I’m on strike! Radio 4 star Winifred says NO to ironing

MAN the barricades — and the ironing boards! radio 4 broadcaster Winifred robinson, presenter of You And Yours, says that after a lifetime of domestic drudgery she has gone on ironing strike and will no longer press clothes for the men in her household.

As the daughter of a Liverpool dock labourer, robinson was brought up in an environment where women took charge at home.

‘My mother did the ironing for all of us — her six daughters — until we left home,’ explains Winifred, 60.

‘She ironed for my father until she died — even though she also worked, part-time, outside the home. Her selfless example perhaps explains why until recently i’ve ironed for my husband and teenage son — usually on Sunday evenings as they watched the Antiques roadshow.’

‘the other week i announced that this arrangement was at an end, after it finally dawned on me that aliens observing our family would conclude that i was enslaved.

‘My husband has decided to pay someone else to iron for him, and my son is now wearing very creased clothes.’ When it comes to gardening she is more than happy for them to do the menial jobs for her.

‘My husband roger is my assistant, always on hand for the boring tasks, watering pots, sweeping the paths,’ she has said. ‘our son tony is a great help with heavy lifting.’

robinson didn’t meet roger until she was 36 and the couple had their son, tony, when she was 41.

in January the BBC ordered her off air after a row over her views on equal pay. She tweeted a statement from more than 130 BBC women supporting China editor Carrie Gracie after she decided to quit over the wage divide. robinson said: ‘Equal pay for equal work — it’s the law — as Carrie says.’ the next day, she was reportedly replaced for the You And Yours show due to ‘impartiality issues’.

THE world of high finance has rubbed off on Damian Lewis, Old Etonian star of U.S. TV show Billions. ‘I have a very nice sound system in my house which I spent a load of money on,’ he admits. ‘Am I one of these guys who obsessively collects antique typewriters that cost £7,000 each? No. I’ll leave that to Tom Hanks.’