Blended

On today’s episode of Blended, Kate speaks to Steve Bland, presenter of the BBC Radio 5 Live podcast ‘You, Me & The Big C’. Steve tragically lost his wife Rachael Bland to breast cancer in 2018, leaving him a widow and a single parent to their two-year-old son Freddie. Steve and Kate approached some of the many nuances and challenges from different sides of the same coin: How do you introduce...

Today's guest is Marvyn Harrison - father, entrepreneur, and host of the award-winning podcast Dope Black Dads which creates a safe space for fathers who wish to discuss their experiences of parenthood, being black and masculinity in the modern world. What began as a WhatsApp group has blossomed into a space that emboldens dads to lean into their parenting experience and provides a supportive hand...

You may know the much-loved TV personality Debbie Bright from The Only Way Is Essex, but over 200 children around the UK have known Debbie as their foster carer. Debbie is such a kind and caring soul who has impacted so many young lives and in today’s episode, Debbie talks frankly about the highs, lows, rewarding and challenging moments of fostering. How do you set up to receive a new foster child...

How do you deal with one of your parents starting a new family? Today's guest is the presenter and businesswoman Rochelle Humes who had to tackle this very question when she discovered later in life that she had siblings through her estranged Dad. Rochelle challenges the ‘half’ labels for her siblings and talks fondly of the roles ‘aunties’ have played both in her family and wider in black communi...

Today on Blended we are talking about motherhood in all its beautifully messy glory with the wonderful television personality and former Loose Women panelist Saira Khan. Saira talks about how she came to be in a blended family including the moment she met her little girl who she adopted from Pakistan when she was just four days old. As you’ll hear in today’s episode, the adoption process isn’t sim...

Stepmothers seem to have an unfairly bad reputation, when the reality is that it takes a really strong person to be a stepparent. You have to be pretty resilient to fit into an already formed family unit! It isn't always easy, but it's often filled with a new love that you just can't explain. Here to share their story on today's episode of Blended are stepmother-daughter-duo Kim and Amelia. Having...

Losing a parent as a teenager is unthinkable, let alone when it's followed by the death of a beloved sister just over two years later. This has been the devastating reality for today’s guest: author and entrepreneur Lottie Tomlinson. After her mum and sister passed away, Lottie felt she had to put on a brave face and step up for her younger siblings, but this led to her losing control of her emoti...

Joining Kate on Blended this week is Ashley John-Baptiste, who you might recognise from his amazing BBC Three documentary, ‘Split Up in Care: Life Without Siblings’. Ashley is amazing, funny and open and together he speaks candidly with Kate about how he’d already lived with five families by the age of 18. Ashley shares heartbreaking stories of exclusion and the need to put up fronts to reduce the...

Finding love and ‘moving on’ when you are in the thick of grief might feel impossible. But, sometimes (and often unexpectedly) you’re able to let new people into your lives and hearts. This was the case for our wonderful guests today - Sky Sports presenter Simon Thomas, along with his wonderful wife Derrina. In this honest and heart warming discussion, Derrina and Simon talk about how they have su...

*Trigger warning* This episode covers the loss of loved ones. What is grief? Is there a right or wrong way to grieve? And what are the different approaches to dealing with it? Today’s guest is bestselling psychotherapist, Julia Samuel MBE, who brought such warmth and wisdom to these really tough subjects. Julia believes that every family has a story - so much so that she’s titled her most recent b...

*Trigger warning* This episode covers loss of pregnancy, struggles with fertility and death of loved ones. Mother’s Day is meant to be a beautiful celebration of the women that shaped us. But for so many people out there, it can be a really tough day to navigate. In this moving first episode of Blended, Kate brings together voices of women, children and young adults from around the UK who share th...

Hosted by Kate Ferdinand, this podcast is a celebration of blended families - exploring the stories of relationships bound by love, no matter what their circumstances are. Covering subjects such as second marriages, divorce, grief and life after loss, adoption, fostering and (not-so-wicked!) stepmothers, Kate will champion different voices and experiences by speaking with experts, everyday people...