Catch up TV

This episode is currently not available.

Billie Jean King



Amol Rajan talks to a true game changer: Billie Jean King. A record-breaking tennis player on the court, and a boundary-busting social activist off the court, King dominated tennis whilst campaigning to get the women’s sport recognised and female athletes treated as equal to the men. \n\nAt her spiritual home of Wimbledon – where she holds the record for most career wins – King talks to Rajan about her lifelong battle for equality and inclusion, and how she has balanced her activism with both a record-breaking sports career and a tumultuous personal life. \n\nIn a tennis career spanning nearly 30 years, Billie Jean King became the first female sports superstar, winning 39 Grand Slam titles and holding the world number one position for six years. \n\n As the first female athlete-activist, King transformed the women’s game. She and eight other renegades created professional women’s tennis when they started the first ever women’s tennis tour in 1971. King then co-founded the Women’s Tennis Association and forced the US Open to become the first Grand Slam tournament to offer equal prize money to its male and female players. \n \nDuring the 1970s, while at the very top of her game and height of her activism, King was contending with intense turmoil in her private life. News of an abortion she had was made public against her will, at a time before the Roe v Wade ruling made legal abortion a constitutional right in the US. Meanwhile, she struggled to come to terms with her homosexuality while married to a man, before being publicly outed. In 1981, King became the first prominent professional female athlete to speak publicly about her homosexuality and, as a result, lost all her endorsements overnight. \n\nIn discussing her extraordinary life, Billie Jean King and Amol Rajan also touch on topical issues such as the sport world’s response to the war in Ukraine, trans athletes and mental health matters.

Source: BBC 2

Most recent episodes of Amol Rajan Interviews

Amol Rajan Interviews

Amol Rajan Interviews - John Major

John Major

As the Conservative Party finds itself out of power and preparing to choose its fifth leader since 2016, Sir John Major sits down with Amol Rajan to share his thoughts on the st ...

26-09-2024

BBC 2

All episodes

BBC 2

Amol Rajan Interviews

Amol Rajan Interviews - Tony Blair

Tony Blair

Following the Labour Party's landslide victory in the 2024 general election, Sir Tony Blair sits down with Amol Rajan to share his thoughts on the future of Britain and western ...

09-09-2024

BBC 2

All episodes

BBC 2

Amol Rajan Interviews

Amol Rajan Interviews - Watergate To Trump

Watergate To Trump

Amol Rajan interviews Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, the two journalists at the heart of the Watergate scandal, about the fall of Nixon, the presidency of Trump, the state of ...

08-08-2024

BBC 2

All episodes

BBC 2

Amol Rajan Interviews

Amol Rajan Interviews - Sheila Hancock

Sheila Hancock

Amol Rajan sits down with actor Dame Sheila Hancock for an in-depth conversation about her life, career, friendships and great loves. From growing up above a pub in the East End ...

24-01-2024

BBC 2

All episodes

BBC 2

Amol Rajan Interviews

Amol Rajan Interviews - Ronnie O'sullivan

Ronnie O'sullivan

Regarded by many as the greatest snooker player of all time, Ronnie O’Sullivan is unmatched in his achievements on the table and equally famous for his life away from it. ...

22-11-2023

BBC 2

All episodes

BBC 2

Amol Rajan Interviews

Amol Rajan Interviews - Billie Jean King

Billie Jean King

Amol Rajan talks to a true game changer: Billie Jean King. A record-breaking tennis player on the court, and a boundary-busting social activist off the court, King dominated ten ...

04-06-2023

BBC 2

All episodes

BBC 2

Amol Rajan Interviews

Amol Rajan Interviews - Brian Cox

Brian Cox

The actor Brian Cox – star of the drama Succession – sits down with Amol Rajan to reveal the secrets of the show and what took him from poverty in Dundee all the way ...

25-05-2023

BBC 2

All episodes

BBC 2

Amol Rajan Interviews

Amol Rajan Interviews - Piers Morgan

Piers Morgan

In a revealing interview about Piers Morgan’s rollercoaster career and personal life, Amol Rajan explores everything from hacking allegations to the divisive media figure& ...

11-05-2023

BBC 2

All episodes

BBC 2

Amol Rajan Interviews

Amol Rajan Interviews - Richard Branson

Richard Branson

Amol Rajan joins Sir Richard Branson on one of his cruise ships in Miami to discuss his life, loves, passions and challenges.\n \nIn a sometimes uncomfortable interview with rar ...

07-05-2023

BBC 2

All episodes

BBC 2

Amol Rajan Interviews

Amol Rajan Interviews - Bill Gates

Bill Gates

Billionaire Bill Gates talks to Amol Rajan about wealth, conspiracy theories and recent controversies. They visit a remote region outside Nairobi in Kenya, where Gates supports ...

04-02-2023

BBC 2

All episodes

BBC 2

Most popular episodes of Amol Rajan Interviews

Amol Rajan Interviews

Amol Rajan Interviews - Sheila Hancock

Sheila Hancock

Amol Rajan sits down with actor Dame Sheila Hancock for an in-depth conversation about her life, career, friendships and great loves. From growing up above a pub in the East End ...

24-01-2024

BBC 2

All episodes

BBC 2

Amol Rajan Interviews

Amol Rajan Interviews - Sir Ian Mckellen

Sir Ian Mckellen

Amol Rajan speaks to actor Ian McKellen, one of the most celebrated performers of his generation and someone who has long defied convention and expectation.\n\nIn this probing h ...

03-03-2022

BBC 2

All episodes

BBC 2

Amol Rajan Interviews

Amol Rajan Interviews - Billie Jean King

Billie Jean King

Amol Rajan talks to a true game changer: Billie Jean King. A record-breaking tennis player on the court, and a boundary-busting social activist off the court, King dominated ten ...

04-06-2023

BBC 2

All episodes

BBC 2

Amol Rajan Interviews

Amol Rajan Interviews - Brian Cox

Brian Cox

The actor Brian Cox – star of the drama Succession – sits down with Amol Rajan to reveal the secrets of the show and what took him from poverty in Dundee all the way ...

25-05-2023

BBC 2

All episodes

BBC 2

Amol Rajan Interviews

Amol Rajan Interviews - Bill Gates

Bill Gates

Billionaire Bill Gates talks to Amol Rajan about wealth, conspiracy theories and recent controversies. They visit a remote region outside Nairobi in Kenya, where Gates supports ...

04-02-2023

BBC 2

All episodes

BBC 2

Amol Rajan Interviews

Amol Rajan Interviews - Piers Morgan

Piers Morgan

In a revealing interview about Piers Morgan’s rollercoaster career and personal life, Amol Rajan explores everything from hacking allegations to the divisive media figure& ...

11-05-2023

BBC 2

All episodes

BBC 2

Amol Rajan Interviews

Amol Rajan Interviews - Ronnie O'sullivan

Ronnie O'sullivan

Regarded by many as the greatest snooker player of all time, Ronnie O’Sullivan is unmatched in his achievements on the table and equally famous for his life away from it. ...

22-11-2023

BBC 2

All episodes

BBC 2

Amol Rajan Interviews

Amol Rajan Interviews - Sundar Pichai

Sundar Pichai

Amol Rajan talks to Google's CEO, Sundar Pichai, at his Silicon Valley HQ in an in-depth, hard-hitting and personally revealing encounter.\n\nIn the course of their hour-long in ...

29-07-2021

BBC 2

All episodes

BBC 2

Amol Rajan Interviews

Amol Rajan Interviews - John Major

John Major

As the Conservative Party finds itself out of power and preparing to choose its fifth leader since 2016, Sir John Major sits down with Amol Rajan to share his thoughts on the st ...

26-09-2024

BBC 2

All episodes

BBC 2

Amol Rajan Interviews

Amol Rajan Interviews - Greta Thunberg

Greta Thunberg

Amol Rajan talks to 19-year old Greta Thunberg, the climate activist who has become the unlikely voice of a global youth.\n\nThunberg isn’t a politician or a scientist, no ...

18-10-2022

BBC 2

All episodes

BBC 2

© 2024 - Catchupplayer.co.uk