What I Wish I'd Known

Times Journalists Rachel Sylvester and Alice Thomson return to talk to even more extraordinary people about how they overcome moments in their early lives achieve great success. This series they are joined by the likes of the Ru Paul's Drag Race Champion Lawrence Chaney, Labour Deputy Leader Angela Rayner and Strictly Come Dancing's Shirley Ballas.New episodes every Monday.Get The Times free for a month: thetimes.co.uk/pastimperfectThis podcast has been produced in association with Speakers for Schools: www.speakersforschools.org Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Mary Portas, aka Mary Queen of Shops, is a retail consultant, broadcaster and was chosen to lead a review into the future of Britain's high streets by the then Prime Minister David Cameron. She speaks candidly to Rachel and Alice about the impact that the sudden deaths of both of her parents had on her as a teenager, and what it meant to be part of one of the first gay couples to legally marry in the UK.Get The Times free for a month: thetimes.co.uk/pastimperfectStonewall: www.stonewall.org.ukAction for Children: www.actionforchildren.org.ukChild Berevement UK: www.childbereavementuk.orgProducer: Ben Mitchell Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Eddie Marsan is one of the UK's best character actors; appearing in films such as Sherlock Holmes, Tyrannosaur and Deadpool 2. He joins Rachel and Alice from his home and opens up about a childhood surrounded by racist, homophobic and domestic violence, coming to terms with his own spirituality, and fighting an internal class war.Get The Times free for a month: thetimes.co.uk/pastimperfectReclaim: www.reclaim.org.ukActing for Others: www.hactingforothers.co.ukStand Against Racism & Inequality: www.sariweb.org.ukProducer: Ben Mitchell Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sir Damon Buffini is a businessman and Chairman of the National Theatre, Royal Anniversary Trust and the Ryder Cup Committee. Rachel and Alice join him at his home to talk about overcoming the racism he faced at University, chairing the government's Cultural Recovery Fund, and how the work ethic instilled in him as a child drove him to become the most powerful black man in Britain.Get The Times free for a month: thetimes.co.uk/pastimperfectRunnymede: www.runnymedetrust.orgThe Prince’s Trust: www.princes-trust.org.ukBuffini Chao Foundation: www.buffinichao.comProducer: Ben Mitchell Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ed Balls is a broadcaster, former Labour Politician and Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer and the winner of Celebrity Best Home Cook 2021. He talks openly to Rachel and Alice about his time in government, how he overcame the bullying he faced as a child and why he kept his lifelong stammer a secret.Get The Times free for a month: thetimes.co.uk/pastimperfectBullies Out: www.bulliesout.comYoung Minds: www.youngminds.org.ukThe Brittish Stammering Associtation: www.stamma.orgProducer: Ben Mitchell Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Kwame Kwei-Armah OBE is an actor, playwright and Artistic Director of the Young Vic Theatre. He joins Rachel and Alice to discuss the impact the TV series Roots had on his identity, the racial violence he witnessed as a child in 80's London and how his career has taken him from an ambulance driver in Casualty to leading one of the UK's biggest theatres.Get The Times free for a month: thetimes.co.uk/pastimperfectStop Hate UK: www.stophateuk.orgRunnymede: www.runnymedetrust.orgTheatre's Trust: www.theatrestrust.org.ukProducer: Ben Mitchell Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Esther McVey MP is the former Minister of State for Housing has been the Conservative Member of Parliament for Tatton since 2017. She joins Rachel and Alice from her office in Westminster to reveal how her life began in the care of Barnardo's, before being returned to her parents and going on to become children's tv presenter and a politician.Get The Times free for a month: thetimes.co.uk/pastimperfectIf Chloe Can: ifchloecan.org.ukBarnardo's: www.barnardos.org.ukThe Children's Society: www.childrenssociety.org.ukProducer: Ben Mitchell Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Douglas Stuart's debut novel, Shuggie Bain, brought him international acclaim after winning the 2020 Booker Prize. One year on from it's publication he joins Rachel and Alice from his home in New York to reveal just how much he and Shuggie have in common, the ways he coped with his mother's alcoholism as a child, and the dangers he faced growing up gay in 1980's Glasgow.Get The Times free for a month: thetimes.co.uk/pastimperfectStonewall: www.stonewall.org.ukScottish Book Trust: www.scottishbooktrust.comNational Association for Children of Alcoholics: www.nacoa.org.ukProducer: Ben Mitchell Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Nadiya Hussain MBE rose to fame after winning The Great British Bake Off back in 2015. She talks to Rachel and Alice about the way her life has changed since then and how the abuse that she faced as a child inspired her to be a force for change.Get The Times free for a month: thetimes.co.uk/pastimperfectSamaritans: www.samaritans.orgBlueprint for All: www.blueprintforall.orgThe Survivors Trust: www.thesurvivorstrust.orgProducer: Ben Mitchell Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Nigel Owens MBE became the first referee to take charge of 100 Rugby Union international games before his retirement last autumn. He joined Rachel and Alice from his farm in Wales, where he opened up about coming to terms with his sexuality, the devastating impact it had on his mental health, and how rugby saved him after he tried to take his own life.Get The Times free for a month: thetimes.co.uk/pastimperfectStonewall: www.stonewall.org.ukSamaritans: www.samaritans.orgWelsh Rugby Charitable Trust: www.wrct.co.ukProducer: Ben Mitchell Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.