Episodes

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 ...

In this episode of Believe in People: Addiction, Recovery & Stigma, we conclude our two-part conversation with Andy Woodward, who reflects on the long-term psychological effects of childhood trauma and how those experiences shaped his later struggles with alcohol use, anxiety and identity.

Andy shares how a false rape accusation in 2015 became a devastating turning point - stripping away the structures that once grounded him, including careers in both professional football and policing. Without...

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 hon...

In this episode of Believe in People: Addiction, Recovery & Stigma, we are privileged to sit down with Taz, whose life story spans racism, identity conflict, culture, trauma, addiction, and the long path to redemption.

Born in Britain to Pakistani parents, Taz grew up between cultures – navigating violence, racism, and confusion around faith, masculinity, and belonging. Forced into an arranged marriage, his life spiralled into addiction, offending, and prison before honesty, therapy, and self-r...

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 li...

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 ...

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 communitie...

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 and...

In this episode of Believe in People: Addiction, Recovery & Stigma, we meet Henry Beercock, founder of Hull’s rapidly growing sober movement Alcohull Free. After nearly two decades of heavy binge drinking, Henry made a bold decision that changed his life: he stopped drinking, stepped away from his corporate career, and began rebuilding his health, identity and purpose from the inside out.

What started as a personal recovery journey quickly evolved into something bigger. Alcohull Free became a c...

In this special episode of Believe in People: Addiction, Recovery & Stigma, we present a unique collaboration with Apple Music and the Radio Academy Award-winning podcast Classical Connections, hosted by world-renowned pianist and composer Alexis Ffrench.

Originally broadcast as part of the celebrated 60-Second Sonata segment, Alexis invited host Matthew Butler to share a deeply personal reflection on trauma, addiction, stigma, and the origins of the Believe in People podcast. In response, Alex...

In this episode of Believe in People: Addiction, Recovery & Stigma, Young Lee returns to explore what happens after the chaos of addiction — when the substances are gone, the dust has settled, and the real internal work begins.

Once seen as a rising talent in the music scene, Young describes how losing everything forced him to rebuild not just a life, but a self. Through daily spiritual practice, humility, service, discipline, and presence, he has found a quieter, deeper form of freedom - one r...

In this episode of Believe in People: Addiction, Recovery & Stigma, Ross shares an extraordinary journey from personal tragedy to public advocacy following the suicide of his father - a traumatic event that deeply shaped his mental health and identity.

Struggling to cope with overwhelming grief, Ross turned to alcohol and cocaine to numb the pain, leading to multiple suicide attempts and a period of profound crisis. A pivotal moment of clarity during hospitalisation marked the beginning of his ...

In this episode of Believe in People: Addiction, Recovery & Stigma, Matt speaks with Woody Albrow, the National Connecting Communities Lead at Change Grow Live, who shares an open and deeply personal account of his journey through addiction, spirituality and professional development.

Woody reflects on the early signs of substance use during his teens, including butane gas, cannabis, hallucinogens and eventually alcohol, which became his most destructive dependency. He speaks honestly about the ...

In this episode of Believe in People: Addiction, Recovery & Stigma, Matt speaks with Chris De Banks, founder of Not Saints - the UK’s only not-for-profit record label dedicated to supporting musicians in recovery. Through Chris’s lived experience, we explore the powerful intersection of music, addiction and sobriety, and the realities of navigating creative life without substances.

Chris reflects on his early experiences in the drug-fuelled 90s music scene, how substance use became normalised, ...

In this episode of Believe in People: Addiction, Recovery & Stigma, Matt sits down with Daniel Ramson, known online as TalkToBigDan, for a raw, provocative and unapologetically direct conversation about recovery, responsibility and the limits of traditional services.

Dan charts his journey from partying with rock stars to being sectioned, surviving drug-induced psychosis, and navigating the family fallout that followed. Rejecting the disease model of addiction, he advocates instead for radical ...

In this episode of Believe in People: Addiction, Recovery & Stigma, John shares a powerful story of quiet transformation - a shift from binge drinking, late nights and emotional exhaustion to clarity, creativity and meaningful connection.

After a 5am moment of reckoning, John made a life-changing decision: to stop drinking. Not because he identified as an alcoholic, but because alcohol no longer aligned with the life he wanted to build. In the space that sobriety created, he discovered a new pa...

In this episode of Believe in People: Addiction, Recovery & Stigma, Paul Haley shares his extraordinary journey from the depths of heroin and crack cocaine addiction to a position of national leadership within Change Grow Live. After a near-fatal injecting injury became his rock bottom, Paul made the courageous decision to rebuild his life - a decision that would ultimately shape his future and the lives of thousands of others.

Nearly two decades into recovery, Paul now serves as Change Grow Li...

In this powerful transatlantic collaboration of Believe in People: Addiction, Recovery & Stigma, host Amy Goldberg welcomes UK host Matt Butler into the guest seat, joined by special guest host Caitlin Morrison — sister of the late Matthew Perry and a driving force behind the Matthew Perry Foundation.

Together, they explore the intersections of recovery, resilience and legacy through an intimate conversation about how storytelling dismantles stigma, how lived experience shapes advocacy, and why...

In this episode of Believe in People: Addiction, Recovery & Stigma, Matt sits down with ultramarathon runner Tom Fitzsimons, whose extraordinary journey from alcohol addiction to running 3,073 miles across the United States in 100 days stands as one of the most powerful testaments to human resilience and purpose.

Through raw, candid storytelling, Tom shares how running became his lifeline - a way to reclaim identity, process trauma, and rebuild a life grounded in meaning rather than self-destru...

In this episode of Believe in People: Addiction, Recovery & Stigma, Matt begins the first part of a deeply personal two-part conversation with Sarah Hicks, whose story spans addiction, trauma, abusive relationships, grief and the long journey back to self-worth.

Sarah reflects on her early experiences with substance use, unpacking how emotional neglect, generational patterns and unhealthy family dynamics shaped her understanding of love, loyalty and survival. She speaks candidly about the damag...

In this episode of Believe in People: Addiction, Recovery & Stigma, we continue the second part of a powerful two-part conversation with Sarah Hicks, who shares her courageous journey through trauma, justice and long-term recovery.

Speaking with clarity and unflinching honesty, Sarah reflects on her experience of surviving sexual assault and the profound psychological impact that followed. She details the systemic barriers she encountered while seeking justice - from investigative inconsistenci...

In this episode of Believe in People: Addiction, Recovery & Stigma, Matt speaks with Chris Tait - keyboardist for Electric Six and founder of Passenger Recovery, a Detroit-based organisation supporting musicians and creatives in sobriety. Together they explore what happens when the highs of the music industry collide with the depths of addiction.

Chris reflects on using alcohol as a coping mechanism from a young age, the culture of excess and self-destruction that permeates the music world, and...

In this episode of Believe in People: Addiction, Recovery & Stigma, Matt jumps straight into a heartfelt and unflinching conversation with Shev, who reflects on the emotional weight of adult responsibilities placed on her from an early age - including becoming a mother at just 17.

Shev speaks candidly about the wounds of abandonment, the complexity of family relationships, and how alcohol use quietly escalated while working in the pub industry. She challenges the stigma that surrounds single mo...

Join Matt for a gripping and emotional conversation with Tom, a former talent agent whose high-flying lifestyle in central London masked a devastating struggle with cocaine addiction. Tom recounts the harrowing moment he realised he was using drugs while bringing his new-born daughter home - a wake-up call that forced him to confront the grip addiction had on his life. Reflecting on his own childhood, Tom explores the psychological toll of drug-induced psychosis, self-blame, and the destructive ...