Believe in People EXTRA: Richard Bacon On Addiction and Living With Risk
In this special episode of Believe in People: EXTRA, recorded on the road at the British Podcast Show in London, we sit down with broadcaster Richard Bacon for an honest conversation about alcohol addiction, cocaine use, stigma, and what it means to live with risk while trying to build a stable life.
Richard traces the story back through family history, from a grandfather who died of alcoholism to a mother he believes is addicted but does not recognise it, and he reflects on the role of genetics in substance use. He describes how drink and drugs in his late teens felt like they “flipped a switch”, and why that matters when you are trying to make sense of cravings, habit, and shame without reducing everything to willpower.
We also talk about public consequences and recovery support. Richard revisits being publicly sacked from Blue Peter after cocaine use, his experience of trying Alcoholics Anonymous, and why it did not quite fit despite his respect for it. From there, the conversation moves into harm reduction: drinking less, using medication intended to blunt alcohol’s impact on the brain, taking vitamins and mineral supplements, and staying alert to the real dangers of heavy drinking, including accidents and long-term brain health.
Richard is now the founder of Yes Yes Media, a format and new media company backed by Elisabeth Murdoch and Jane Featherstone’s SISTER, alongside producer Arthur Essebag’s Satisfaction Group. The company develops original entertainment formats across television, digital media, gaming and interactive technology, with collaborators including Courteney Cox, Johnny McDaid and Savan Kotecha. Richard describes the company’s vision as creating entertainment designed for the “TikTok era”, where audiences can interact with stories across multiple devices and platforms.
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00:00 - Welcome To Believe In People Extra
00:27 - Recording Live At The Podcast Show
01:05 - Family History And Genetic Risk
01:46 - AA Experiences And Why It Did Not Stick
02:50 - Medication Vitamins And Brain Protection
04:09 - Harm Reduction And Keeping Family Safe
05:48 - Share Subscribe Review And Resources
Welcome To Believe In People Extra
SPEAKER_00
This is a renew original recording. Hello and welcome to Believe in People Extra, the companion miniseries to our award-winning podcast about all things addiction, recovery, and stigma. I'm Robbie Lawson, the show's producer, and each week I'll bring you highlights, exclusive recordings, extended cuts, and powerful moments from our archive. This series brings together the most impactful conversations and recovery-focused insights condensed into short episodes to support and inspire those on their journey.
Recording Live At The Podcast Show
SPEAKER_00
In today's special episode, we're recorded on the road at the British Podcast Show in the middle of one of the UK's biggest gatherings of broadcasters and media voices. We sit down with Richard Bacon for an honest conversation about addiction, shame, and living with risk. Richard reflects on growing up around alcoholism, being publicly sacked from blue pita after cocaine use, and the complicated reality of recognising addiction while still battling with it. We explore recovery, moderation, family history, and the pressures of navigating substance use in both public and private life. This is a conversation about genetics, accountability, stigma, and the challenge of trying to build a stable life while knowing how dangerous addiction can become.
Family History And Genetic Risk
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We're here at the podcast show in London. I've come down here to talk about this. And it is an important subject. And my own relationship to addiction is difficult because I go in and out of drinking. But I am definitely an addict and I recognise that. My mum is an addict and she doesn't recognise that, but she is one. Her father, my grandfather, died of alcoholism. And so it is it's very much something in the family. And I do my my the more I've read about it, I actually have, for want of a better phrase, an alcohol doctor that I talk to. That it is it there's a big part of genetics in it. And I got into drink and drugs in my late teens, and that obviously just flipped a switch that it's obvious it becomes hard to turn off again.
AA Experiences And Why It Did Not Stick
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I I there are many times that I've done AA. There are many times when my relationship to drink and drugs has been destructive, not least when I lost my job publicly on Blue Peter for cocaine. But there are many other times it's caused me problems in my life. I've tried AA, and it's a place that I really respect and admire. I lived in Los Angeles for a long time, which is incredible for AA. I think it might be the birthplace of AA. It just didn't quite land for me. And and it's one of those places I went to and I respected it. I didn't really like it when a sponsor called me, and I know that sounds ridiculous. I just it's just who I am. And unfortunately, even though it's caused me problems, I'm also aware that I like drinking. And so uh what I do now is I drink less. I actually take these tablets, and I wish I could tell you their name. I take them every day, and they interfere with the way that alcohol gets into your brain cells. And it does two things it means that the effect is less, so you get less drunk, and it also means that it damages your brain less as well. And over time it makes you
Medication Vitamins And Brain Protection
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desire it a bit less. So I'm in this place of drinking less, not getting in trouble, but knowing I'm dangerous, knowing I need to take this medication. He also told me big drinkers really need to take, or people who've been big drinkers in their life, I'm less so now, really need to take vitamins and minerals every morning, vitamin and mineral supplements. So every morning I take these tablets that reduce how alcohol interacts with my brain cells, and then I take loads of vitamin supplements. And he says that's also a way. So heavy drinkers often suffer with dementia later in life because you're literally damaging your brain. And so the the those tablets plus vitamins, he says, are warding against that. So you're always trying to make up for the life that you've led. But in many ways, I wish I didn't drink. I went on Davina McCall's podcast this week. She doesn't drink anymore, and she said to me, She loves not drinking so much. She said I wouldn't I wouldn't go back to drinking for all the tea in China. Although if she had all the tea in China, she wouldn't really need alcohol because it's got a lot of tea to get through. But I I do envy that, and I do think I do think my life would be better if I didn't drink at all. But I have to admit that I am an addict, but that I like it, and I just have to make sure it doesn't kill
Harm Reduction And Keeping Family Safe
SPEAKER_01
me. For me, my relationship to drinking isn't necessarily about other people. I mean, I love being social, but I don't some people struggle to give up because their friends get a drink and they want to drink. I'm not quite triggered by that. So I'm okay socially. But it is, I think the reality is, and I'm a testament to this, is the hardest part is the early part. They do say three weeks is how long you need to truly break a habit. Now you can't go three weeks without a drink and be done for life. But that bit is hard. I manage the social bit, I think, simply because I drive, I can I can drink on my own, I can drink with other people. I don't need the other people to do it. So my managing it has become understanding it's dangerous, acknowledging I'm an addict, trying to protect my brain and making sure I drink less than I used to. Because I I you know, if I don't do that, I could easily kill myself. I don't mean suicidal ideation, I just mean falling over, banging the head. It's dangerous. I you know, I've seen what it's done to my mum, I've seen what it's done to my granddad. I worry about my own kids. So my managing it is is is knowing it's a problem and making sure I don't behave in a way that's dangerous. That that's it's not brilliant advice, but it's it's it's understanding it, admitting it, and thinking about and you know, and thinking about I've got two children, I've got a wife. I don't ever want to separate from her. And and you know, the most likely cause of a separation from my wife will be my relationship to alcohol and to drugs. So it's understanding that it's dangerous and and and making sure that I am not dangerous.
Share Subscribe Review And Resources
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And if you've enjoyed this episode of Believe in People Extra, we'd love for you to share with others who might find it meaningful. Don't forget to hit that subscribe button so you never miss an episode, and leaving a review will help us reach more people and continue challenging stigma around addiction and recovery. For additional resources and to listen to this episode in full, explore the links in this episode description. And to learn more about our mission and hear more incredible stories, you can visit us directly at believingpeoplepodcast.com.