jones.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Fiona Bell is the founder of Their Nibs clothing brand which specialises in night wear. 

I first came across Fiona’s shop when pushing my eldest son around Ladbroke Grove in his buggy in the mid naughties. And I still think she makes the loveliest pyjamas in the land!

Fiona has a 25 year old son Finn and an adoptive daughter Maggie who is 11.

We talked about the close link Fiona still keeps with the adoption agency Coram, which made her and her husband Charlie’s adoption of Maggie possible. It has been an emotional journey but so worth it, she says. And her advice to anyone planning to adopt is: 'as an adoptive parent you've got to be selfless because you've got to accept you might not get very much back, but if you work at that, you definitely do'.

Maggie has obviously brought so much joy to the whole family. Listen to the interview to hear why I think Fiona’s next PJ print should be rainbows and ginger cats. 

Spinning Plates is presented by Sophie Ellis-Bextor, produced by Claire Jones and post-production by Richard Jones.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Lavina Mehta MBE is a health campaigner, a personal trainer, and an author. She came to my notice during Covid when she started doing weekly exercises on YouTube with her mother-in-law.

She’s just published her book The Feel Good Fix which is designed to improve your health during menopause, and presents her idea of exercise snacking - incorporating short bursts of activity into your normal day rather than maybe going to the gym for an hour.

We talked about her religion of Jainism which is about non-harm, karma and non-violence and how she still presents an exercise class online with her mum-in-law every Friday now.

When we finished our sit-down interview, Lavina encouraged me to do some wall press-ups, and left me with her slogan ringing in my ears: ‘Sanity, not vanity!’

Spinning Plates is presented by Sophie Ellis-Bextor, produced by Claire Jones and post-production by Richard Jones.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Lara Maiklem is an author and a mudlark. She told me there’s nothing she likes more than kneeling on the banks of the River Thames for 5-6 hours at a time, scanning the mud for tiny treasures which are twice daily being given up by the tide! 

Lara shares her fascinating finds on Instagram, where I've been following her for a while. Her favourite finds include a Tudor shoe, part of a Roman sword and some tiny gold beads from a necklace which she thinks must have broken as someone was boarding a boat on the river hundreds of years ago.

Lara told me how mudlarking gave her peace and alone time when she moved to London, and how, when their twins were small, her wife used to send her off to mudlark, knowing she’d come back ‘a nicer person’! 

Living near the Thames myself, I think I might try mudlarking too, as I’m still hopeful of finding Mickey’s PJ Masks watch that he threw in the river near Richmond a while back!

Spinning Plates is presented by Sophie Ellis-Bextor, produced by Claire Jones and post-production by Richard Jones.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Julia Samuel is a psychotherapist and an author, who is best known as a grief counsellor. She was one of the founders of Child Bereavement UK which has just had its 30th anniversary. She has an agony aunt column for Times Luxury, she has a podcast, and she sees about 15 clients a week, describing that as ‘the heart of me’. 

She has 4 grown up children and 10 grandchildren aged 18 months to 18 years. 

When I met with Julia, we talked about the guilt she felt as a mum to young children, when she felt her work sometimes became her priority.

Julia also talk to me about an area she feels needs more conversation and exploration, which is the parenting of adult children (aged 18-25) during a phase called ‘emerging adulthood’. I was all ears about that! 

Spinning Plates is presented by Sophie Ellis-Bextor, produced by Claire Jones and post-production by Richard Jones.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Janette Manrara is a dancer and choreographer who we first got to know as one of the professional dancers in the UK on Strictly Come Dancing, and who now presents its sister show ‘It Takes Two’. 

Janette is married to fellow dancer Aljaz Skorjanec and together they have a 2 year old Lyra.

Janette and I talked about her start in life as daughter of a young Cuban immigrant couple in Miami, and about her first job in a bank before she took a risk to pursue her dreams as a dancer. 

Janette told me that the enforced career break that Covid brought, made her realise she did want to be a mum. She also shared that she believes her time performing on stage and TV makes her a better mum to Lyra because she is fulfilled, and in a 'complete flow state' when she’s performing. I know that feeling well myself!

Spinning Plates is presented by Sophie Ellis-Bextor, produced by Claire Jones and post-production by Richard Jones.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Anya Lautenbach is a gardener who I discovered on Instagram as anya_thegarden_fairy. From Poland originally, Anya moved to to the UK 17 years ago and has two boys aged 12 and 14. 

We talked about the grief which Anya has experienced because of her sister having two sons with a rare genetic condition which turned out to be terminal. 

Anya explained how every time she had bad news from home, she turned that into another garden border and has ended up creating a beautiful garden out of her ocean of grief. 

We also talked about her ADHD diagnosis which came soon after her son’s diagnosis, and how gardening helps her to escape the overwhelming busyness of her mind. 

Spinning Plates is presented by Sophie Ellis-Bextor, produced by Claire Jones and post-production by Richard Jones.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.