BBC Oxford

Sophie King

Oxford born Sophie King may not seem like an extraordinary lady, but being a single mum is about as tough a job as there is going.

Sophie King is the pen name for journalist Jane Bidder. Her life changed dramatically three and a half years ago when her 27 year old marriage broke up. She then needed to get a regular salary instead of relying on her income as a freelance journalist - so she applied for a job as writer in residence of a high security male prison. To her surprise, she got it and is now hooked. Jane also teaches creative writing for Oxford University's programme of continuing education.  As Sophie King, she has just had her fifth novel published (The Wedding Party) and is currently writing her next.

She has allowed us access to her life by agreeing to record a diary for us as she goes through the stresses and strains of looking after a teenage son, trying to find time for herself, fitting in a career and managing to keep everything up in the air with the expertise of a highly trained juggler!

Keep up to date with all of her trials and tribulations on the Afternoon Show.  At the end of every week we will add her latest installment so you don't have to worry about missing a thing!

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In these first few episodes, we meet Sophie and her children – witness her daily struggle to get her youngest teenager to school and her worries about the children who have already left home.  But what’s this Big News that she’s scared to tell them?

Previously, Sophie announced that she’s planning to get re-married.  The news doesn’t seem to go down as well as she’d hoped with the rest of the family.

Sophie has just discovered a pregnancy test kit in her son’s bedroom – the same kind of pregnancy kit that she’d also bought to use herself.  Could there be a new addition to the family?

Having discovered that the pregnancy is a false alarm, Sophie is feeling more conscious of her Empty Nest – will a new puppy keep the family together?

Previously, Sophie played host to a house full of her son’s teenage friends and discovered that you never stop worrying as a parent.  She faces the dreaded battles of exam revision, made more complicated because she’s broken her son’s memory stick. The new puppy has now joined the family and Sophie is up to her eyes in wedding plans.