Jane Clark on Woman's Hour

Tricky to pick a topic for a first 'non gardening' post, but a recent radio interview has been bugging me for days.

Last week, or maybe the week before, Jane Clark was interviewed on Woman's Hour. 'Jane who?' Jane Clark, you know, much put upon widow of Alan Clark, Tory MP, womaniser and general all-round bastard. 'Ah yes, her.'

I don't expect Woman's Hour to be a right-on feminist programme - I might not listen if it was. However I do expect it to show an fair interest in its interviewees and to share this with listeners. As I heard her being introduced I wondered if this was to be about her post-Alan Clark life, her emergence from behind the veil of his misdemeaners. But no, there is a new film out apparently and the interviewer focussed unswervingly on her husband, his behaviour and her coping/dealing/acceptance of it. She answered with polite, wearily practised answers, like the perfectly decent person she is.

And just when I thought the topic might shift politely to Jane herself, we got the killer question 'How do you feel being continually interviewed about your dead and very bad husband?' I paraphrase, but not much. Subtext - because you're only here because you were once married to an adulterous liar who wrote explicit, revealing diaries about it all and in which you appear largely left out and we're all just a bit curious. How does that feel Jane, how difficult is that to be continually asked about? Can you elaborate a bit more? What exactly is it like to be so used and abused? And to have it written about for all the world to read?

And that was it. Not one question about her own life, her interests, her post-Alan Clark life. On Woman's Hour of all places. If I were Jane I'd have given the microphone an almighty punch and stormed out. Of course, the serene and accommodating Jane Clark didn't.

Perhaps she's used to this and takes it in her stride as part of some pact with the media to publicise material that she gets a return on. In which case, fine, we all have interests to defend. But if not - then Jane, stick two fingers up at the prying media and go and have some fun on your own terms.