Petticoat Line

{{Short description|BBC radio all-woman panel show (1965–1976)}}

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Petticoat Line was an all-woman panel show on the BBC Home Service (from 1967 this became BBC Radio 4) chaired by Anona Winn which discussed listeners' letters and problems.{{cite news|first1=June|last1=Averill|title=Obituary: Anona Winn|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/obituary-anona-winn-1394899.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220526/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/obituary-anona-winn-1394899.html |archive-date=2022-05-26 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|accessdate=26 December 2016|newspaper=The Independent|date=1994-02-18}} It started on 6 January 1965{{cite magazine|issue=2147|title=Petticoat Line|url=http://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/6313b9c484f1486889999a74a73fd737|date=1964-12-31|accessdate=26 December 2016|magazine=Radio Times}} and ran for 11 years.{{cite book|last=Donovan|first=Paul|title=The Radio Companion|publisher=Harper Collins|year=1991|pages=203|isbn=0-246-13648-0}} It was devised by Anona Winn and Ian Messiter. The panellists always included Renée Houston (who was rationed to saying "bloody" no more than three times per show); Sheila van Damm and Katharine Whitehorn also appeared quite often. Winn originally proposed a more serious show called The Ombudswomen but this lighter and funnier show came into existence instead.Donovan, Paul (1991). The Radio Companion. London: Harper Collins; p. 203 {{ISBN|0-246-13648-0}}