大象传媒

Victoria Coren Mitchell has made history by becoming the first two-time winner of one of poker's most prestigious tournaments 鈥� the European Poker Tour, one of the three biggest tournaments in the world. A member of the elite Team PokerStars Pro, Coren Mitchell rose from relative unknown to poker superstar in 2006 when she became the first female winner of the EPT. And now in her second victory, on Sunday night, she beat 555 competitors to win a cash prize of 拢391,932, and a watch worth more than 拢4,000, taking her lifetime winnings to 拢1.43million and putting her in the all-time top ten of female poker players. So what does it take to be a great poker player, and what鈥檚 it like to be a female player at the table? Victoria speaks to Jenni between tournaments to offer her views on the game.

The Award winning French actress, nicknamed 鈥淟a Binoche鈥� by the French Press, talks to Jane Garvey about her new film,聽'A Thousand Times Goodnight' where she plays one of the world鈥檚 top female photographers who has to choose between her job and family. She explains to Jane Garvey why she was interested in this latest role, how her rebellious spirit has shaped her working life and the love-hate relationship between Britain and France.

A Thousand Times Goodnight is on general release from 2nd May.

is the author of the widely acclaimed Falco detective novels, set in the Ancient Roman world. 鈥楾he Silver Pigs鈥�, published in 1989, was the start of her runaway success as a writer of historical whodunnits. Since then, the Falco series has grown to include 20 novels featuring the Roman detective Marcus Didius Falco. But it鈥檚 Falco鈥檚 British-born daughter and established female investigator Flavia Albia who is the focus of Davis鈥� latest series. Her new book, 鈥楨nemies at Home鈥�, is the second in the series. Jenny Murray talks to Lindsey Davis about the surprising choice of Ancient Rome as the setting for her successful crime novels, and the inspiration behind her indomitable female protagonist Flavia Albia.聽

鈥�Enemies at Home鈥� is published by Hodder & Stoughton in hardback and eBook on Thursday 24 April.

When it started in the 1920s, roller derby was a co-ed endurance race, but things changed when it became clear that the collisions were the main draw. Then came the theatrics, the costumes and the derby names. After fizzling out in the 70s, the sport re-emerged in Austin Texas in 2001 as a women鈥檚 sport 鈥� run by and for women with a grassroots appeal. Since then a thousand leagues have sprung up worldwide, including 60 in the UK. Participants train hard and argue that they are proper athletes taking part in a proper sport. Catherine Carr went to see the 鈥楻omsey Roller Billies from Cambridge at their weekly Tuesday night practice, where Kirsty Buchanan 鈥� a.k.a 鈥楳a Might鈥� started by giving her some essential safety advice.

150 years ago, 鈥楯ohn Lewis鈥� set up shop on London鈥檚 Oxford Street. But who were the women behind the brand? How did they shape its direction in the decades after doors opened for business? Jenni talks to Judy Faraday, Manager of Heritage Services at the John Lewis Partnership.