In this episode of What I Wish I’d Known, we hear Fatima Whitbread MBE share her life story, from being abandoned as a baby and her devastating relationship with her birth mother to becoming an Olympic medal winning, world beating javelin thrower. WARNING: contains some strong language and discussion of sensitive topics including: sexual abuse, mental illness, griefSeries producer: Anya Pearce Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of What I Wish I’d Known hear senior British politician Michael Gove’s first hand account of being abandoned in an orphanage, growing up in seventies Scotland and how he feels about stabbing Boris Johnson in the back. WARNING: contains some strong language and discussion of sensitive topics including: drug and alcohol misuse, mental illness, grief Series producer: Anya Pearce Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Why is it that often people with the hardest beginnings in life become the most successful adults? And is there something to learn from those people who perhaps have the strongest sense of what matters most? In this podcast, formerly known as Past Imperfect, Alice Thomson and Rachel Sylvester chat to extraordinary people who have lived astonishing lives and not only survived, but thrived. Sporting icons, remarkable politicians and other well known figures give their first hand account on how they achieved success in the face of adversity. Plus, Alice and Rachel reflect on their greatest interviews to date from the Past Imperfect archive with new thoughts and revelations.Follow the podcast now so you never miss an episode. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Joan Bakewell, 89, is a Labour peer is a broadcasting legend. She was one of the first women to be taken seriously in television and on radio. She broke boundaries with her arts and investigative programmes but was in a constant battle to pursue her career in an environment where institutional sexism and discrimination were rife. Her private life was equally fascinating, she juggled two children, a high-powered job, two marriages and a seven-year affair with the playwright Harold Pinter who wrote a play based on their relationship, Betrayal. “Even when she was behaving badly, she behaved well,” one fellow journalist commented at the time. Today she discusses her novel cancer treatment, sex, music and miniskirts, death and growing up during the War in the industrial North of England. Warning: Contains discussions of sensitive subjects including cancer and sexual abuse.-------OUT Links for Additional support (on Past Imperfect pod pages Website) Child abusehttps://www.nspcc.org.uk Cancer Supporthttps://www.mariecurie.org.uk/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Rachel Sylvester and Alice Thomson are joined by Conservative peer, campaigner and one of the founders of legendary dance club Ministry of Sound, James Bethell. James talks candidly about his campaign against online pornography, his aristocratic background, raves and the devastating impact of his mother's descent into depression, addiction and her tragically early death. NB: (trigger warning included) Contains discussion of sensitive topics including: postnatal depression, child neglect, drug and alcohol misuse, mental illness, suicide. Links for additional support (also on Past Imperfect podcast pages) Post Natal Depression Supporthttps://pandasfoundation.org.uk/what-is-pnd/post-natal-depression Alcoholism and Addictionhttps://www.drinkaware.co.uk/advice/alcohol-support-serviceshttps://www.actiononaddiction.org.uk Mental health and suicide awarenesshttps://www.mind.org.uk/ The Samaritans Tel: 116 123www.samaritans.org.uk Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Rachel and Alice talk to Professor John Bell, Regius professor of Medicine at Oxford University. His first memory, he says, was looking up and seeing “a load of guys with white coats around me”. He’d contracted polio and his father, had also caught the disease and was critically ill in the same hospital. “People forget about polio,” he says, but Professor Bell never did, always concerned that another disease may sweep across the world. Now, more than 70 years later, he is known for helping secure a covid vaccine and advising the government on how to lead Britain out of the pandemic. His research teams are also on the brink of major breakthroughs in the fight against cancer. Links for additional support (also on Past Imperfect podcast pages)Polio information and support Polio - Eradication, Vaccination, & Access | Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Polio Survivors Network – Lives lived with healthcare lessons for the futureCancer Supporthttps://www.cancerresearchuk.org/   Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Explorer Bear Grylls discusses his love of adventure, his time in the special forces, surviving a parachuting accident that almost paralyzed him, and the impact of climbing Mount Everest on his life. He also talks about the deaths of his father and a close friend in the SAS, highlighting the importance of resilience and kindness in overcoming challenges.

David Harewood (MBE, OBE) is an actor who attained international stardom with TV roles in Homeland and The Night Manager. He was the first black actor to play Othello at the National Theatre in London, and has delivered acclaimed performances as Martin Luther King and Nelson Mandela. His latest role is a white Conservative commentator William F Buckley pitched against the liberal Gore Vidal in the hit play Best of Enemies which has received rave reviews in the West End.But David’s early life was marred by racist attacks, and mental illness, culminating in him experiencing a psychotic breakdown. Despite being awarded both an MBE and an OBE he still sees himself as an outsider. “There’s a sense of displacement, “he says, “That’s been constant throughout my life.” WARNING: contains some strong language and discussion of sensitive topics including: racist attacks, homophobia, drug and alcohol misuse, mental illness, suicide. Links for additional support (also on Past Imperfect podcast pages) Anti-racismhttps://www.stophateuk.org/about-hate-crime/racism-in-the-ukAlcoholism and Addictionhttps://www.drinkaware.co.uk/advice/alcohol-support-serviceshttps://www.actiononaddiction.org.uk Mental health and suicide awarenesshttps://www.mind.org.uk/ The Samaritans Tel: 116 123www.samaritans.org.uk  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Lady Glenconner, talks candidly to Rachel Sylvester and Alice Thomson about growing up as a member of the Royal Family’s inner circle. She reveals the highs and lows of her life as a socialite: Riding tricycles with Princess Margaret, holidays in Mustique and being maid of honour at the Queens’s coronation. She speaks frankly about her marriage overshadowed by an abusive husband and the death of two sons.Warning: Contains frank discussion of domestic violence, death, brothels and violence to animals (eels)https://www.amazon.co.uk/Anne-GlenconnerLinks for additional support (also on Past Imperfect podcast pages) Domestic abusewww.womensaid.org.ukDomestic Abuse Help · National Centre for Domestic Violence (ncdv.org.uk)Child Abusehttps://www.nspcc.org.uk/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Pat Cullen is a trade union general secretary who has led her members out on strike for the first time in her union’s 109-year history. In recent weeks, Pat has been on picket lines all over the country with her colleagues and patients, leading the negotiations with the UK government on behalf of the Royal College of Nursing. In this episode of Past Imperfect, Pat Cullen talks candidly to Rachel Sylvester and Alice Thomson about how her tenacity and her belief in justice has been shaped by growing up during the Troubles in Northern Ireland and through losing both her parents as a teenager.  “When I believe in something.” She says, “I’ll follow it through to the bitter end, I absolutely will.” -------Links the Royal College of Nursinghttps://www.rcn.org.uk/ Bereavement supporthttps://www.sueryder.org/https://www.thegoodgrieftrust.org/ Mental health https://www.mind.org.uk/young people’s mental healthhttps://www.youngminds.org.uk Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.