This episode contains detailed discussion around mental health and self-harm. If you or someone you know has been affected by anything you hear in this episode please speak to your GP.

Dame Kelly Holmes is one of the UK’s most popular athletes. She’s a double Olympic champion. She’s a Commonwealth champion. She’s a European champion. She set and holds the British records in both the 800m and 100m races.

Growing up, Kelly struggled with school. It was her PE teacher that spotted her talent for running and encouraged her to apply herself. Kelly said that just one person believing in her had the power to turn her life around.

Her memoir ‘Unique’ has just been released - and she has bravely told her story of publicly coming out as a gay woman - from living in fear of being outed in the Army and at major sporting events to the freedom and contentment she has owning her identity and sexuality.

Matt Lucas is an actor, comedian, TV presenter, author and musician. He’s best known for his sketch comedy show Little Britain and as a presenter of The Great British Bake Off.

Matt has achieved huge success in his career, but faced immense challenges in his childhood. He developed alopecia and lost all his hair at 6-years-old and he struggled to accept his sexuality as a teenager. In this incredible interview, Matt talks about the teachers who encouraged his love for drama and helped him rid the shame of being gay.

Sophie Ellis-Bextor is a pop star who rose to fame in the 90s after starting her music career as just a teenager. She’s gone on to have six studio albums, all while raising five sons. Sophie had a unique upbringing, her mum was the famous Blue Peter presenter Janet Ellis and  as a late teenager spent most of her time on the road as the lead singer of The Audience. In this episode we talk about how on earth you raise five boys all whilst juggling a successful career and how she’s learned to live without regret.

Vanessa Feltz is a broadcaster and journalist, who has been on our screens and airwaves for decades. She was educated at a leading private school and The University of Cambridge, one of the best universities in the world. And while her first-class education set her up for a hugely successful broadcasting career, the only benefit her mother saw was that it would help her find a good Jewish husband. Vanessa has been through so much, and has shared so many of her challenges publicly. In this episode we talk about how to heal a broken heart and how to raise two strong, successful women as a single mother.

This episode contains detailed discussion around mental health and suicide. If you or someone you know has been affected by anything you hear in this episode please contact the Samaritans on 116 123 or speak to your GP.

Nadiya Hussain is a TV chef, presenter and writer - best known for winning The Great British Bake Off and for her bestselling cookery and children’s books. Her latest cookbook, Nadiya's Simple Spices, is out now.

In this episode we discuss the lasting impact of bullying, why she won’t let her children have sleepovers and why she believes all kids should be taught how to learn to cook at school - as well as receiving financial education.

Helplines:

Samaritans helpline: 116 123

https://www.samaritans.org/

https://www.nhs.uk/nhs-services/mental-health-services/

https://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/helplines/

This episode contains detailed discussion around mental health and suicide. If you or someone you know has been affected by anything you hear in this episode please contact the Samaritans on 116 123 or speak to your GP.

Roman Kemp is a TV and radio presenter,  best known as the host of Capital Breakfast.

He has achieved huge success at a young age but his world changed overnight when his best friend and producer took his own life in 2020. Since then, he has been on a journey to educate others about suicide and tackling the stigma of depression, of which Roman has experienced himself since he was just 15 years old.

In this episode we talk about how we should talk to our children about depression, what parents can do to assist their children who are struggling mentally and how parents can tell the difference between teenage angst and ill mental health. 

Helplines:

Samaritans helpline: 116 123

https://www.samaritans.org/

https://www.nhs.uk/nhs-services/mental-health-services/

https://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/helplines/

Caitlin Moran is an award-winning writer and columnist for The Times. Her bestselling books have seen her described by many as a feminist icon. Caitlin’s had an extraordinary upbringing, she was raised by hippies, who decided to homeschool her and her 7 younger siblings from the age of 11. But Caitlin and her siblings have gone on to achieve such huge success in their careers despite receiving little education. We talk about whether homeschool is actually superior to traditional schooling and how we can ignite that passion for learning in our kids. We also talk about the many lessons she’s learned from her daughters, including how to support a child through severe mental illness. 

My guest this week is - well, you know her as broadcaster extraordinaire Lauren Laverne, but in my household she’s my best friend and she’s aunty Lala. Lauren hosts the 6 Music breakfast show and the much-loved Desert Island Discs. In this episode we talk about the alternative teachers in her life and the lessons she’s learned from her incredible parents. She also reveals that if she wasn't the coolest female broadcaster in the country, she might have been a cleanfluencer.

Amir Khan is a former professional boxer and two-time world champion. As a young boy, he was the naughty one - so his dad took him to boxing class at 8-years-old, to try keep him out of trouble. But by the time Amir was 17, he had become Britain’s youngest ever boxing Olympic medalist. Now I know a completely different side to Amir than a former world champion. I spent three weeks with him in the jungle and it was brilliant to be reunited with him. In this episode we talk about how his children changed him and how he's dealt with family fallouts. His book new book Fight For Your Life is out now.

This episode contains offensive language. If you are affected by anything you hear in this episode and need support please see the suggested website links below.

https://www.mind.org.uk

https://www.stophateuk.org/

Welcome to my new podcast They Don’t Teach This At School, each week I’ll be speaking to some brilliant guests to share their tips on how they and their families survive life’s challenges. My first guest is an exclusive interview with my friend, Amanda Holden. You’ll know her as an actress, singer and presenter. She hosts Heart Breakfast with Jamie Theakston and she's a judge on Britain’s Got Talent. She’s had an incredible career in showbiz and has juggled it all on top of being a mother to two girls. Amanda is an incredible friend and I turned to her when I created my own blended family, and she taught me how it can be the most wonderful gift.