Happy Place

Fearne’s been thinking a lot lately about how much of her life she’s spent people pleasing as a result of wanting to be liked. So today, how to break free from the ‘good girl’ your family, friends, colleagues, and society expect you to be... In this episode – -Louise Redknapp clarifies why being described as ‘nice’ isn’t a compliment and how she’s gone about making people see her as a multi-facete...

How have you come back from your rock bottom? Ashley Walters has reinvented himself over and over again, through music, acting, directing, parenthood, prison, and addiction. In this chat with Fearne, Ashley talks through the mindset that allows him to take accountability for his actions instead of falling into victimhood, and why failure shouldn’t be viewed as an end point. He explains why you sho...

What beliefs, hopes, worries, and questions would you have if your unborn baby was given a diagnosis of a disability? It’s something retired paralympic swimmer Ellie Simmonds has spent a lot of time considering. In this chat with Fearne, Ellie explains what she’s learnt from talking to both her parents and her birth mum about their experience of her dwarfism, as well as debating the pros and cons...

Is there a reason so many comedians can struggle with their mental health? Mo Gilligan knows all too well that finding the funny in everything can sometimes mean having to suppress sadness.   In this chat, Fearne and Mo talk about how a single passing comment can stay with you and eat away at your self-esteem over time, and why we need to be better at celebrating our talent and achievements....

At age 43 Liberty Mills was told she had a 0.7% chance of having another baby with her own eggs – and that was with the assistance of IVF. But she and her partner decided to continue their fertility journey with the help of integrative medicine, and after a lifestyle overhaul, she conceived her daughter naturally, and gave birth two weeks before her 45th birthday. In this chat with Fearne, Liberty...

Bare is the vital true story of Lorna Tucker’s fight to survive living on the streets of London. She had to lie, steal, strip, and just about everything in between to survive. This really important portrait of female homelessness was April’s Happy Place Book Club read. In this chat with Fearne, author and filmmaker Lorna explains how chance – those five minutes that seem insignificant at the time...

Does going through a rough time make you untrusting of fleeting joyful moments, or make you lean into them harder? For Dannii Minogue it’s the latter. In this chat with Fearne, Dannii explains why getting divorced and having to borrow money from family, coping with sister Kylie’s cancer, and having her body critiqued by the press have taught her to appreciate happiness when it comes. Fearne and Da...

Is your lifestyle in need of a spring clean? Maybe now’s the moment to pivot your career, pick up healthier habits, or embrace a new life you wouldn’t have chosen, but now need to make the best of? In this episode, Fearne reflects on the Happy Place episodes that’ll give you a bit of a push – or a bit of inspiration – to get you making that fresh start you’ve been thinking about for ages... In thi...

It’s Happy Place’s 7th birthday! To celebrate, Fearne’s put down her own trusty notebook and let her presenter mate Alex Jones turn the interview tables! In this chat, Alex asks Fearne about Happy Place’s evolution from a podcast, to a book publisher, to a festival, and now a marketplace too. Fearne opens up about feeling bleak and being on anti-depressants before she created Happy Place, as well...

Does anxiety or darkness drive you to create? Is creativity the ultimate catharsis? For musician Pete Doherty making art has, at times, been a matter of survival.   In this chat with Fearne, Pete explains why taking drugs was less about trying to escape, and more about what he was trying to find. Now he’s stopped taking drugs, how does he unlock and express his creativity differently? Pete al...

So many of us have had to shut down our heart and numb our emotions to survive. Estelle Bingham is dubbed ‘The Heart Whisperer’; she knows the greatest anxiety can come from suppressing parts of ourselves.   In this chat with Fearne, Estelle – a holistic therapist and healer – explains how when the mind is spiralling out of control, the heart can bring us back to stillness. She shares how to...

If you had a second chance at your first big love, would you take it? What about if you were already married to a very different kind of person? This is the dilemma Beth is faced with in Broken Country, the Happy Place Book Club novel for March.   In this chat Fearne and author Clare Leslie Hall talk about why first love can be so intoxicating, and why it’s only human to feel the pull between...

We change all the time, which means self-love is an ongoing practice; we’re constantly learning to love the person we are today. Musician Teddy Swims wants you to be able to look in the mirror and see what a great person you are every day. In this chat with Fearne, Teddy explains why he and his partner chose to go to couples therapy to help them prepare to become parents, as well as the incredible...

Has fear ever stopped you from making the changes you want to make in life? Even if you know what you want, how do you turn your big goals into manageable daily habits? And what role does mindset play in enacting real change?   The Happy Place Festival Talk Stage hosted loads of speakers across the weekend at Tatton Park last summer, who all explored these questions, and Fearne wants to bring...

Coping with mental health conditions is never easy, but it does get easier; that’s what actor Will Poulter has learnt through his own experiences with OCD, anxiety, and intrusive thoughts.   In this chat with Fearne, Will explains how OCD has manifested for him ever since he was a young kid. He also talks through why finding reasons to be grateful for the lessons mental health conditions have...

Is it a compliment to be called ‘nice’? Singer Louise Redknapp isn’t so sure. She’s always been the good girl, but she’s ready to embrace – and express – different facets of her character now.   In this chat with Fearne, Louise explains that being in a 90s girlband, and being married to a sports star, forced her to be shiny and polished at all times. That led to a crippling fear about saying...

Can laughter ease anxiety? Comedian Julian Clary certainly thinks so. After living through some incredibly dark events and anxious times, he’s decided to choose to laugh and think positive thoughts.   In this chat with Fearne, Julian talks about feeling naturally happier and more comfortable in his skin as he got older. Most things, he says, just aren’t as important as you think they are, and...

Nicki, Lauren, Charlotte and Steffi have been friends since university. Now in their thirties, life is pulling them in different directions - but the girls are reunited when Charlotte organises the baby shower from hell for pregnant Nicki. Tensions are high as these women are forced to confront their own and eachother’s views about motherhood... while also dealing with a fire at the baby shower. F...

Dynamo brought epic magic into a lot of people’s lives, but now Steven Frayne is taking off the mask and choosing to notice the moments of magic he’s experienced around him. In particular, that’s the people – friends, family, doctors, strangers – who’ve helped him find joy again after hitting rock bottom.   In this chat with Fearne, Steven talks about the devastating reality of trialling diff...

Do you get rid of your body hair? Do you hate your periods? Are you debating a nose job? Why? Writer and broadcaster Afua Hirsch has been tracing how we’ve become so loathing of our bodies.   In this chat with Fearne, Afua explains where our modern, Western notions of beauty come from, and why she’s advocating for us to celebrate how powerful our bodies are.   She’s rediscovering and rec...

Are you able to balance being resilient with being vulnerable? Actor Chiwetel Ejiofor has spent time figuring out when to keep moving forward, and when to let painful emotions wash over him.   In this chat with Fearne, Chiwetel reflects on how a childhood trauma has shaped his character – everything from his fierce ambition to his optimistic outlook. He also reveals the moments self-doubt has...

Do you dream of pivoting your career or lifestyle later in life? Poet Donna Ashworth did just that. She began to question the busy, fast-paced, perfectionist lifestyle she assumed was the norm, and decided to start posting and performing her beautiful poetry in her 40s...   In this chat with Fearne, Donna explains how she copes with the nerves that come with doing something so new, including...

What is happiness to you? And do you think you deserve to be happy? Our Happy Place Book Club pick for January was Frequently Happy, by author and poet David Larbi. In his book, he combines poetry and journal prompts to help you find the glimmers in your lovely, ordinary life.     We’ll have objectively terrible days, and days that are clearly the best ever, but most days fall somew...

Actor Naomi Watts went through early menopause at 36. She was experiencing symptoms she couldn’t explain, like itchy skin, night sweats, and anxiety, but struggled to find any real information or stories about this midlife transition.   In this chat with Fearne, Naomi explains why she’s become passionate about shining a spotlight on previously taboo topics like fertility, menopause, and sex....

Do you want to make 2025 the year you start therapy? Maybe you’re still a bit hesitant because you’re not completely sure how it works or what it might feel like... Fearne has pulled together a load of Happy Place chats that will help you get a clearer idea of the benefits of therapy, and in turn make you feel bold enough to send that first booking email. Plus, she talks through the ways therapy h...