Margaret Papandreou: The American-born first lady and champion of gender equality in Greece

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Margaret Papandreou was the American born wife of the socialist Greek Prime Minister Andreas Papandreou. When her husband was elected in 1981, Margaret refused to disappear into the background. Instead, she embarked on a series of high-profile campaigns for women’s rights that brought her international attention. Her son George Papandreou, also a former Greek premier, shares his memories. For 30 years Loyd Price was one of the senior animators behind the success of Wallace and Gromit and other Aardman series. Loyd worked on “Wallace and Gromit: A Close Shave”, “The Curse of the Were Rabbit”, “The Shaun the Sheep Movie” and “Chicken Run”. He co-directed and wrote “Wallace and Gromit’s Cracking Contraptions” and won a Visual Effects Society Award for his character animation on Gromit. Sir Peter Lord, co-founder of Aardman Animations, reflects on Loyd's career. Malcolm Edwards was the respected publisher of novels by authors including Ian Rankin, Anthony Horowitz and Harlan Coben. His first job in publishing was at Gollancz where he followed his passion for science fiction by managing a list which included Sir Arthur C Clarke, the “Dune” author Frank Herbert and Sir Terry Pratchett. Malcolm then moved to Harper Collins before becoming managing director of Orion. Jon Wood worked with Malcom on Harlan Coben’s breakthrough novel “Tell No-One", and author Kate Mosse collaborated with Malcolm during the publication of her best-selling novel 'Labyrinth'. Tarby Davenport founded The Weird and Wonderful Wood festival in Suffolk. It began as a small, affordable, family-friendly celebration of woodlands and traditional crafts in 1994. The two-day event now attracts over 10,000 people to enjoy circus performances, music and crafts whilst still maintaining that original ethos. Her daughter Sarah Barker spoke to Matthew about the woman who kept the spirit of the sixties alive in Suffolk. Presenter: Matthew Bannister Producer: Ed Prendeville Assistant Producer: Catherine Powell Researcher: Jesse Edwards Editor: Andrea Kennedy Archive: First Socialist Government in Greece, BBC Radio 4, 21/10/1981; Woman's Hour (Margaret Papandreou), BBC Radio 4, 26/07/1982; Newsnight (Margaret Papandreou), BBC Two; A Close Shave, BBC One, 1995; Chicken Run, Feature Film (Aardman Animations / DreamWorks / Pathé), 2000; Weird & Wonderful Wood, uploaded to Youtube 04/02/2026 (Permission granted by Sarah Barker); The Coode Street Podcast, Episode 158: Live with Malcolm Edwards and David G. Hartwell, Coode Street Podcast, 06/09/2013;