The Passion Stories Podcast

This week on the podcast, Emma is joined by endurance swimmer Bryony Rowe who is preparing for one of the toughest challenges in sport, swimming solo across the English Channel. This summer Bryony will swim from Dover to France, an iconic crossing which often described as the Mount Everest of open water swimming. With just a 60% success rate, swimming across the Channel is no small feat and more p...

This week on the podcast, Emma is joined by Ojie Edoburun, one of Britain’s fastest men. Ojie is a professional sprinter who competes in the 100m and 200m events. He has had an impressive career on the track with a host of accolades to his name including the British 100 metres champion after winning the 2019 British Athletics Championships and winning a gold medal at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in...

This week on the podcast, Emma is joined by Jen Done, a qualified Ironman U Certified coach, Ironman athlete, speech and language therapist and host of The Toughest Finish Line Podcast. Jen experienced postnatal depression following the birth of her daughter and found refuge in running which soon turned into bigger challenges, including Ironman events. This year on the 15th and 16th of August, Jen...

This week, Emma chats to Gašper, a landscape architect, art teacher and the creator behind Linescapes. Gašper’s teaching centres around the principle of helping people feel good about drawing and he dives into why this is important. He takes us back to where his love of drawing comes from, how he gets inspiration to strike and how drawing and sketching can foster connection. Gašper also talks abou...

This week we’re joined by Esmée Gummer, endurance athlete, fitness coach, and the force behind one of the most ambitious running challenges in the UK right now. After being told she’d never walk again following a life-changing accident, Esmée has rebuilt her life through movement. Now, she’s taking things to an entirely new level with the Nation’s 5k - a 99-day challenge which includes hosting a 5...

From a horrific cycling accident to now racing motorbikes off road across remote deserts and inspiring millions of people to take on challenges, Vanessa Ruck is a trailblazer. The first guest in our new series, Vanessa is a motorcycle racer and adventurer, rally driver, content creator and motivational speaker, also known as The Girl On A Bike .  Hit by a car while cycling in 2014, Vanessa underwe...

This week, Emma is joined by trailblazing British snowboarder Katie Ormerod, fresh off her Olympic commentary debut with TNT Sports.  At 15, Katie became the youngest girl to land a double backflip on a snowboard, and at 16, she made history by landing the first-ever female backside double cork 1080,  one of the most complex tricks in the sport. She’s claimed World Cup victories, won bronze at the...

This week Emma is joined by Dani Aravich, a trailblazing cross-country skier and biathlete representing Team USA. Born missing her left hand and forearm, Dani has been to both Summer and Winter Games. She made her Paralympic debut at Tokyo 2020 in the women’s T47 400m, and just six months later, lined up at the Paralympic Winter Games Beijing 2022 in biathlon and cross-country skiing. Next stop is...

Ski mountaineering is a test event at this year’s Olympics, but what exactly is skimo, and what does it take to compete at the highest level? In this episode, Emma is joined by Iain Innes, British ski mountaineering athlete, mountain endurance specialist, and member of the GB Skimo Squad. Ski mountaineering (also known as ski-mo or skimo) combines uphill skiing, fast transitions, technical downhil...

This week Emma is joined by Charlie Guest, a 5x British Slalom Champion, 2x Olympian, and the first British woman to win an Alpine European Cup. Since retiring, Charlie is now a familiar voice in the commentary box and is on the TNT Sports team for the upcoming Milano Cortina 2026 Olympics.   We dive into what she’s most excited about heading into herOlympic commentary debut, the evolution of wome...

This week Emma is joined by Matt Smith who this year will be at his first Winter Olympics competing in cross-country skiing.  Matt is not your typical Olympian. From South Africa,  he only took up the sport three years ago and is South Africa’s sole cross-country skier in the Winter Olympics earning himself the nickname 'The Snowbok'. Also an entrepreneur and a new dad, Matt shares his journey fro...

This week Emma is joined by British Ski Cross athlete OllieDavies who is making ski cross history. In 2021, he became the first British skier to reach the Big Final at the Ski Cross World Championships, in 2022 he competed at his first Olympic Games, and made history once again in 2023 with his first World Cup podium, finishing 2nd in Reiteralm, further cementing his place among the world’s top sk...

This week Emma is joined by Annika Malacinksi, a rising star in Nordic Combined, a sport which combines ski jumping and cross country skiing. Competing for the US, Annika is now on the World Cup circuit and has participated in two World Championships in a sport she took up less than a decade ago.  Annika shares how she got into Nordic Combined, what ski jumping feels like, and how the event format...

Welcome to the first episode of This is Winter Sports, a series supported by Protect Our Winters UK. This week Emma is joined by Chemmy Alcott, the first British ski racer to win a run in a World Cup. Chemmy is a four-time Winter Olympian who represented Team GB throughout a 20-year sporting career and reached a career high of 8th in the world. Now presenting BBC Ski Sunday, Chemmy will be at the...

This week Emma is joined by James Shaw, renowned pilates educator and practitioner.  James shares his pilates journey, from starting out thanks to an encouraging hairdressing client, to opening his own classical pilates studio and teacher training academy in Margate. He shares his views on classical and contemporary pilates as well as why pilates is so popular and common misconceptions. He also ta...

This week Emma is joined by Jesseca Furness, a presenter at the Running Channel who has set herself the challenge of running 42 marathons this year. No stranger to pushing her limits having run ultra marathons and Ironman, this year Jess decided to run 42 marathons in honour of her brother Eddie, who would be 42 this year. Jess has already completed over 35 marathons all over the world, overcoming...

This week Emma is joined by Zach Friedley, professional trail runner, adaptive athlete, and passionate advocate for inclusion in sport. From the US, Zach was born missing his right leg above the knee. He founded Born to Adapt , an organisation which aims to create events and space for disabled people all over the world.  He shares his journey with prosthetics, how it felt the first time he had a b...

This week Emma is joined by by Juliette Denny, ultra runner and adventurer.  Juliette shares her running journey, from growing up as a footballer to the loss of a close friend and recently taking on the 100km CCC at UTMB in Chamonix, widely regarded as the Mecca of trail running. Juliette reflects on how she navigates the mental and physical challenges of running seriously long distances, the impo...

On this week’s episode Emma is joined by Duncan Covey, who recently returned from cycling around the world.  Duncan left London in April 2024, cycling across Europe, Asia, Australia and the US, riding over 36,000km. Alongside his ride he also raised over £19,000 for Big Moose Charity . He talks about his highs and lows, from experiencing beautiful hospitality like being offered camel milk in the K...

In this week’s episode Emma is joined by Olivia Caplan, interior designer and social media influencer. Olivia shares her journey from chartered surveyor to interior designer and why she started creating videos offering advice on how to spruce up your home. We discuss everything from fluffy rugs, and panelling to how useful AI is or isn’t and much more. Olivia also shares her top tips and tricks on...

This week Emma is joined by Bertie Gregory, National Geographic explorer and wildlife filmmaker.  Winner of numerous awards, including a BAFTA, EMMY and the 2025 Rolex National Geographic Explorer of the Year, Bertie captures wildlife in challenging and intimate environments all around the world.  In his latest show Sharks Up Close with Bertie Gregory, Bertie aims to dive cage-free with great whit...

On this week’s episode Emma is joined by Damian Hall, ultrarunner, and co-founder of the Green Runners. A record-breaking runner, Damian is often found on a podium at iconic races like the Spine Race, Dragon’s Back Race, the UK Ultra Trail Championships, Mozart 100 and Ultra Tour Monte Rosa, and most recently won the Montane Lakeland 100. He also has a ton of FKTs, but why does he run?  We chat ab...

What is textile performance? Why is a sewing machine so loud? Does technology have a place in art? This week, Emma is joined by Harriet Riddell, a textile performance artist who creates art with her sewing machine. Harriet stitches stories and portraits in public places as she sees them - think life drawing blended with free‑motion embroidery.  Harriet has travelled the world with her sewing machi...

This week Emma is joined by breathwork coach, mentor, and former professional rugby player David Jackson, known as Jacko. After a traumatic brain injury ended his rugby career, Jacko discovered breathwork. Now a Master Oxygen Advantage coach, he’s on a mission to make breathwork more accessible and help others use their breath as a tool for self-connection, healing, and high performance. Based in...

This week on the Passion Stories podcast, Emma is joined by Dr Sarah Ruggins, who recently smashed the LEJOGLE there and back overall record - cycling from John O’Groats to Land’s End and back again in just 5 days, 11 hours, and 14 minutes.  That’s over 2,700 kilometres with 18,000 metres of elevation. Insane.  Sarah beat the men’s record by 6 hours 43 minutes, which was previously held by James M...