Family Episodes
Addiction doesn’t just affect individuals—it impacts families in profound and far-reaching ways. This category focuses on the ripple effects of addiction within family dynamics, highlighting the challenges faced by loved ones and the crucial role they play in supporting recovery. Episodes feature stories of families navigating the complexities of addiction, along with expert advice on managing co-dependency, addressing intergenerational trauma, and fostering healthier relationships. By exploring these themes, the podcast offers comfort, guidance, and empowerment for families affected by addiction.
26
May 12, 2026
Melissa Love: Trauma, Healthcare Stigma and a Nurse’s Journey Into Recovery Services
Melissa Love joins Believe in People to share how working as a nurse in addiction services challenged her own hidden fears, internalised stigma and understanding of dependency. Through personal reflections on her brother’s addiction, family trauma and her father’s rejection, Melissa explores how these experiences reshaped her view of recovery, compassion and what real care looks like. This episode explores addiction recovery, trauma, stigma in healthcare, family dynamics, mental health and the i...
23
April 16, 2026
Kieran McCartney: Cocaine Culture, ADHD and Recovery - Grief, Addiction and The Apprentice
In this episode of Believe in People: Addiction, Recovery & Stigma, Kieran McCartney joins us to discuss cocaine use, ADHD, grief, and recovery. Best known for his "win or walk" deal with Lord Sugar on the BBC show, The Apprentice , Kieran opens up about the pressures behind success, the loss of his father, and how that led to increased cocaine use. We explore the normalisation of cocaine culture in the UK, the link between alcohol and stimulant use, and how substances can become tools for copin...
11
Jan. 29, 2026
Paula McGowan OBE: Autism, System Failure & Oliver’s Legacy - Addiction and Care Reform
Paula McGowan OBE joins Believe in People for a full, in-depth conversation about her son Oliver, whose death led to the introduction of The Oliver McGowan Mandatory Training across health and social care in England. Paula explains how people are too often doubted, judged, or written off in services, how distress is misread as behaviour or non-compliance, and how bias, fear, and rigid systems can escalate harm. Drawing directly from Oliver’s story, this conversation challenges professionals to r...
10
Jan. 23, 2026
Believe in People EXTRA: Oliver McGowan Training - Why It Protects Lives
This short episode of Believe in People Extra shares an exclusive preview from our upcoming full conversation with Paula McGowan OBE , whose son Oliver’s death led to the introduction of The Oliver McGowan Mandatory Training across health and social care in England. This preview focuses on one critical question: why Tier 2 training matters , and why listening to people with lived experience is not optional, but essential for safety, dignity, and life itself. Paula explains why Tier 2 training mu...
6
Dec. 12, 2025
Believe in People EXTRA: The 12 Steps - Why Rehab Wasn’t Enough
In the first episode of Believe in People Extra , our new spin off miniseries, Michelle Heaton speaks openly about what it feels like to want to stop drinking and not be able to. She explains the medical dangers she didn’t understand, the shame that kept her stuck, and why addiction isn’t about a lack of willpower. Michelle shares the moment that changed everything: seeing someone else in recovery who had what she wanted - and realising she didn’t have to do this alone. This short episode explor...
3
Nov. 21, 2025
Andy Woodward: Childhood Trauma, Football Abuse and the Silence That Hid a Predator
In this episode of Believe in People: Addiction, Recovery & Stigma , we begin the first of a powerful two-part conversation with Andy Woodward , the former professional footballer whose bravery exposed one of the biggest safeguarding scandals in British sporting history. Andy was the first to go public with his experience of childhood sexual abuse at the hands of youth coach Barry Bennell , a predator enabled by a culture of silence that protected reputations instead of children. With striking h...
1
Nov. 6, 2025
Katie Price & Kerry Katona: Cocaine, Fame & Motherhood - Surviving Addiction in Public
In this episode of Believe in People: Addiction, Recovery & Stigma , Katie Price and Kerry Katona sit down for a raw, unfiltered conversation about cocaine addiction , recovery, motherhood, mental health, and the double standards women continue to face in the public eye. Recorded live behind the scenes at Hull City Hall during their UK tour, Katie and Kerry speak candidly about ADHD, bipolar diagnoses, self-medication, toxic circles, fame, exploitation, and how accountability transformed their l...