Happy Place

Why can it feel more difficult to talk about mental health with the people you’re related to? In this Mother’s Day special of Happy Place, Fearne and her mum Lin explore their shared ancestry, wondering how much of who they are and what they feel is down to nature, and how much is nurture. In this chat, Fearne hears about her maternal grandmother, who she’s always known suffered mentally, but has...

Death is often viewed as something dark and muted, but after the death of her beloved sister, author Clover Stroud began to see the world in vivid colour. In this chat Fearne and Clover explore how death can teach us that it’s the tiny moments in life that truly matter; it’s the in jokes and funny glances that we remember about people. That realisation should be liberating for us in the here and n...

At 18 years old, Sophie Morgan was in a car crash, and was instantly paralysed from the chest down. Eighteen years on, she is now one of the only TV presenter’s in the world with a physical disability. She’s also an artist and an award-winning disability advocate. Sophie speaks passionately about how adversity influences her life to be filled with more gratitude. In this chat with Fearne, Sophie t...

Are you an introvert or an extrovert? Actress Tuppence Middleton is very clear that as an introvert, she is overwhelmed by being around other people and needs time alone to recharge. In this chat with Fearne, Tuppence discusses her OCD. Mental counting, checking lights, and checking taps are all current manifestations of it, but she acknowledges that her panic has taken different forms across diff...

Do you ever stop and ask what’s driving your behavioural patterns? New York Times bestselling author and self-confessed spiritual junkie Gabby Bernstein has spent the last few years thinking about how traumas from her past were manifesting in the present as workaholism, drug abuse, and alcoholism.   In this chat with Fearne, Gabby talks through how we use things like work, substances, or even...

For 17 years Björn Natthiko Lindeblad lived in Thailand’s jungle as a forest monk. He learnt how calm can encourage clarity of thought, that he preferred walking meditation to sitting, and that freedom can come from not being bound to material possessions. At the time of recording, Björn was very ill; he had ALS, a progressive nervous system disease. He knew that he would not be alive when this ep...

There’s bravery in wanting to connect with people in a truly authentic way. Musician Johnny Marr has found that across his career the songs people resonate with most are his most vulnerable, autobiographical tracks. Outside of music, there are lessons to be learnt there about how we might all best connect with each other. In this chat with Fearne, Johnny explains why it’s more valuable to be an ex...

What would you try if you didn’t have to do it perfectly? Best-selling author, and the ‘High Priestess of creativity’ Julia Cameron feels perfectionism is a stalling device. When we deny ourselves the right to attempt something, we in turn deny ourselves pleasure and joy. In this chat with Fearne, Julia explains why jealousy tells you what you really want and care about, and how this can be positi...

It’s often the case that fear is running the show. Dr Pippa Grange says it’s not always obvious that you’re afraid – you might be more familiar with the kind of fear you feel in the moment, like taking a driving test or giving a presentation – but it can in fact sneakily manifest as the chronic fear of not being good enough, and of being rejected. In this chat with Fearne, psychologist Pippa expla...

Do you find fitness and keeping your body healthy fun? Twins Dave and Steve Flynn – perhaps better known as The Happy Pear – love keeping fit in a way that feels like play. They listen to their bodies; they move intuitively. Sometimes that means handstands, sometimes it means yoga, and a lot of the time it means a cold morning swim in the Irish Sea. In this chat with Fearne, Dave and Steve explain...

Audiobook exclusive: Bigger Than Us. Calm anxiety through connection. Find happiness through purpose. Feel comfort in the universal. Think bigger to unlock you. In her new book, Bigger Than Us, Fearne Cotton seeks out the insight and advice of wise minds to explore what they can teach us to achieve happiness, connection and hope.  Here, Fearne exclusively shares the introduction and first cha...

It’s important to take time to figure out how to trust your own opinions of yourself rather than believing other peoples’ opinions of you. This is something author Freya North has been meditating on recently. In this chat, she and Fearne talk about how many of us are used to functioning at an extremely high level of stress without realising we’re pushing ourselves to breaking point, and Freya expl...

You shouldn’t always believe your thoughts. Psychotherapist and meditation teacher Tara Brach feels freedom comes from understanding that you are not your thoughts; they’re real, but they’re not necessarily true. In this chat with Fearne, Tara explains how to challenge what you think your mind is telling you, especially about yourself. Plus, they discuss how gratitude and compassion towards others...

Are you conscious of where the pressures you feel are coming from? Are they external or internal? Diver Tom Daley has been meditating on these different types of pressures recently, so in this chat he and Fearne discuss the power of validating ourselves rather than waiting for others to tell us we’re doing well. Plus, he explains the process he and husband Lance had to go through to adopt as a sam...

In this special episode, Fearne is joined by Jake Humphrey and Damian Hughes from The High Performance Podcast. They all share their favourite moments from Happy Place and High Performance in 2021, and discuss the impact those chats had on them, as well as reflecting on what their guests have taught them this year. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Reflecting on experiences from childhood can help us understand who we are today. Radio 1 presenter Matt Edmondson has been learning music production – an entirely new skill for him – and has been using it to explore feelings about his past. In this chat with Fearne, he opens up about being diagnosed with cyclothymia and how this new knowledge of his moods has changed his life for the better, and...

Treating our soil differently could have a knock on effect on our physical and mental health, as well as the health of the environment. As one half of Groove Armada, Andy Cato travelled the world playing music, but for the last 15 years his MO has been revolutionising the way we grow food.   In this chat with Fearne, he talks about the importance of re-connecting with nature an...

There’s never going to be anything comfortable about facilitating change, but if we deeply care about a cause we should do it nonetheless. As well as entertaining the nation on TV, Jamie Oliver has spent decades learning about, and fighting for, healthier food policies. In this chat, Fearne and Jamie explore how failure can ignite more fire in your belly, and why a little optimistic naivety might...

How good are you at getting quiet and sitting with yourself? Jazz singer Gregory Porter feels that this is the place your most authentic, distinctive creativity will come from. In this chat with Fearne, Gregory explains why you don’t need to be an overnight success. It’s ok to take your time, indeed you’ll benefit from taking that time to learn, and hone your craft. He also talks through the false...

It’s much more productive – and will ultimately make you happier – to strive for excellence rather than perfection. A research professor at the University of Houston, Brené Brown has spent 20 years studying courage, vulnerability, shame, and empathy. She’s clear that perfectionism is actually a defence mechanism to shield us from failure and shame.   In this chat with Fearne, Brené explains t...

Although she keeps much of her life private, Leona Lewis has recently felt a real need to speak up. In this chat with Fearne, she talks through why she’s so passionate about issues including racism and animal welfare, as well as explaining where her impressive work ethic comes from.   Leona is the UK’s Queen of Christmas; she’s all for embracing the magic the festive period brings because it’...

We are not living at a natural pace. The modern world forces us to move through life incredibly quickly; Shaman Jo Bowlby helps people slow down and embrace stillness.   In this chat with Fearne, Jo explains why we should be pursuing wisdom rather than just intellect, why quieting our analytical mind can help us get back in touch with our human essence, and how to rid ourselves of self-limiti...

It’s never too late to make a change; Annie Mac has left Radio 1 after 17 years of broadcasting and is ready to embrace parts of her identity she hasn’t had time to explore until now.   In this chat with Fearne, Annie talks about feeling that we need to allow people to be more than one thing - that we need to embrace the sunshine and joy, but the darkness and sadness too.   Fearne and An...

You’ve achieved the goals you set yourself for your career and personal life; what’s next? That’s the question Holly Willoughby has found herself asking recently. When you’re used to excellence and achievement, how do you break the loop of constantly living in the future, looking ahead instead of existing in the present and thinking about what will bring joy right now? In this chat with Fearne, Ho...

It can at times feel like the cycle of negative news is endless, and living in fear can be debilitating, but ethologist and conservationist Dr Jane Goodall, Founder of the Jane Goodall Institute, is able to turn despair into hope. In this chat, she and Fearne talk about why we might want to be in nature to heal when feeling low, and where science and spirituality can interact.   The...