Identity has become tribal, and it’s stopping us understanding each other’s humanity. Activist, writer, and model Munroe Bergdorf explains how fear and anger for society’s issues have been misdirected towards trans people. In this chat with Fearne, Munroe talks through what the recent UK Supreme Court ruling on biological sex and gender means for trans women, cis women, and society more widely. How, for example, are trans rights intimately connected to abortion rights? Fearne and Munroe chat abo...
Jun 02, 2025•1 hr 26 min•Season 34Ep. 10
Fearne’s been thinking a lot lately about how much of her life she’s spent people pleasing as a result of wanting to be liked. So today, how to break free from the ‘good girl’ your family, friends, colleagues, and society expect you to be... In this episode – -Louise Redknapp clarifies why being described as ‘nice’ isn’t a compliment and how she’s gone about making people see her as a multi-faceted human -Paloma Faith pinpoints the ways women make themselves smaller in order to make others feel ...
May 30, 2025•45 min•Season 34Ep. 9
How have you come back from your rock bottom? Ashley Walters has reinvented himself over and over again, through music, acting, directing, parenthood, prison, and addiction. In this chat with Fearne, Ashley talks through the mindset that allows him to take accountability for his actions instead of falling into victimhood, and why failure shouldn’t be viewed as an end point. He explains why you should want to be the “dumbest person in the room”, and why if you feel you want to run away from a cha...
May 26, 2025•1 hr 3 min•Season 34Ep. 8
What beliefs, hopes, worries, and questions would you have if your unborn baby was given a diagnosis of a disability? It’s something retired paralympic swimmer Ellie Simmonds has spent a lot of time considering. In this chat with Fearne, Ellie explains what she’s learnt from talking to both her parents and her birth mum about their experience of her dwarfism, as well as debating the pros and cons of modern genetic testing. They also chat about Ellie’s decision to retire from swimming: how will y...
May 19, 2025•53 min•Season 34Ep. 7
Is there a reason so many comedians can struggle with their mental health? Mo Gilligan knows all too well that finding the funny in everything can sometimes mean having to suppress sadness. In this chat, Fearne and Mo talk about how a single passing comment can stay with you and eat away at your self-esteem over time, and why we need to be better at celebrating our talent and achievements. Plus, can scrolling through memes be a positive form of escapism when you’re low...? Mo Gilligan: Beginning...
May 12, 2025•1 hr 6 min•Season 34Ep. 6
At age 43 Liberty Mills was told she had a 0.7% chance of having another baby with her own eggs – and that was with the assistance of IVF. But she and her partner decided to continue their fertility journey with the help of integrative medicine, and after a lifestyle overhaul, she conceived her daughter naturally, and gave birth two weeks before her 45th birthday. In this chat with Fearne, Liberty explains how her own experiences inspired her to become a Certified Integrative Health and Nutritio...
May 05, 2025•52 min•Season 34Ep. 5
Bare is the vital true story of Lorna Tucker’s fight to survive living on the streets of London. She had to lie, steal, strip, and just about everything in between to survive. This really important portrait of female homelessness was April’s Happy Place Book Club read. In this chat with Fearne, author and filmmaker Lorna explains how chance – those five minutes that seem insignificant at the time – can send your life in a completely different direction. She talks through the reality of all the d...
May 02, 2025•40 min•Season 34Ep. 4
Does going through a rough time make you untrusting of fleeting joyful moments, or make you lean into them harder? For Dannii Minogue it’s the latter. In this chat with Fearne, Dannii explains why getting divorced and having to borrow money from family, coping with sister Kylie’s cancer, and having her body critiqued by the press have taught her to appreciate happiness when it comes. Fearne and Dannii worked together on The X Factor for a bit, and they both discuss what it was like to work on su...
Apr 28, 2025•53 min•Season 34Ep. 3
Is your lifestyle in need of a spring clean? Maybe now’s the moment to pivot your career, pick up healthier habits, or embrace a new life you wouldn’t have chosen, but now need to make the best of? In this episode, Fearne reflects on the Happy Place episodes that’ll give you a bit of a push – or a bit of inspiration – to get you making that fresh start you’ve been thinking about for ages... In this episode you’ll hear from – -Poet Donna Ashworth on making a slow, organic career change later in l...
Apr 25, 2025•39 min•Season 34Ep. 2
It’s Happy Place’s 7th birthday! To celebrate, Fearne’s put down her own trusty notebook and let her presenter mate Alex Jones turn the interview tables! In this chat, Alex asks Fearne about Happy Place’s evolution from a podcast, to a book publisher, to a festival, and now a marketplace too. Fearne opens up about feeling bleak and being on anti-depressants before she created Happy Place, as well as all the moments she’s cocked up personally and professionally over the last seven years. Do you h...
Apr 21, 2025•1 hr 3 min•Season 34Ep. 1
Does anxiety or darkness drive you to create? Is creativity the ultimate catharsis? For musician Pete Doherty making art has, at times, been a matter of survival. In this chat with Fearne, Pete explains why taking drugs was less about trying to escape, and more about what he was trying to find. Now he’s stopped taking drugs, how does he unlock and express his creativity differently? Pete also confirms that ‘addict’ is the right word to describe his behaviour, but that our attitude towards...
Apr 14, 2025•55 min•Season 33Ep. 10
So many of us have had to shut down our heart and numb our emotions to survive. Estelle Bingham is dubbed ‘The Heart Whisperer’; she knows the greatest anxiety can come from suppressing parts of ourselves. In this chat with Fearne, Estelle – a holistic therapist and healer – explains how when the mind is spiralling out of control, the heart can bring us back to stillness. She shares how to feel your emotions in your body instead of just analysing them in your head. Fearne has done ...
Apr 07, 2025•59 min•Season 33Ep. 9
If you had a second chance at your first big love, would you take it? What about if you were already married to a very different kind of person? This is the dilemma Beth is faced with in Broken Country, the Happy Place Book Club novel for March. In this chat Fearne and author Clare Leslie Hall talk about why first love can be so intoxicating, and why it’s only human to feel the pull between very different lifestyles, knowing there are multiple ways you could be happy... Clare explains tha...
Apr 04, 2025•27 min•Season 33Ep. 8
We change all the time, which means self-love is an ongoing practice; we’re constantly learning to love the person we are today. Musician Teddy Swims wants you to be able to look in the mirror and see what a great person you are every day. In this chat with Fearne, Teddy explains why he and his partner chose to go to couples therapy to help them prepare to become parents, as well as the incredible impact having an emotionally articulate father had on his ability to process his own big feelings. ...
Mar 31, 2025•42 min•Season 33Ep. 7
Has fear ever stopped you from making the changes you want to make in life? Even if you know what you want, how do you turn your big goals into manageable daily habits? And what role does mindset play in enacting real change? The Happy Place Festival Talk Stage hosted loads of speakers across the weekend at Tatton Park last summer, who all explored these questions, and Fearne wants to bring you in on the Festival magic! In this episode you’ll hear from: -Dr Rangan Chatterjee...
Mar 28, 2025•35 min•Season 33Ep. 6
Coping with mental health conditions is never easy, but it does get easier; that’s what actor Will Poulter has learnt through his own experiences with OCD, anxiety, and intrusive thoughts. In this chat with Fearne, Will explains how OCD has manifested for him ever since he was a young kid. He also talks through why finding reasons to be grateful for the lessons mental health conditions have taught you can be helpful. If you’re honest with yourself... would you give yourself or othe...
Mar 24, 2025•1 hr 2 min•Season 33Ep. 5
Is it a compliment to be called ‘nice’? Singer Louise Redknapp isn’t so sure. She’s always been the good girl, but she’s ready to embrace – and express – different facets of her character now. In this chat with Fearne, Louise explains that being in a 90s girlband, and being married to a sports star, forced her to be shiny and polished at all times. That led to a crippling fear about saying or doing the wrong thing, but she’s learning to trust her own gut instinct. Fearne and Louise...
Mar 17, 2025•51 min•Season 33Ep. 4
Can laughter ease anxiety? Comedian Julian Clary certainly thinks so. After living through some incredibly dark events and anxious times, he’s decided to choose to laugh and think positive thoughts. In this chat with Fearne, Julian talks about feeling naturally happier and more comfortable in his skin as he got older. Most things, he says, just aren’t as important as you think they are, and that’s a freeing realisation. Julian also explains why he’s embraced causing outrage and even offen...
Mar 10, 2025•54 min•Season 33Ep. 3
Nicki, Lauren, Charlotte and Steffi have been friends since university. Now in their thirties, life is pulling them in different directions - but the girls are reunited when Charlotte organises the baby shower from hell for pregnant Nicki. Tensions are high as these women are forced to confront their own and eachother’s views about motherhood... while also dealing with a fire at the baby shower. February’s Happy Place Book Club novel was So Thrilled for You, by Holly Bourne. In this chat, Fearne...
Mar 07, 2025•36 min•Season 33Ep. 2
Dynamo brought epic magic into a lot of people’s lives, but now Steven Frayne is taking off the mask and choosing to notice the moments of magic he’s experienced around him. In particular, that’s the people – friends, family, doctors, strangers – who’ve helped him find joy again after hitting rock bottom. In this chat with Fearne, Steven talks about the devastating reality of trialling different medication for Crohn’s and the effect this has on mental health, as well as what he’s learnt f...
Mar 03, 2025•55 min•Season 33Ep. 1
Do you get rid of your body hair? Do you hate your periods? Are you debating a nose job? Why? Writer and broadcaster Afua Hirsch has been tracing how we’ve become so loathing of our bodies. In this chat with Fearne, Afua explains where our modern, Western notions of beauty come from, and why she’s advocating for us to celebrate how powerful our bodies are. She’s rediscovering and reclaiming rituals her ancestors will have done before Western ideals became the norm, and points out t...
Feb 24, 2025•1 hr 6 min•Season 32Ep. 10
Are you able to balance being resilient with being vulnerable? Actor Chiwetel Ejiofor has spent time figuring out when to keep moving forward, and when to let painful emotions wash over him. In this chat with Fearne, Chiwetel reflects on how a childhood trauma has shaped his character – everything from his fierce ambition to his optimistic outlook. He also reveals the moments self-doubt has almost proved insurmountable (including when he first got the script for 12 Years A Slave...!) &nbs...
Feb 17, 2025•43 min•Season 32Ep. 9
Do you dream of pivoting your career or lifestyle later in life? Poet Donna Ashworth did just that. She began to question the busy, fast-paced, perfectionist lifestyle she assumed was the norm, and decided to start posting and performing her beautiful poetry in her 40s... In this chat with Fearne, Donna explains how she copes with the nerves that come with doing something so new, including hypnotherapy and simply admitting out loud that she’s anxious. She also reflects on how she realised...
Feb 10, 2025•53 min•Season 32Ep. 8
What is happiness to you? And do you think you deserve to be happy? Our Happy Place Book Club pick for January was Frequently Happy, by author and poet David Larbi. In his book, he combines poetry and journal prompts to help you find the glimmers in your lovely, ordinary life. We’ll have objectively terrible days, and days that are clearly the best ever, but most days fall somewhere in between... In this chat with Fearne, David explains that while not every day is good, there’...
Feb 07, 2025•22 min•Season 32Ep. 7
Actor Naomi Watts went through early menopause at 36. She was experiencing symptoms she couldn’t explain, like itchy skin, night sweats, and anxiety, but struggled to find any real information or stories about this midlife transition. In this chat with Fearne, Naomi explains why she’s become passionate about shining a spotlight on previously taboo topics like fertility, menopause, and sex. She talks about how it felt to be told she was peri-menopausal while she was in the middle of her fe...
Feb 03, 2025•43 min•Season 32Ep. 6
Do you want to make 2025 the year you start therapy? Maybe you’re still a bit hesitant because you’re not completely sure how it works or what it might feel like... Fearne has pulled together a load of Happy Place chats that will help you get a clearer idea of the benefits of therapy, and in turn make you feel bold enough to send that first booking email. Plus, she talks through the ways therapy has really helped her be more at peace with the past, and stop being so horrible to herself too. You’...
Jan 31, 2025•36 min•Season 32Ep. 5
When does a coping mechanism become a problem? Millie Mackintosh talks through the big moments she realised her drinking was affecting both her own health and the people she loves. In this chat Fearne and Millie cover panic attacks and intrusive thoughts, which can both get particularly bad when secrecy and shame are driving risky behaviours. Then, how do you start to forgive yourself for the things you’re not proud of? And how can you talk to yourself kindly when you fall back into old p...
Jan 27, 2025•1 hr 4 min•Season 32Ep. 4
How loud are the voices in your head that tell you you’re definitely going to screw up that big opportunity? Sophie Ellis-Bextor is trying to make a point of talking to herself more kindly. In this chat, Fearne and Sophie talk about reminding yourself that your thoughts aren’t facts; sometimes you have to override the voice that says you’re not good enough and just get on with it to prove yourself wrong. Sophie explains why being dropped by her label at 20 encouraged her to take re...
Jan 20, 2025•54 min•Season 32Ep. 3
Ben West was 17 when his younger brother died by suicide. He’s since gone on to become a mental health campaigner, and has found humour can help communicate deeply traumatic messages. In this chat with Fearne, Ben talks through what signs to look for if you’re concerned about someone’s mental health. Then, how do you break the awkward silence when you both know you need to talk about a big topic like poor mental health? You’ll be able to approach the conversation in a compassionate, rathe...
Jan 13, 2025•1 hr 7 min•Season 32Ep. 2
Making better food choices isn’t about changing who you are, but about making you the most energetic, vibrant version of you. Emily English, aka Em the Nutritionist, talks through how food directly impacts mood. In this chat Fearne and Em both share their experiences of having eating disorders. Was it more about weight and appearance or control and secrecy? They also offer advice for those trying to support a loved one who has a difficult relationship with food. So, how has Em gone...
Jan 06, 2025•46 min•Season 32Ep. 1
