Husband and father, Larry O’Brien, loved the freedom his job as a long-distance lorry driver gave him. But on March 6th 1987, that freedom was almost lost in the horror of the Zeebrugge ferry disaster, in which almost 200 people lost their lives. Larry – who could not swim – risked his own life to pull 30 people to safety. Almost 40 years later, Larry tells Dr Sian Williams why he never felt like a hero, how he came to terms with what happened, and why – after a career change into local politics...
May 28, 2025•29 min
When 18-year-old Stacey Goodwin got a job at a bookies, she put a pound coin into a slot machine and won enough money for a night out with her pals. It was the trigger for a destructive gambling addiction that led to a life of shame, brutal isolation and deceit. The money she lost over an eight-year period was eye-watering – on one occasion, frittering away a £50,000 online win in a matter of days. Sometimes suicidal, and always lonely, it was the damage she did to those closest to her which hur...
May 21, 2025•29 min
In 1977, Ed Stewart was a happy-go-lucky teenager with his whole life ahead of him. With a new engineering job, a girlfriend and a motorbike, life was good. But when he dropped in on a friend’s party, a violent row with another teenager - who was carrying a shotgun - turned Ed’s whole life on its head. Ed had to learn to navigate the world in an entirely different way, but he made a success of it - becoming a piano tuner to the stars and counting Jools Holland and Brian Ferry as his customers. D...
May 07, 2025•29 min
For Lisa Hover and her husband Andy, life on the Hampshire Dorset border with their family of four children seemed idyllic. Even when a routine sight test on their young daughter Annabelle picked up an abnormality, it all seemed manageable. But the abnormality turned out to be early sight loss, which itself masked a more severe and life shortening genetic condition. With no cure available, Annabelle was determined the most from her limited life span. Lisa talks to Dr Sian Williams about the chal...
Jan 15, 2025•29 min
As a young man, Mohammed, AKA MFA Zaman, arrived in Britain from Bangladesh with a working visa, a patron and a job lined up as a chef. On arrival though, the promises of a bright future turned to ashes when he became a victim of modern slavery. But at this lowest of low ebbs in his life, Mohammed decided that he needed to do something - and that something was to volunteer at an old people's community club in Lewisham, near where he was living. Mohammed tells Dr Sian Williams how this life-chang...
Jan 08, 2025•29 min
After a whirlwind romance, Paul Mason and his wife Isabel were in no doubt that they wanted to start a family. It was not easy, but eventually that ordinary miracle happened. And yet it was a little more than ordinary - because they discovered they were to be parents to triplets. Paul tells Dr Sian Williams about the joyful and harrowing life-changing events of his children’s birth, and explains how the family have since discovered the extraordinary generosity of strangers. Producer: Tom Alban...
Jan 01, 2025•29 min
Mother-of-two young children, Tanja Bage, had always been a keen singer and performer, so she was increasingly aware of her shortness of breath. The diagnosis was cancer, which required almost immediate surgery to remove the tumour, and with it her vocal chords. She would be losing her voice, and she had just a week to prepare herself and her family. Tanja tells Dr Sian Williams about navigating the challenges of motherhood whilst having to re-learn how to speak – and reveals an exciting new art...
Dec 25, 2024•29 min
After moving to Los Angeles, 12-year-old Dan Edozie and his mother were left homeless and begging for food. Life was not easy: they slept where they could, sometimes on public transport, sometimes in the refuges of the city’s infamous Skid Row. But a chance separation from his mother was about to change his fortunes forever. Dan tells Dr Sian Williams how this life-changing moment allowed him to take control of his own destiny and set his sights on sporting greatness. Producer: Elaina Boeteng...
Dec 18, 2024•29 min
Sarah Fairbairns spent much of her life feeling she was a bit different. Growing up in the 1960s and 70s, she gained the reputation of a wild child – from travelling to India, to dancing on stage with the cast of iconic counter-culture musical Hair. And yet all the while, she faced bouts of sadness and depression, and a confusion as to why that should be. Later in life, Sarah made a discovery about a medical childhood trauma that changed the way she viewed the world – and wrote in to Life Changi...
Dec 11, 2024•29 min
Strapped to explosives, threatened with execution and packed into a vehicle with a suicide bomber, civil engineer Nick feared for his life. It was 2013, and he had found himself at the heart of a violent attack on the Algerian gas facility he was working at, carried out by a group later revealed to be affiliated to Al-Qaeda. It was a deadly hostage situation, in which 39 workers lost their lives – several of them Nick’s close colleagues. Talking to Dr Sian Williams, he describes how the attack u...
Dec 04, 2024•29 min
Dr Sian Williams looks forward to another series of extraordinary stories.
Nov 07, 2024•3 min
When twins Georgia and Melissa Laurie set off a once-in-lifetime adventure to Mexico in 2021, they thought it would be an opportunity for some sisterly bonding. Whilst on their travels, they went for an ill-fated swim in a lagoon – and found themselves in a terrifying fight for survival. They tell their incredible story to Dr Sian Williams, and explain how in that moment, and over the years that followed, their love for each other kept them alive.
May 14, 2024•29 min
Tony Redmond was an experienced medical doctor from Manchester, used to dealing with challenging situations. In December 1988, he attended two major global disasters that left him feeling a broken man, ready to hang up his stethoscope. But it turned out he was not quite done yet. After writing in to Life Changing about his experience, Dr Sian Williams invited him onto the podcast to share his story.
May 08, 2024•28 min
Tier Blundell was never a bad kid. He was bright and curious, but also disruptive. Growing up sandwiched between two cultures, he felt excluded from society. Those feelings were amplified when aged 11, Tier was informed by his school that he would not be welcome back following the summer holidays – instead being sent to a Pupil Referral Unit. He left there with no qualifications and a sense of shame, until the day he put on a suit, turned up for an unscheduled meeting and demanded another go at ...
Apr 30, 2024•28 min
Su Chantry was adopted as a baby and grew up fantasising that she was the daughter of a French princess who would one day return for her. As an adult with her own family, Su received an unexpected and life-changing phone call. Su tells Dr Sian Williams how she rushed to meet her mother, and they would spend just one day together – her mum’s last.
Apr 24, 2024•29 min
Aged 19, Dan Simmonds turned down a university place and instead became an oil trader in the City of London. It was an exciting and ruthless environment driven by big risks and even greater rewards. But it ultimately challenged Dan’s values and filled him with a desire to seek something new. Over a decade later, whilst jogging around Regent’s Park, Dan made a discovery that would change his life and career. Dan tells his story to Dr Sian Williams.
Apr 17, 2024•28 min
When nurse and midwife Agnes Nisbett’s third baby was delivered, she was confronted by a profound need for systemic change. Agnes came to the UK as part of the Windrush generation and despite many barriers, “sheer hard work” got her to the top of her profession. However, her own hospital experience in the 1970s revealed just how flawed and uncaring the system could be. Now in her 80s, Agnes looks back on her time in the NHS, and shares with Dr Sian Williams how her personal loss inspired her to ...
Apr 10, 2024•28 min
Georgia Gabriel-Hooper is now 20, she works for a tractor dealership and enjoys bumbling around the countryside. But as a child, she was witness to a terrible event: her mother, Cheryl, was murdered in a domestic homicide. Understandably, that day had a profound impact on Georgia – who has since shown extraordinary courage and determination to use her personal testimony to raise awareness and create change around domestic abuse. Georgia tells her story to Dr Sian Williams. If you, or someone you...
Apr 03, 2024•28 min
In this special edition of Life Changing, recorded in front of a live audience at the Hay Festival, we are catching up with Harriet Ware-Austin, who was a guest on the programme in 2021. Harriet had a difficult but important story to tell, concerning the deaths of her two sisters in a plane crash in Addis Ababa in April 1972. Harriet was only eight at the time and witnessed the event. Almost 50 years on, Harriet joined us to talk about the profound and long-lasting effects it had on her family. ...
Dec 26, 2023•47 min
Growing up in Newport with his mum and younger brother, Connor Allen struggled with his identity as a mixed race kid. He bottled up his feelings and as the anger and frustration built up, could not find the words to express his emotions. When his rage erupted into violence against his mum, she ended up doing the unthinkable and calling the police. He faced a prison sentence, his future at a crossroads. Connor tells his story to Dr Sian Williams in front of a live audience at the Hay Festival in ...
Nov 22, 2023•33 min
When Alan and Irene met in 1959, their connection was instant. The two isolated children aged just seven and nine found warmth and kindness in each other in a children’s home that was unwelcoming and strict. They would steal moments together up on Bunny Hill and talk about their lives. But the home had a rule that boys and girls could not mix. So when their friendship was discovered, a year after they first met, Alan and Irene were separated. It would take four decades for them to find each othe...
Nov 15, 2023•28 min
In August of 2006, Teresa Clark was driving five of her friends back home after a day at a music festival. Several hours into the journey she fell asleep at the wheel of their people carrier and crashed. Three passengers were killed, two others were injured as well as Teresa herself. She was convicted of causing death by dangerous driving and spent time in prison. The guilt and shame of carrying that loss of life almost destroyed her. But in the 17 years since it happened Teresa has rebuilt; she...
Nov 08, 2023•28 min
Ambitious police officer Clodagh Dunlop, 35, was used to dealing with emergency situations - until it was her own. Whilst training to run a 6-minute mile, her journey took a terrifying turn. Clodagh found herself trapped in her own body, hearing the conversations around her but unable to communicate. Speaking with Dr Sian Williams, she explains how she found the strength to make a remarkable breakthrough.
Nov 01, 2023•28 min
Rachel Watkyn’s upbringing was a contradiction: aristocratic but impoverished. She was forced to memorise her father’s extensive family tree and was expected to behave as the 'perfect young baroness'. Despite their status, the family did not have clean clothes or heating and she was called a ‘fleabag’ by other children at school. This left Rachel isolated, never knowing where she fitted in, and feeling not good enough. Years later, when Rachel was in her 50s, her father became unwell and made a ...
Oct 25, 2023•28 min
When Will Darby left school in 2007, his peers all headed to university. But Will wanted something different – an adventure. In search of unridden waves to surf, he built himself an idyllic life in the Solomon Islands. Until the sea disappeared, and everything came crashing down… Will tells Dr Sian Williams about the turn of events that created a lifelong bond with the island and its inhabitants.
Oct 18, 2023•28 min
It is the summer of 2008, and a bride and groom have just stepped out of a carriage drawn by two white horses. The sun is out, the bridesmaids are wearing beautiful dresses, and everyone has drinks in hands. The day has gone smoothly for the wedding party. But for carriage driver Emily King – things are about to take a terrifying turn, as a chase begins. Years later, Emily tells Dr Sian Williams how she fought to survive – and why the scarring incident gave her “superpowers”. Details of help and...
Oct 11, 2023•28 min
One Monday morning, Stephen is meeting with his boss in a crowded coffee shop. Minutes later he is at the centre of a horrific and brutal crime scene — his life hanging in the balance. The events leave him deeply scarred, both mentally and physically, but it prompts Stephen to press the reset button for himself and his family. For the first time publicly, Stephen tells his story to Dr Sian Williams, in the hope that sharing his experience will help him and others too. Warning: This episode conta...
May 17, 2023•28 min
Being a TV news anchor was everything to Polly Evans until she was forced to re-evaulate her identity. Her turning point happened in the spotlight – in front of an audience of hundreds of thousands – when she felt deeply exposed and humiliated. It was caused by a physical condition called Adductor Spasmodic Dysphonia, but Polly’s journey since then has been one of self-knowledge and finding fulfilment in other ways, including a new career. She braves the studio for the first time to tell this st...
May 10, 2023•29 min
Hazel Ellis-Saxon was brought up in a busy household with four siblings in the village of Tiptree in Essex in the 1960s. She struggled with her school work and was often finishing assignments when the other children were enjoying playtime. One day in a quiet classroom Hazel overheard her form teacher describe her to a colleague as ‘mentally retarded’. These two words had a profound effect — leading her to believe that she must be a huge disappointment to her parents and would never enjoy a full ...
May 03, 2023•28 min
It had been a beautiful day, Jessica Williams and her two young sons had been out in the local park enjoying the Welsh sunshine. By the time they got home they were happy but weary and looking forward to some cosy time on the sofa but as Jess opened the front door she noticed a strange smell. She put the boys in the sitting room and went into the kitchen to investigate — that was when the house exploded. Jessica tells Dr Sian Williams how the family, with the help of their village, began to rebu...
Apr 26, 2023•29 min
