It's Got Pockets

What happens when life throws you the biggest plot twist imaginable and you’ve no choice but to crack on? In this raw, funny and beautifully honest episode of It’s Got Pockets , I sit down with the brilliant Gemma Ray, author, speaker, podcast host, mum and kinship foster carer to talk about what happens when “having it all” turns into holding it all together. Gemma’s story is ever evolving and ha...

Why your zigzags were never a problem... Your career doesn’t look like a neat ladder. It looks more like a patchwork map. Different roles. Different sectors. Breaks. Detours. Chapters you didn’t plan and moments you just cracked on through. This episode is for women who have lived a bit and are done apologising for it. In this solo episode, I unpack something it took me far too long to own. Having...

If you’ve ever sat on the edge of your bed thinking, is this it, or felt that weird itch under your skin that whispers you’re ready for something else, something more, then this episode will feel like someone finally turned the big light on. Today I’m joined by the brilliant Jillian Reilly, author of Ten Permissions , social change expert, former good girl, lifelong explorer, and the woman who has...

Season 2. Let's crack on. In this first episode of the new season of It’s Got Pockets, we are not talking about louder goals or bigger hustle. We are talking about the quiet revolution happening inside ambitious women with experience. The women in business, the founders, the leaders, the ones who have held the sky up for everyone else and are suddenly realising they crave peace just as much a...

“Male violence against women and girls is a men’s issue that manifests as a women’s problem.” For the finale, I’ve only gone and let a man on.  Very Important note : this isn’t me letting a man have the last word - it’s me calling all of us in. Because change needs everyone in the room if we’re going to do better. I sit down with Andrew Bernard (aka Bernie) - speaker, educator, and disruptor of ou...

This one’s for the fixers, the do-it-all queens, the women holding up the sky. Time management? Crock of Shit.  Totally useless when your brain is running a marathon in stilettos and everyone’s “can you just…” is knocking on your door every 11 minutes.  Today we get real about energy management - the only metric that matters when you’re scaling a business, leading a team, and navigating the glorio...

What happens when you walk away from the limelight, the marriage and the life that everyone else thought was perfect - and decide to start again? In this episode of It’s Got Pockets , I sit down with Leanne Brown - Real Housewives of Cheshire star, holistic coach, speaker and woman on a mission of self-discovery. Leanne shares the raw, unfiltered story of the last six years - years she describes a...

Life at this stage? It’s a paradox.  It’s brilliant and brutal. It’s laughter that makes your eyes leak and pressure that makes your chest tight. It’s rich tea biscuits when you really want a caramel hobnob.  It’s dropping kids at uni, holding parents through illness, running businesses, leading businesses, keeping homes together and still showing up with grit, humour and a grin that hides the whi...

From NHS burnout to llamas in bow ties… Celia Gaze’s story is one hell of a plot twist. Celia didn’t set out to be a founder. She set out to survive stress. But what started as a piece of coursework about wellbeing turned into The Wellbeing Farm – a wedding and events venue in Bolton where the llamas wear bow ties (yes, really) and joy is stitched into the brand. In this conversation we get into:...

Hello, hello you bloody lovely humans. Today I’m dismantling my long-term love affair with self-deprecation -  the jokes I used to make so nobody else could beat me to it and I’m showing you how I swapped being the punchline for backing my bloody brilliance.  Why this matters (the science bit): Self-deprecation ≠ strategy: It can boost likeability but tanks perceived competence (the old competence...

Everyone needs a Penny in their pocket.  Today I’m joined by my new best mate, the fabulous Penny Haslam -  award-winning speaker, ex-BBC journalist, professional truth-teller and fellow square peg.  We cover the lot: friendship politics, midlife rage, confidence wobbles and why trusting your gut is not a “nice to have”, it’s the ultimate sat-nav. This chat is sweary, funny and very, very human. Y...

Well, hello you bloody brilliant lot - welcome back to It’s Got Pockets, the podcast for women who are done shrinking to fit and rewriting the rules one plot twist (and one swear word) at a time. This week, I’m taking you behind the scenes of my Olympic-level procrastination skills.  Picture this: I had a game-changing proposal to write - the kind of thing that could shore up my business for years...

Well hello, my brilliant bunch - this one is a must-listen. Especially if you’ve ever muttered, “I really should get my financial shit sorted” and then promptly buried your head in a planner and poured a wine. In this episode of It’s Got Pockets , I’m joined by the absolute powerhouse that is Katy Eatenton - mortgage adviser, insurance strategist, financial educator and straight-talking queen of ‘...

Well hello, you bloody brilliant humans. This one’s for every woman still holding the sky up while her soul’s quietly sobbing for a break. In this solo episode, I’m sharing the truth behind the smiling, functioning, got-it-together mask we wear - even when we're running on empty and calling it leadership, strength, or “just cracking on.”  Spoiler alert: it’s not strength, it’s survival. And i...

In this unforgettable episode, I'm joined by the gloriously funny, deeply wise and utterly disarming Alison Larkin - bestselling author, actress, award-winning audiobook narrator and creator of Grief, A Comedy . What begins as a conversation about grief quickly unfolds into a masterclass in living , loving late, choosing joy, and rewriting the rules - whether that's of gender in literatu...

Ever fantasised about checking yourself into a silent retreat (aka jail) just for a bit of peace and bloody quiet? Welcome to The Shovel Sisters episode – a love letter to every woman who’s ever had to educate someone (a partner, a colleague, a child... the bloody dog) on the absolute hormonal rollercoaster that is perimenopause, menopause and everything in between. This one’s for the women holdin...

This episode kicks off with a question no one saw coming (literally): do vaginas have nostrils? And from there… it’s glorious, gritty and unfiltered. I’m joined by the brilliant Jennie and what starts as knicker chat turns into the kind of real, raw conversation women usually only have in the loos - when the bra's off, the mascara’s smudged and you’re two proseccos deep into life reflections....

This episode starts with a cancelled Sunday. But it unpacks something far bigger. Something I know you’ll feel in your bones if you’ve ever: Held the sky up for everyone else Put your needs last Kept going when your body and brain were screaming “enough” I’m talking about the invisible trap of proving  - where you perform your value, your right to rest, your worthiness for the seat you’ve already...

Trigger warning: This episode contains themes of grief, loss, trauma, addiction, and recovery. This episode is special; I get to talk to my fabulous friend Nicky Wake and I can confirm it is completely unfiltered. In this fiercely honest episode of It’s Got Pockets , I sit down with the phenomenal Nicky Wake - powerhouse entrepreneur, sober and founder of multiple game-changing businesses (Don&apo...

Back in 1997, a little essay called “Advice, like youth, probably just wasted on the young” was published in the Chicago Tribune .  It was later turned into an unlikely global hit by the one and only Baz Luhrmann and “Wear Sunscreen” became a rite of passage for an entire generation. It was oh so wise, weirdly soothing and just the right amount of bizarre. It was the rules we ignored. As NME put i...

In this episode of It’s Got Pockets , I sit down with the force that is Stacey Copeland - history-maker, changemaker, former professional boxer and England footballer, broadcaster, coach and founder of the brilliant charity, Pave The Way . From being told she couldn’t box because she was a girl… to becoming the first British woman to win the Commonwealth title in boxing… Stacey’s story is full of...

This episode is for the woman who’s done the graft, held the sky up, made the tea, fixed the mess and forgotten what she actually wanted. You know what the real plot twist is? You finally choose you . Not the noisy reinvention. Not the performative hashtag blessed post. Not the shiny detour that looks good on paper but feels like wearing someone else’s shoes. This is the quietest rebellion of all...

Well, this one’s a blink stinking belter. I had the absolute pleasure of chatting with Jennifer Cox - psychotherapist, bestselling author of Women Are Mad and someone who gets it on a soul-deep level. Her book has been flying off the shelves (and rightly so), because it’s finally saying what so many of us have been feeling for years. We’re mad. And not because we’re hormonal, irrational or overrea...

Ever had a moment where life sideswiped you and you thought, “Well, that’s it then. That was my chance”? Where you thought "Is this it?" Where the plan you had came to a big fat, hard stop and you rocked in a corner wondering what the actual feck you are going to do now? Same. And this episode? It’s a reminder that that moment is often the start of your real comeback. It's the plot...

Right then. Let’s talk about clothes but not the “what’s trending on Instagram” kind. I’m talking about the kind of clothes that hold your hand on a hard day, remind you who the hell you are when you’re wobbling and walk you into the room like you’ve already claimed your seat at the table. The power of clothes is huge, dressing for our day can absolutely help us claim our power - especially if it&...