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You’re a bimbo. A nag. Too mumsy. Too bossy. Ever had any of those labels put on you? Far from harmless words, Ashley James is clear they all work to shrink women and girls. In this chat with Fearne, Ashley recalls her first experiences of street harassment, and the way she victim blamed herself. They also explore the shame that keeps women silent about their altered bodies after giving birth; Ashley talks about her own post-partum body, including the reality of piles, prolapse, and vaginismus. ...
You might have recently seen Hamnet at the cinema, but did you read the book along with the Happy Place Book Club in January? In this chat, Fearne and author Maggie O’Farrell talk about how Jessie Buckley’s award-winning performance brought Agnes to life in the film, why it’s vital to remember women’s place in history, and why Maggie chose not to name Shakespeare in the book. Maggie uses her intuition when she’s writing, and talks about why she doesn’t really plan what voice or tense to style sh...
Do you find it hard to look in the mirror? Have you found yourself controlling what you eat or exercise you do? Actor Sam Claflin has struggled with his body image since he was a child. In this chat with Fearne, Sam explains what having body dysmorphia means to him, and reflects on how it continues to affect everything from the food he eats to his willingness to watch his own films back. Fearne and Sam are both chronic people pleasers, and share how they’re working to stop putting everyone else’...
Fearne introduces a new podcast format, a safe space to discuss what makes her and her team feel happy or "crap" during a miserable January. She explores themes like embracing intuitive exercise over strenuous gym routines, finding comfort in simple pleasures like electric blankets and gardening, and crucially, the importance of shedding people-pleasing habits and assertively dealing with frustrating interactions like mansplaining. The episode emphasizes self-care and self-worth, encouraging listeners to treat themselves as proof of valuing their own needs and feelings.
Everyone deserves a safe and dignified birth, but when Louise Thompson gave birth to son Leo, she was left with post-traumatic stress disorder. In this chat with Fearne, Louise talks through how her PTSD manifests, the way she disassociates, and the therapies she’s tried to work through it, including CBT and EMDR. She explains why her own experience has led her to petition the government. She wants to appoint a Maternity Commissioner to improve maternity care for mums and babies in the UK. Four ...
Struggling to know if you’ve achieved enough? If you’re happy enough? Worry everything you’ve built could fall apart? Even national treasures Ant and Dec don’t feel like they’ve ‘made it’. In this chat with Fearne – their first ever podcast appearance – Ant and Dec explain that nearly four decades into their careers they’re still laughing together just as much as they did at the beginning, but now they’ve got far more gratitude for each day they get to be on TV. Both Ant and Dec have children, a...
What would you do if you weren’t afraid? That’s the question spiritual teacher and intuitive guide Sonia Choquette wants you to think about. In this chat with Fearne, Sonia explains how to have more agency over your own mindset. It’s time to stop thinking the worst, and start expecting the best! Sonia talks through how neuroscience is showing that our guts, skins, and organs are all conscious entities. Once we understand this, we understand why it’s so vital not to surpress our body’s intuition....
Do you constantly replay conversations, wondering if you said the wrong thing? You’re in good company; actor Erin Doherty’s biggest demon is overthinking. In this chat, Fearne and Erin explore how fearful cancel culture has made us all, as well as how to have the courage to speak your mind, even if it means being disliked. Erin has an unapologetic attitude towards ambition, and explains why she wants to see more queer characters on screen. Plus, how do you feel about long-distance relationships?...
Fundamentally tells the story of Nadia, an academic who's been disowned by her puritanical mother and dumped by her lover, so she decides to get away by accepting a UN job in Iraq. Meanwhile, Sara is a precocious and sweary East Londoner who joined ISIS at just fifteen, and Nadia is astounded at how similar they both are: they’re feisty and opinionated, they’re from a Muslim background, and they both love a Dairy Milk and rude pick-up lines... In this Book Club chat with Fearne, author Nussaibah...
Which episodes of Happy Place have stayed with you this year? Reflecting on some of the chats she’s had this year, Fearne explores her own OCD diagnosis, how she copes when she’s gripped by shame, and why her attitude towards periods has shifted. She also talks about just how powerful her friendship with Davina McCall is, and why her recent episode with Malala has prompted conversations about women’s rights with her own kids. Listen to the full episodes here: Afua Hirsch Will Poulter Charlie Mac...
You’ve heard Fearne talking about them loads over the years... now it’s time to meet her best school mates! This episode is basically your girls’ Whatsapp chat come to life; Becky, Rebecca, Lucy, Ally, and Fran are here to talk through navigating Christmas when you’re co-parenting, sober, grieving, single, or just desperately trying to find a new place to put the bloody Elf on the Shelf. Everyone’s wearing their sequinned outfits, and like any good girls get together, there are cheeky games that...
Footballer Chloe Kelly has played a huge part in the Lioness’ immense success over the last few years, but severe anxiety has meant she’s often had to put on a brave face in public. In this chat with Fearne, Chloe opens up for the first time about how emotional stress led to hair loss, and why being sick often felt like the only way to release the anxiety. She talks through the work she’s done with a psychiatrist to break this habit, and the actions her family and friends took that helped bring ...
Grief can make you feel unnervingly vulnerable; this is how Kate Winslet reflects on losing her mum in 2017. In this chat, Fearne and Kate share their own experiences of both grieving and co-parenting at Christmas. Regularly labelled as “fat” by the media, Kate explains what effect that scrutiny had on her self-esteem, and why it’s made her even more passionate about setting an example to younger women by ageing naturally. Kate also offers advice on how to live by your own gut instinct, rather t...
Elizabeth Day had an urgent need to say something about the way we’re living – about the power, politics, class, sexism, and discrimination that plague the world around us. She explores all of that, plus perimenopause and female rage, through the entertaining lens of her latest novel One Of Us. In this live Book Club chat with Fearne, Elizabeth talks about how she realised that – and wanted to write about – women so often being the victims, survivors, and scapegoats of male power and privilege. ...
For ten years of her life, Fearne was gripped by a deep feeling of shame; she chats through how she’s now learning to let it go. Shame breeds in silence, so we’re talking about it loudly in this episode... -Shame researcher Brené Brown talks through how to cope with feeling ashamed through self-compassion -Comedian Dawn French explains that we all need to embrace being a bit of a twat sometimes because we learn more from mistakes than success -Artist Charlie Mackesy’s got some thoughts about how...
Nervous and embarrassed? Don’t let it show! Comedian Jack Whitehall has died on stage plenty of times, but never gives people the satisfaction of knowing it’s got to him. In this chat with Fearne, Jack explains how to power through the awkward moments and give off an air of confidence, no matter how you’re feeling inside. He also reflects on some of the awful feedback he’s received and how to stay resilient in the face of criticism. Jack comes from an acting family, and started working at a youn...
What limiting beliefs do you hold about yourself? Spencer Matthews has embraced his sense of adventure in order to explore his full potential. In this chat with Fearne, Spencer gets into the shame he felt while he was drinking, why he’s now channelling his addictive nature into running instead, and how to avoid blaming everyone else for your own issues. He also explains how seeking approval from his parents drove him, and why his relationship with his own daughter is so special now. Spencer is c...
You might know Elizabeth Gilbert as the author of Eat Pray Love; now, she’s written All The Way To The River, charting her electric, heart-breaking relationship with her partner Rayya, who died in 2018. In this Book Club chat, Fearne explains that she chose this to be part of the Happy Place Book Club because she recognised so many of her own behaviour traits in it – see: chaotic relationships and people pleasing! Elizabeth talks through how to tell if you’re co-dependent, what a love and sex ad...
Malala Yousafzai was shot by Taliban gunmen when she was 15. She then became the youngest ever recipient of the Novel Peace Prize, but since then she’s been desperate to discover who she really is underneath the weight of the world’s expectations. In this chat with Fearne, Malala explains why skipping classes, smoking weed, and chasing bad boys have all played a part in finding herself, and why her own self-discovery has made her more passionate than ever about women having choices around educat...
Do you have a chip on your shoulder? Actors Daisy May and Charlie Cooper say growing up working class made them angry, but that feeling like outsiders in their industry has been a powerful motivator. In this chat with Fearne, Daisy May and Charlie explain how they’ve dealt with feeling threatened by authority and power. They also reveal why This Country almost didn’t happen because a contract meant they might have to pay £350,000 to buy back their own characters... They chat about the importance...
Fearne’s anxiety and OCD have been pretty loud recently, so she wanted to find a bit of solace in listening back to some other people with their own experiences of feeling anxious, low, having panic attacks, going through therapy, and accepting they’ll never be fully ‘fixed’... In this episode – -Musician Perrie Edwards explains why she brings her therapist to work with her -Actor Will Poulter’s taking a personalised approach to his OCD -Comedian Julian Clary reckons age and perspective have cal...
Physicist Professor Brian Cox discusses his "Emergence" world tour and the awe-inspiring discoveries in cosmology, emphasizing how a scientific perspective can enhance happiness and promote open-mindedness. He delves into the nature of curiosity, the value of embracing doubt, and humanity's unique role in creating meaning in a vast universe. The conversation also touches on the critical importance of space exploration, the fragility of civilization, and how to encourage more women in science, concluding with reflections on life's ephemeral beauty and finding one's "happy place" through understanding.
Broadcaster and entrepreneur Jamie Laing had big fears about having kids... and yet he’s about to become a dad any day now. In this chat with Fearne, Jamie’s honest about the pros and cons he deliberated over before deciding to have children. He talks through how his parents’ divorce expanded his world in beautiful ways, as well as why he chose to re-kindle his relationship with his dad as an adult. Jamie also talks for the first time about his body image and eating disorder. Given Fearne has be...
Fearne Cotton and Charlie Mackesy delve into profound themes of self-forgiveness and connection. Charlie shares how his art helps people process grief and shame, encouraging vulnerability as a pathway to genuine human interaction. They discuss the importance of art, respectfully disagreeing in a polarized world, and finding peace by letting go of blame and fear. The episode also touches on the impact of Charlie's work on men's mental health.
What did you love doing when you were 10 years old? Broadcaster Greg James reckons we all need to prioritise fun and silliness more, and thinking about your childhood passions is a great place to start. In this chat, Fearne and Greg talk about how bleak, boring, and anxiety-inducing being a responsible grown up can be sometimes, and why that means it’s vital to choose to laugh every day. Greg also explains why it’s important to stop and ask yourself if you really want to get married, have kids, ...
Loved Ones – the Happy Place Book Club pick for September – tells the story of Julia, whose first love Gabe dies aged 29, launching her into a world-wide quest to recover the possessions he left with friends and acquaintances across the world. It also brings her into contact with the last woman Gabe loved... In this chat, Fearne and author Aisha Muharrar wonder what would happen if you met others who had dated the same person as you. Would you get on and have loads in common? Or would there be i...
September always has a back-to-school feeling, so this episode is all about getting back into a successful work routine after the summer, without burning yourself out... In this episode – -Entrepreneur Grace Beverley chats through how to set boundaries to create a work life balance that works for you , and how to create new organisation habits so you can spend less time procrastinating - Researcher Brene Brown tackles perfectionism and how self-compassion can stop you putting so much pressure on...
Lulu shot to fame at 15, and she’s been playing that part, masking who she really is – Marie McDonald McLaughlin Lawrie – for the six decades since. In this chat with Fearne, Lulu explains how she felt that everything from her real name and accent, to her personality and childhood weren’t good enough, so she created a character for the public to love. However, this kind of emotional suppression can have painful consequences, and she’s since learned to stop running from her messy parts. Lulu talk...
Gavin and Stacey’s Joanna Page didn’t want kids, until she suddenly did at 35! In this chat with Fearne, Joanna explains how she had to bring her baby on set in order to keep working as a new mum, and why she ultimately decided to focus on family over career. They chat about why it’s ok to do average – or even shit – work sometimes, and why perfection doesn’t need to be the goal. Joanna’s noticed on set that younger women seem to have much higher self-worth than she had at their age; what can we...
Men are starting to open up. Presenter and comedian Paddy McGuinness used to work on building sites where vulnerability would have been seen as a weakness, but he’s seen things changing... In this chat with Fearne, Paddy talks about his own clinical depression, and what he’s learnt from therapy about keeping his mental health in check. He explains that understanding why you’re reacting a certain way will give you the power to change your behaviour. Paddy’s three children all have autism, and he’...
