They don’t make ’em like Betty any more

Woman’s Hour replayed one of my interviews with Betty Boothroyd, below, this week. We laughed about her demand for mPs to ‘Call me madam’ when she took the speaker’s chair. What a delight to hear her voice again and remember her passion, her determination, her humour, her support for other women, her constant flouting of anti-smoking rules. ‘nobody’s going to tell me I can’t smoke,’ she once said when we met for lunch. she lived to 93 and I doubt we’ll see her like again. They don’t make ’em like Betty any more.