Episodes
Petrified that your parenting is screwing your kid up? Crying out for support from people around you? Fearne’s pulled together some stories and advice from Happy Place guests who’ll make you feel more empowered and less alone in raising children. Not a parent? Not to worry! You’ll learn just as much about how to regulate your own emotions, how your childhood is affecting your behaviour today, and why feminism might have sold women an unrealistic dream... You’ll hear from Paloma Faith on the pressure for women to ‘have it all’, Kate Ferdinand on caring for her blended family, and Gabor Maté ...
Would you describe yourself as a workaholic? Fashion designer Zandra Rhodes has an insatiable sense of drive that’s fuelled her iconic career since the 1960s. In this chat with Fearne, Zandra is honest about how she threw herself into work as a way to cope with things like the death of the love of her life, and her own cancer diagnosis. Zandra is very clear that we need our own sense of creativity, colour, and vibrancy in life. She explains why it’s so vital to have self-belief, and how to make sure you’re not compromising your own values and style for other people. There’s also the story o...
Do you think of yourself as a victim of circumstance? Ella Mills – the founder of Deliciously Ella – used to live with a sense that life was unfair to her. Now, she knows that ultimately the only person in charge of your life is you. In this chat with Fearne, Ella talks about realising apathy was a symptom of depression, and explains why sometimes you have to hit rock bottom in order to acknowledge what needs to change. Ella and Fearne also talk about why the way we eat has become so emotive and divisive. They reckon we should be focusing on sharing joyful knowledge that will make us all he...
Make yourself comfy in a quiet space. Lie down if you can. Meditation teacher Rob da Bank is here to guide you through a Yoga Nidra practice. This is 20 minutes of uninterrupted time for you, to feel a little more self-love, and to move you into a deeply restful place through guided mental imagery, intention setting, and breathing exercises. Head back to the Happy Place feed to listen to Fearne’s chat with Rob da Bank. For even more of Rob’s Yoga Nidra practices, download the Happy Place app. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
We’re all so used to being in a constant fight or flight mode, you might not even realise that your body has the potential to be in a much calmer state. In this chat with Fearne, DJ and meditation teacher Rob da Bank explains how practicing Yoga Nidra is a way to help your body digest stress. He also talks about why we all need to slow down to combat burnout, and how sauna and cold water therapy can help with this. Plus, Fearne and Rob both share the stressful behind the scenes realities of organising big festivals – Happy Place Festival and Bestival respectively – as well as how they see t...
It can feel awful when other people judge you, but it can be even worse when you judge yourself. Despite his immense achievements, Former European, Commonwealth and World Champion 400m medallist Iwan Thomas is no stranger to self-loathing. In this chat with Fearne, Iwan talks about the innate need to make our parents proud throughout our lives, as well as how becoming a dad himself has changed his outlook on life. They also try to figure out the balance of pushing your kid to believe in themselves, without stressing them out with too much pressure. Iwan is honest about the reality of feelin...
Summer body ready? How about your summer skin and hair? Fearne knows you might be feeling the pressure to look a certain way – both right now, and across your lifetime – so she’s reflecting on Happy Place episodes that stick two fingers up to made up beauty standards and body ideals. You'll learn how to challenge all those social norms dictating how we should look, with some help from chair of the Body Dysmorphic Disorder Foundation, Rob Wilson, broadcaster Amanda De Cadanet, and activist Emma Dabiri. Plus, hear some deeply personal stories of how things like age, race, disability, and weig...
Do you feel burnt out, but also like you’re not achieving enough? Entrepreneur Grace Beverley believes implementing clear boundaries can be the secret to success. In this chat with Fearne, Grace talks through the hard and fast lifestyle rules she sticks to in order to keep her mental health in check, and why self-care needs to be reframed as a valid form of productivity. And stick around to the end, because there are some proper productivity hacks for your daily to do list! Grace also explains the various routes for businesses to get funding... and why they’re so often not available to wome...
It’s important to live without regrets, to try everything, but also to know when to quit. Jon Bon Jovi feels leaving a legacy isn’t about competing with others, but about being able to say you’ve been the best version of yourself. In this chat with Fearne, Jon talks about why he reckons being hard working trumps talent, and why he continues to demand excellence from himself, even 40 years into his career. Jon also opens up about the reality of working with a bandmate with addictions, and how he’s been able to steer clear of rock’n’roll excesses (for the most part) himself. Are you good at c...
Is the world ready for free women? Paloma Faith feels society grooms girls and women to make themselves smaller, to take up less space, and to dismiss their own needs... and she’s calling bullshit on it. In this chat Fearne and Paloma discuss the exhaustion that can come with being a nurturer – whether you’ve got children or not. They also talk about how over-achievers are often preoccupied with being seen as everything – smart, funny, caring, sexy, independent – and why it’s too much for one person to take on. How can we learn to ask for and accept help from others? Paloma opens up about w...
Fearne’s written a novel! It’s called Scripted, and it tells the story of Jade – a thirty-something who, out on a run, stumbles upon a script that seems to predict likely scenarios and relationship dynamics in her life. Having been given a sneak peek at her future, can Jade now speak up, and rewrite her own destiny? You’ve been DMing and voicenoting Fearne, asking her questions about the writing process, who inspired her characters, and whether she’s included her wealth of mental health knowledge in the novel... Plus, there’s an exclusive listen to the entire first chapter of the Scripted a...
How big do you let yourself dream? BBC broadcaster Ashley John-Baptise grew up in care, and knows all too well that love can help cultivate aspiration. In this chat with Fearne, Ashley talks through his childhood, from being bounced between foster parents and care homes, to ending up with a history degree from Cambridge University. He explains how he became a colder and more detached child as protection against constant rejection. Ashley also talks about the very real impact not having access to touch and attachment to a primary care giver can have on a person’s future outcomes. Fearne and ...
Being deep in the middle of therapy can be draining. Ultimate Fighting Championship athlete Molly McCann has been working hard to understand her more toxic traits and behaviours, and her vulnerability has made her a stronger fighter. In this chat with Fearne, Molly talks about how she’s learnt not to fear failure, and how to overcome self-sabotage, as well as the very physical way her trauma has been released. She explains how she knew she wanted to break her family’s pattern of addiction too. Fearne and Molly also chat about the movement towards female athletes taking their menstrual cycle...
Sociopathy should be understood as a spectrum disorder. It’s a disorder that affects roughly 5% of the population – similar to the number of people who have depression or anxiety. Patric Gagne is a sociopath. In this chat with Fearne, Patric explains the difference between a psychopath and a sociopath. Sociopaths have access to inherent emotions like sadness and happiness, but struggle with learned social emotions like remorse, guilt, empathy, and love. There’s also a huge feeling of apathy for Patric, which in the past led her to anti-social behaviours like stealing cars and breaking into ...
Nobody’s worse off than you; everyone just experiences things differently. This is what 27 year old Ashleigh has come to understand about her own trauma. Previously, she minimised her own experiences, thinking it can’t be that bad, but learnt that until she acknowledged her own pain she couldn’t move forward. In this chat with Fearne, Ashleigh explains how PTSD led her to develop facial tics and a stammer, isolating her personally and professionally. They talk about how to cope when those around you don’t understand what you’re going through, plus, how the Prince’s Trust have given her game...
How’s your mental health doing today? Do you ever wish people understood what was actually going on in your mind? As part of Mental Health Awareness Week, Fearne looks back at some of the conversations she’s had on Happy Place that shine a light on particular mental health conditions. There’s OCD with Tuppence Middleton, cyclothymia with Matt Edmondson, and psychosis with David Harewood. Plus, neuroscientist TJ Power chats about how to increase serotonin levels, and sleep physiologist Stephanie Romiszewski talks through how to combat insomnia. Hopefully you’ll find a moment’s solace from co...
It can be tiring being anything but yourself. Musician Zayn has learnt to lean into what really makes him content. In this chat with Fearne, Zayn talks through the quiet lifestyle he loves in Pennsylvania: painting, being outdoors, spending time with his daughter, and staying off his phone. He also explains how fatherhood has changed him, whether he's the parent he thought he would be, and what impact the new depths of emotion he feels has had on his music. They chat about how to find the balance between sharing enough information with others to really connect on a deep level, while keeping...
Do you turn to food for comfort? Actor Rebel Wilson spent a lifetime using food to numb herself from difficult emotions. In this chat with Fearne, Rebel shares why she felt safe using her body as a barrier to true intimacy, not having sex until she was 35. Knowing that she was medically obese, Rebel made 2020 her ‘year of health’, but it was working through her trauma that made the most difference, not a specific diet or exercise plan. Fearne also shares the realities of her bulimia, including the secrecy and isolation that can come with shame. Rebel talks about feeling like a ‘loser’ at sc...
Would you choose uncertainty over unhappiness? Happy Place Book Club novel, The List of Suspicious Things, is the first book Jennie Godfrey has written. She was working in a corporate job before she had a moment of clarity and quit her job with no plan B to become a writer. In this chat with Fearne, Jennie explains why, having suffered with anxiety, she took control and chose an uncertain future over an unhappy present, with a little help from an episode of Happy Place...! The List of Suspicious Things centres around the murders of the Yorkshire Ripper. It sounds like a grim subject, but th...
What are you dreams trying to tell you about yourself? Neurosurgeon Rahul Jandial feels dreaming is a vital part of being human. In this chat with Fearne, Rahul explains that while our waking brain is generally ruled by the logical executive network... the dreaming brain liberates creative and divergent thinking. We dream, he says, to keep our minds open so they’re able to adapt if our world suddenly changes. They also talk about the role dreams play as our ‘nocturnal therapists’. Dreams allow us a safe space to rehearse real life scenarios we might be anxious or confused about. Sometimes o...
‘If you don’t laugh, you’ll cry’, as the saying goes. These heightened emotions often sit very close to each other, and there’s a split second where we can decide whether to despair, or to see the funny side of a situation. Today, Fearne revisits Happy Place conversations that highlight the crossroads where people have decided to cope with shitty incidents by laughing at them, or at themselves. Amongst other guests, Adele Roberts tells the absurd story of what happened to her stoma the night before running the London Marathon, and Dawn French chats about owning the moments you were a bit o...
When was the last time you enjoyed some silence? Musician Norah Jones appreciates the importance of silence – it allows us to tune into what our minds are trying to tell us. In this chat with Fearne, Norah explains that the rare moments of quiet are when creativity flows most freely. They talk about the feeling of being embarrassed by your work when you’re young, but that it’s important to be ever evolving and honing your craft just by getting on and doing it.Norah’s new album, Visions, is out now. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
How often do you connect with strangers? There’s something magical about those fleeting moments of intimacy and connection. Today, Fearne introduces an episode of Where Are You Going, a podcast that sees host Catherine Carr chatting to strangers and asking a simple question: “where are you going?” The stories people end up sharing with her go to all sorts of unexpected places – some are funny or loving, and others moving or shocking. In this episode, Catherine meets women who’ve been cold water swimming, and a group of childhood friends who’ve found solace and connection in fishing. New epi...
Perfection has taken on a life of its own in recent years. Dawn French worries that the pursuit of perfection is stopping us from being who we are, and from making mistakes we can grow from. In this chat, Fearne and Dawn explore why when we have low tolerance for others making mistakes, we’re likely judging ourselves for our mistakes too. So, in order to have more self-compassion, we have to talk about the cringey times we’ve held inside for fear for being shamed. They also discuss the best ways to apologise when we’re in the wrong, and to allow space for robust debate that might just chang...
Cancer, and having a stoma, has changed DJ and broadcaster Adele Roberts’ perception of her own body for the better. It’s shown her it’s ok to cry, and it’s ok to ask for help. In this chat with Fearne, Adele talks through the symptoms of bowel cancer, what the experience has taught her about positive mindset, as well as the realities of going through chemo. They also chat about why it’s never too late to embrace and practice a new passion later in life, and why it’s important not to write off the entire day just because it started a bit crap. Personal Best, Adele’s memoir, is out on the 11...
Don’t underestimate the power your voice has. This is the key message to come from Happy Place Book Club read, Killjoy, which tells the incredible true story of the No More Page 3 campaign, and the unlikely everyday women who made a generational change possible. Fearne chats to author Jo Cheetham about their early memories of Page 3, street harassment, and how cultural messages can affect the way we relate to our own bodies. They also talk about acknowledging anger and channelling that rage into something productive, and Jo shares how self-sabotage nearly stopped her writing this book in th...
“Am I mad, or did it happen?” This is a question that poet Lemn Sissay regularly finds himself asking. Having grown up in care, he has no family members to bear witness to his life experiences; is his understanding of his own identity correct? In this chat with Fearne, Lemn talks through why it’s important for us not to compare trauma, that everything’s relative, and no one deserves more or less empathy. He also exposes the reality of the care system in the UK, and offers practical ways for all of us to help those who’ve been in care better integrate into society. Between them, they suggest...
A disciplined lifestyle isn’t restrictive, it’s freeing. That’s how dietician, nutritionist, and plant-based cook Radhi Devlukia-Shetty feels about the habits, boundaries, and guidelines she's implemented. They allow her to be in control, rather than outside factors controlling how she lives. In this chat with Fearne, Radhi explains why committing to something – and following through – increases self-worth as it proves you can trust yourself. Trusting your instincts is something she wants you to be doing more of when it comes to nourishing food in particular. They chat through some practica...
How can you support your child’s healthy brain development? How can you strengthen your connection with your children? And have you already messed them up too badly to make a change? These are all questions broadcaster-turned-child therapist Kate Silverton answers in her new book, There’s Still No Such Thing As Naughty. Kate joined Fearne on the podcast earlier this week to discuss how to help your child regulate their emotions, how screens affect development, neurodivergence, and more. Now, you can listen to an exclusive extract from Kate’s new book, all about separation anxiety. Listen to...
Did you learn to regulate your emotions as a child? Broadcaster turned child therapist Kate Silverton says our ability to regulate our emotions has been found to be the best indicator of future happiness. In this chat with Fearne, Kate definitively explains why it’s never too late to change your relationship with your kids regardless of how much you think you’ve already messed up. Kate talks through why it’s not about changing our children, it’s about changing their environment. Similarly, it’s not that you’re bad at parenting, it’s that you’re being expected to parent while under often mor...