2024 British Podcast Award Winner & 2025 Radio Academy Award Nominated Podcast

Women Episodes

Addiction and recovery often intersect with the broader issues of violence against women and girls, highlighting the unique vulnerabilities faced by women in these situations. This category explores the systemic, societal, and personal factors that link gender-based violence and substance use, offering a space for dialogue and understanding. Episodes feature stories of survivors who have navigated addiction while overcoming the trauma of abuse, along with expert insights into the role of trauma-informed care in recovery. By addressing these sensitive but vital topics, the podcast shines a light on the importance of tailored support for women affected by violence, breaking the cycle of stigma and silence.

The experiences of women navigating addiction, recovery, and societal stigma are deeply personal and often shaped by unique challenges. This category also focuses on the lived realities of women, including those engaged in sex work and those who have survived sexual violence. Episodes provide a platform for women to share their stories, highlighting the resilience and strength required to heal. Discussions explore the intersection of trauma, exploitation, and addiction, while also addressing the systemic barriers women face in accessing support. With a focus on empathy and advocacy, this category aims to empower women and promote understanding of the gendered dimensions of addiction and recovery.
Carole Boss Watson: TikTok Sober Queen, 45 Years in Addiction, Gangster Dad and Sobriety
30
June 9, 2026

Carole Boss Watson: TikTok Sober Queen, 45 Years in Addiction, Gangster Dad and Sobriety

The TikTok sensation known to millions as "Sober Queen" joins us on Believe in People. Carole Watson's story is unlike anything we've featured before. Her addiction began at just ten years old and continued for more than 45 years through drugs, alcohol, crime, prison, abusive relationships, health scares and repeated brushes with death. Known online for her brutally honest recovery content, humour and storytelling, Carole has built a huge following on TikTok as @carolebosswatson, inspiring pe...
Kaitlin Reeve: Motherhood, Cocaine, 12 Steps & How Mums Can Ask For Help Without Losing Their Children
29
May 27, 2026

Kaitlin Reeve: Motherhood, Cocaine, 12 Steps & How Mums Can Ask For Help Without Losing Their Children

In this episode of Believe in People , Kaitlin Reeve , known online as Sober As A Mother Focused , joins us to discuss motherhood, addiction recovery, trauma, shame, and the unique barriers women face when seeking support. Kaitlin shares her deeply personal journey from childhood trauma and early substance use to cocaine addiction, cannabis dependency, and ultimately long-term recovery. We explore the fear many mothers experience around disclosing addiction, concerns about social services involv...
Melissa Love: Trauma, Healthcare Stigma and a Nurse’s Journey Into Recovery Services
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...
Believe in People EXTRA: Tourette’s - What Tics Really Feel Like
16
Feb. 27, 2026

Believe in People EXTRA: Tourette’s - What Tics Really Feel Like

In this episode of Believe in People Extra , Bea Wood joins us to challenge one of the most common myths about Tourette’s - that it is simply about swearing. Bea explains the difference between coprolalia and the more common motor and vocal tics that shape everyday life and the need for constant safety awareness. The conversation explores intrusive thoughts and urges, why suppressing tics can make them worse, and how anxiety and social context can intensify symptoms. We also examine the emotiona...
Lucy Rocca: Grey Area Drinking, Wine Culture & Alcohol Dependence
13
Feb. 12, 2026

Lucy Rocca: Grey Area Drinking, Wine Culture & Alcohol Dependence

Lucy Rocca joins Believe in People to share her candid story of alcohol misuse, trauma, and recovery, and the creation of Soberistas , one of the earliest online sobriety communities for women. Lucy takes us back to the 1990s, the rave scene, early drug use, and the beginnings of binge drinking that quickly became unsafe. She explains how alcohol escalated in adulthood, how motherhood and “outward stability” can hide the reality of harmful drinking, and why shame keeps so many people silent. A k...
Paula McGowan OBE: Autism, System Failure & Oliver’s Legacy - Addiction and Care Reform
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...
Believe in People EXTRA: Oliver McGowan Training - Why It Protects Lives
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...
Believe in People EXTRA: Alcohol & Anxiety - When Drinking Makes It Worse
8
Dec. 31, 2025

Believe in People EXTRA: Alcohol & Anxiety - When Drinking Makes It Worse

In this episode of Believe in People Extra , Amy Jo Johnson shares why she chose to stop drinking - not because her life had fallen apart, but because alcohol was making her anxiety louder and everyday life harder to manage. She shares the simple mindset shift that helped her most: giving herself permission to drink, and realising she didn’t actually want to. Amy Jo also reflects on how not drinking changed her friendships, why some social situations stopped feeling fulfilling, and how having su...
Believe in People EXTRA: The 12 Steps - Why Rehab Wasn’t Enough
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...
Patti Clark: Alcohol, Relapse & Women’s Recovery - Breaking Generational Patterns
5
Dec. 5, 2025

Patti Clark: Alcohol, Relapse & Women’s Recovery - Breaking Generational Patterns

In this episode of Believe in People: Addiction, Recovery & Stigma , Patti reflects on a lifetime shaped by silence, trauma, and survival. Growing up in a dysfunctional home in 1970s San Francisco - marked by alcoholism, emotional neglect, and parents who barely spoke - she began using alcohol and drugs at just 13 to escape overwhelming pain. By 16 she had lost her mother to alcoholism, a loss that profoundly shaped her understanding of addiction, identity, and generational trauma. Patti shares ...
Katie Price & Kerry Katona: Cocaine, Fame & Motherhood - Surviving Addiction in Public
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...
Mel Barrett: Cocaine, Alcohol & Boxing - Identity, Recovery & 12 Steps
29
Oct. 1, 2025

Mel Barrett: Cocaine, Alcohol & Boxing - Identity, Recovery & 12 Steps

In this episode of Believe in People: Addiction, Recovery & Stigma, Mel shares a powerful and deeply honest account of her journey through alcohol misuse , escalating substance use, mental health struggles, and the non-linear path toward recovery. Growing up as a triplet in a family where drinking was normalised, Mel describes early identity struggles, belonging within pub culture, and how her use escalated in Brighton – from drinking to dangerous encounters with dealers and a chaotic lifestyle ...
Emma Hardy MP: Ketamine, Mental Health & Flood Crisis - Community Recovery in Hull
28
Sept. 8, 2025

Emma Hardy MP: Ketamine, Mental Health & Flood Crisis - Community Recovery in Hull

In this episode of Believe in People: Addiction, Recovery & Stigma , Emma Hardy MP returns to the podcast to discuss some of the most urgent challenges facing Hull and the wider UK – including rising ketamine harm , worsening mental health pressures, and the city’s ongoing triple flood threat . Recorded during a period of national uncertainty, Emma reflects on the cost of living crisis, social housing pressures, sewage and drainage issues, and the wider political culture that shapes how communit...
Elly Mortimer: Hepatitis C, Heroin & Harm Reduction - 30 Years of Public Health Experience
27
July 27, 2025

Elly Mortimer: Hepatitis C, Heroin & Harm Reduction - 30 Years of Public Health Experience

In this episode of Believe in People: Addiction, Recovery & Stigma , Elly returns for her third appearance to share more than 30 years of insight from frontline harm reduction and public health work, with a particular focus on eliminating Hepatitis C across the UK. Elly explains how treatment has transformed from long, punishing year-long interferon courses with severe side effects to today’s short-course tablets that are over 96 percent effective . Drawing on decades of clinical, operational an...