Ready to Talk with Emma Barnett

Fashion writer Billie Bhatia talks about her experiences of living in a bigger body, fatphobia and the cultural, social and personal impact of weight loss jabs. Billie talks to Emma about dating, navigating the fashion industry and shares her thoughts on the body positivity movement as well as Serena William’s controversial weight loss drugs advert at Super Bowl 2026.
A recent study by University College London researchers, estimated that 1.6 million adults in England, Wales and Scotland used drugs such as Mounjaro, Wegovy and Ozempic to help lose weight between early 2024 and early 2025.
In Ready to Talk with Emma Barnett, the award-winning interviewer speaks to people you will know and people you should know about the experiences that are shaping their lives. If you want to join the conversation you can email the team at [email protected], or you can send a WhatsApp message or voice note to 08000 556 101

Dame Tracey Emin discusses love, feminism, and making art after losing her bladder to cancer, ahead of the opening of her largest ever exhibition.

Emin is one of the UK’s foremost visual artists, having risen to fame in 1990s. In 2020, she was diagnosed with advanced squamous cell carcinoma on her bladder. One specialist gave her six months to live. Four weeks later, a seven-and-a-half-hour surgery removed her bladder, uterus, urethra, a portion of her colon, some lymph nodes, and half her vagina. She speaks to Emma Barnett about what has and hasn’t changed in her life and her work.

In Ready to Talk with Emma Barnett, the award-winning interviewer speaks to people you will know and people you should know about the experiences that are shaping their lives. If you want to join the conversation you can email the team at [email protected], or you can send a WhatsApp message or voice note to 08000 556 101.

Deborah Douglas is one of the many victims of disgraced Birmingham surgeon Ian Paterson, who maimed many of his patients.

After a breast cancer diagnosis in 2003, Deborah thought she was in the best hands possible. But Paterson subjected her to a mastectomy, reconstructive surgery, and extensive chemotherapy, all of which were entirely unnecessary. Paterson has been sentenced to 20 years in prison after carrying out unnecessary operations, while Deborah Douglas has campaigned for justice for his many victims. She recently published her account of her ordeal, The Cost of Trust.

In Ready to Talk with Emma Barnett, the award-winning interviewer speaks to people you will know and people you should know about the experiences that are shaping their lives. If you want to join the conversation you can email the team at [email protected], or you can send a WhatsApp message or voice note to 08000 556 101.

Chris Davids of electronic duo Maribou State discusses suffering from a rare brain condition, how it affected his passion for making music and the surgery and experimental procedure that led to his recovery.

Chris was experiencing extreme headaches while working on the group’s third album, Hallucinating Love, during lockdown. Eventually he was diagnosed with a Chiari malformation, meaning the lower part of his brain was pushing down into his spinal canal. He talks to Emma about a complex period which has now ended with a creative renewal.

In Ready to Talk with Emma Barnett, the award-winning interviewer speaks to people you will know and people you should know about the experiences that are shaping their lives. If you want to join the conversation you can email the team at [email protected], or you can send a WhatsApp message or voice note to 08000 556 101.

Writer Laura Dockrill discusses the extreme delusions and psychotic breakdown that she suffered after her son's birth. She shares how she got beyond them and how she is today.

Just weeks after becoming a mother, Laura found herself is a desperate state. It took an intervention from her best friend, the singer Adele, to have her admitted to a psychiatric ward. With the support of her husband she is now thriving, and has published a memoir, What Have I Done?, about her illness.

In Ready to Talk with Emma Barnett, the award-winning interviewer speaks to people you will know and people you should know about the experiences that are shaping their lives. If you want to join the conversation you can email the team at [email protected], or you can send a WhatsApp message or voice note to 08000 556 101.

If you are suffering distress or despair and need support, including urgent support, a list of organisations that can help is available at bbc.co.uk/actionline.