Growing up Joe Jaquest Oteng knew very little about his Dad; they struggled to find much common ground. Joe’s Dad, Peter, was guarded about his early life in Ghana and the family he had left behind when he emigrated to the UK in the 1960s. When Peter died Joe was left to sort through his belongings. He discovered bundles of documents, letters and photos which revealed new and shocking information which didn’t match the life story Joe had been told. Dr Sian Williams hears how Joe set out to find ...
Apr 19, 2023•28 min
It was September 2000 when Lisa and her 10-year-old brother Gary were taken to the airport. Their Dad said they were going on holiday and that mum Tracey was going to join them later, just as soon as she could get time off work. As the children boarded the plane full of expectations for the trip they could not know how profoundly this moment would shape the rest of their lives – they were soon told Tracey had died and there was no point ever going back to England. Dr Sian Williams hears about Li...
Apr 12, 2023•28 min
Tracey knew something was wrong the moment she got to the house. The place was empty, the children were gone and so was her husband Taz. Their marriage had broken down and they were going through divorce proceedings. Then she got a text message from him: ‘Gary and Lisa say goodbye forever.’ They’d been taken to Pakistan. Tracey enlisted the police, the Foreign Office and Interpol but in the absence of an agreement between Pakistan and England about parental child abduction cases — they were powe...
Apr 05, 2023•28 min
Jason and Liz met by chance whilst travelling, they fell in love and within a year were engaged and expecting a child. 365 days after that first meeting, Jason woke up from a coma. He had suffered a devastating brain injury which meant he would have to learn to walk again just as his son was taking his first steps. As a couple, Jason and Liz Le Masurier had to navigate a new and unexpected course. They tell their story to Dr Sian Williams.
Nov 23, 2022•29 min
What do you do, if falling in love with someone becomes a matter of life or death? In 2013 Aderonke Apata found herself on a coach in the UK, heading for the airport, about to be deported to Nigeria. She’d left her home country years earlier in fear for her life. Her ‘crime’ was that she loved another woman. Same-sex couples in Nigeria face jail time from the courts and, in Aderonke's situation, the threat of deadly violence at the hands of mobs. As she got on the coach the documents that Aderon...
Nov 16, 2022•34 min
Electra Rhodes is walking down a busy London street when she sees a man collapse. She’s recently completed a first aid course and in the absence of anyone else she steps up and starts CPR. When the ambulance arrives and takes the man to hospital she makes a comment to his friend. Her words trigger a chain of events that will dramatically change the course of four lives. Electra tells Dr Sian Williams her story.
Nov 09, 2022•28 min
It’s 2011 and Nicola Shaughnessy is on her way to an academic conference when she stops to buy herself some lunch. As she reaches for a sandwich she suddenly hears a familiar voice from her childhood. That moment and that voice lead to years of psychiatric care and upheaval but ultimately to answers and a better understanding of herself. Now a university professor, she tells her story to Dr Sian Williams. BBC Action Line support: Autism: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/2637nQGtTK1D8YPk...
Nov 02, 2022•28 min
Steven Brosnan found himself in a bit of a rut, living at home and moving from job to job. Then, in 2012, on his 22nd birthday catastrophic events take place; rather than enjoying a pop concert with his brother he finds himself having to make apparent life-or-death decisions. Ten years later he tells Dr Sian Williams his unique story and the unexpectedly positive consequences those 48 hours had on his outlook. Producer: Thomas Harding Assinder with Edgar Maddicott
Oct 26, 2022•28 min
In the late 1950s a newspaper ran this small ad: 'Can Catholic people in London or the Home Counties offer a permanent home for an attractive baby girl aged one year who is above average intelligence?’ That girl was Teresa Weiler, who was subsequently adopted and raised in a loving family home. Twenty years later she went to read her adoption file. Alone in a room with those documents and totally unprepared, she discovered a terrible secret about her birth parents that would reverberate through ...
Oct 19, 2022•29 min
Kieran Quinlan is 17, living in Birmingham and an aspiring boxer when he is confronted by a man with a knife who tells him to empty his pockets. Kieran is given a countdown, 3…2…1… and then it happens, he is stabbed — the knife reaching his heart. In surgery, he hears himself flatline. He survives but the wound leaves scars that penetrate deep into his life. It’s in the years that follow that the fight for survival really begins. Twelve years on, he tells his story to Dr Sian Williams. Please be...
Oct 12, 2022•39 min
Life Changing returns with more extraordinary real-life stories.
Oct 05, 2022•3 min
It’s 1976, the UK is in the grip of a gruelling heatwave and fresh-faced detective, Steve Bentley is about to go undercover in a rural village in mid Wales. It’s his first undercover gig, part of a massive national operation called Operation Julie and Steve’s excited but wholly unprepared for the toll this job will take.
May 18, 2022•29 min
It’s 1988 and Steve Ellis is working on the launch of a new magazine in London, when a letter lands on his desk. It’s from his mum and the contents of that letter are about to break a 37-year silence and send Steve on a painstaking quest lasting decades. He tells Jane Garvey his story.
May 11, 2022•28 min
Mikey Allen is on a tour of duty to Afghanistan when he is caught up in a landmine blast. He is physically unharmed but witnessing the event leaves him with mental scars that look set to destroy his life. He finds a way to combat the trauma that is both majestic and unique. He tells Jane Garvey his story. Please be aware that this interview references suicide. If you are suffering distress or despair and need support, including urgent support, a list of organisations that can help is available a...
May 04, 2022•28 min
It’s 1996 and Jill Clark has been living in Guernsey for less than a year. It’s been a glorious summer and she is looking forward to her 25th birthday. Like for most young people looks are important to her. A journey home from the pub is about to make Jill question the importance of the human face.
Apr 27, 2022•30 min
From the age of two up to 16, Sinéad Browne is in and out of children’s homes and foster care. Her one constant is school. She’s regularly told she will amount to nothing but against expectations and as an act of defiance, Sinéad just studies harder. At times she is hungry and ashamed to ask for help. Years of a complicated relationship with food develop into a serious eating disorder but in spite of all this Sinéad gets herself three A’s at A level and then a law degree and a job as a solicitor...
Apr 20, 2022•29 min
It’s 2013 when Gilbert and Jane both have to face a major transformative moment. Jane has been studying for a much longed-for PhD and a new exciting career is on the horizon. Their life together is built on a shared love of nature and hiking. But then Gilbert can no longer walk. Some big decisions have to be made and just when they are at their lowest, the mountain view from their bedroom window sparks something remarkable.
Apr 13, 2022•29 min
Moss Hills and his wife Tracey have made a successful living as entertainers on cruises. They play guitar and sing – usually covering 60s and 70s hits – as guests dance until the early hours. One stormy night in 1991 they were working on the Greek cruise liner Oceanos off the South African coast when the lights went out, the PA system fell silent and the ship rolled so much that just staying upright was a challenge. Their actions in the face of extreme danger would affect almost all of the 581 p...
Apr 06, 2022•29 min
Catherine Butler-Burns decided to become a nun aged 17. It was a shock to her parents, they weren’t especially religious by Irish standards of the time and until then Catherine had been having a lively teenage social life. But she chose to take vows of poverty, chastity and obedience because the women she saw “saving the world” were nuns. Catherine took on a role teaching speech and drama at a Catholic school in Scotland where she met a priest called Father Michael. There was evidently an emotio...
Nov 24, 2021•28 min
When Jaina Mistry was young she had a very scary encounter with a dog that she thought had given her a lifelong phobia. Her family felt much the same. But years later her freedom would be curtailed in the most basic way as even going out to a café or to the gym became fraught with danger. To help her through this she was encouraged to put all her faith in a dog called Laura. Jaina is believed to be England’s first blind female fitness instructor and told Jane Garvey about the transformative impa...
Nov 17, 2021•28 min
One Sunday, over drinks, Reg Mead was told a story: that back in the fifties a farmer had unearthed a pot full of old coins. He’d scooped up what he could and then ploughed the rest back in to the field. Reg is a keen metal detectorist so his interest was piqued. He got permission from the landowner and set off with some friends from his metal-detecting club. But there was a catch, the land was very much in use so he could only search for four to five hours a year. After a while most club member...
Nov 10, 2021•29 min
On the evening of Friday 29 November 2013, Michael Byrne was having a drink with a friend in a bar in Glasgow. They'd gone to see a band and had only been there for about an hour when suddenly it felt like everything had been shaken up – as if they were in snowglobe. Amid the chaos of falling debris Michael’s actions helping others were heroic, and afterwards to his wife and colleagues he seemed to be just fine. In the aftermath of this disaster he and his friend had agreed not to speak about wh...
Nov 03, 2021•28 min
Pip Peacock lives in Bakewell in the Peak District, a perfect spot for walking the family dog, Buster. He’d been with them for 11 years. He was originally a present for her youngest son when he was a teenager but when he found out just how much was involved in dog ownership the title of chief dog walker soon fell to Pip. Thankfully she likes walking. This year she set herself a challenge of completing 1000 miles on foot. She finished the last mile this October, raising money for the air ambulanc...
Oct 27, 2021•28 min
Jemma Bere had an unusual childhood. Her mum was a primary school teacher who chose to homeschool her so they could move around a lot. They lived on a boat in Turkey, travelled to Thailand, Bali and across Europe. In her teens they finally settled in Wales after her mum met a new partner. He was a big drinker and home life became a bit chaotic but they muddled along. Jemma’s mum and stepdad moved to Spain in her second year of A-levels. By now the couple had two kids: Alex and Billie. Then, just...
Oct 20, 2021•28 min
In his twenties Jon Godsall was working in the family air-conditioning business but he also wanted to see the world, so he took his skills abroad. He found a job at the British embassy in Kuwait. On August 2, 1990, Jon set off in his car for work as he did every day. He realised something was wrong when he was stopped as he neared the embassy. The next thing he knew, he was on the floor with a gun pointing towards him. What happened next transformed his life. For thirty years, Jon found himself ...
Oct 13, 2021•31 min
Jane Garvey introduces series 2 with more incredible stories of transformative moments.
Oct 06, 2021•3 min
Tony Kofi is the fifth of seven brothers and was raised by his Ghanaian parents in Nottingham in the late 1960s. At secondary school Tony was turned down for the music course he wanted to do, told he wasn’t focused enough, and directed to do woodwork instead. He stuck with woodwork as he was really good at it, and left school at the age of 16 to become a carpentry apprentice. A few months in, working on a house construction, he fell from the roof arch to the ground floor where he landed on his h...
May 18, 2021•29 min
Sheetal Surti was born in to a British South Asian family in a small town in the East Midlands. Aged seven Sheetal noticed a white patch behind her ear. She didn’t think much of it but soon more patches appeared and started to spread. She was diagnosed with vitiligo – a skin condition where unpigmented patches appear on different parts of the body. And so the treatments began. Some were medically advised, some were recommended by friends. Most of them were unpleasant, one in particular was horri...
May 12, 2021•29 min
Keith Williams aka Keith ‘y Glo’ or ‘Keith the coal’ was born in 1952 and brought up as the son of a coal merchant in South Wales. At the age of 13 he found out he had been adopted but it was only when he was in his forties and expecting a grandchild that he started looking into his family history. He eventually tracked down his birth mother and arranged an emotional reunion. It was at this first meeting that Keith asked her about his birth father and was presented with a bundle of documents and...
May 05, 2021•29 min
Charlie Wilson is a married father of two from Aberdeen, not that he had any recollection of that when he woke up in a hospital bed in June 2008. Before that day he had lived a very comfortable, sometimes lavish lifestyle. A self-confessed workaholic, he often worked 16-hour days as a self-employed finance director in charge of multi-million-pound deals. That all came to a sudden halt when Charlie, then 44, suffered a massive stroke and woke up with no memory of who he was. He didn’t recognise h...
Apr 28, 2021•29 min
