Believe in People: Addiction, Recovery & Stigma

In this special episode of Believe in People: EXTRA, recorded on the road at the British Podcast Show in London, we sit down with broadcaster Richard Bacon for an honest conversation about alcohol addiction, cocaine use, stigma, and what it means to live with risk while trying to build a stable life.

Richard traces the story back through family history, from a grandfather who died of alcoholism to a mother he believes is addicted but does not recognise it, and he reflects on the role of genetics in substance use. He describes how drink and drugs in his late teens felt like they “flipped a switch”, and why that matters when you are trying to make sense of cravings, habit, and shame without reducing everything to willpower.

We also talk about public consequences and recovery support. Richard revisits being publicly sacked from Blue Peter after cocaine use, his experience of trying Alcoholics Anonymous, and why it did not quite fit despite his respect for it. From there, the conversation moves into harm reduction: drinking less, using medication intended to blunt alcohol’s impact on the brain, taking vitamins and mineral supplements, and staying alert to the real dangers of heavy drinking, including accidents and long-term brain health.
Richard is now the founder of Yes Yes Media, a format and new media company backed by Elisabeth Murdoch and Jane Featherstone’s SISTER, alongside producer Arthur Essebag’s Satisfaction Group. The company develops original entertainment formats across television, digital media, gaming and interactive technology, with collaborators including Courteney Cox, Johnny McDaid and Savan Kotecha. Richard describes the company’s vision as creating entertainment designed for the “TikTok era”, where audiences can interact with stories across multiple devices and platforms. 
Click here to text our host, Matt, directly!
🎧  If this episode connected with you, please subscribe and review. It directly helps us reach more people affected by addiction, trauma and stigma. 
🔗 Then share this episode with someone who needs to hear it!
Browse the full archive at 👉 www.believeinpeoplepodcast.com 
Believe in People is a platform for lived experience, recovery insight and honest conversation. Whether you’re in recovery, supporting someone who is, or working on the frontline, this podcast exists to inform, challenge stigma and inspire change.
If you or someone you know needs support with drugs, alcohol, housing, domestic abuse, or mental and physical wellbeing, free and confidential help is available via Change Grow Live:
📩 Contact: [email protected]
🎵 Music: “Jonathan Tortoise” - Christopher Tait (Belle Ghoul / Electric Six)
Listen & Subscribe:
Spotify | Apple Podcasts
🎙️ Facilitator: Matthew Butler
🎛️ Producer: Robbie Lawson
🏢 Network: ReNew

In this episode of Believe in People, playwright Ed Edwards joins us to discuss The Political History of Smack and Crack - his award-winning play exploring addiction, recovery, Thatcherism, political unrest, and Britain’s heroin epidemic.
Drawing on his own experiences of addiction, prison, relapse, and long-term recovery, Ed reflects on stigma, Narcotics Anonymous, consumer culture, creativity, and the human realities behind substance use. Ed is brutally honest about relapse, including the “relapse before the relapse” signs like pulling back from meetings and turning irritation into isolation. 
We also explore why Narcotics Anonymous can feel like a higher power even if you are an atheist, and how belonging acts as a real-world protective factor in a consumer culture that competes for our attention.
This episode explores addiction recovery, trauma, peer support, mental health, politics, and the lived experiences that shaped a generation.
Links & Resources
🎭 Most Wanted
 Most Wanted 
🎟️ The Political History of Smack and Crack
The Political History of Smack and Crack
📚 Book Referenced In The Episode
The Politics of Heroin: CIA Complicity in the Global Drug Trade — Alfred W. McCoy
The Politics of Heroin by Alfred W. McCoy
Click here to text our host, Matt, directly!
🎧  If this episode connected with you, please subscribe and review. It directly helps us reach more people affected by addiction, trauma and stigma. 
🔗 Then share this episode with someone who needs to hear it!
Browse the full archive at 👉 www.believeinpeoplepodcast.com 
Believe in People is a platform for lived experience, recovery insight and honest conversation. Whether you’re in recovery, supporting someone who is, or working on the frontline, this podcast exists to inform, challenge stigma and inspire change.
If you or someone you know needs support with drugs, alcohol, housing, domestic abuse, or mental and physical wellbeing, free and confidential help is available via Change Grow Live:
📩 Contact: [email protected]
🎵 Music: “Jonathan Tortoise” - Christopher Tait (Belle Ghoul / Electric Six)
Listen & Subscribe:
Spotify | Apple Podcasts
🎙️ Facilitator: Matthew Butler
🎛️ Producer: Robbie Lawson
🏢 Network: ReNew

Melissa Love joins Believe in People to share how working as a nurse in addiction services challenged her own hidden fears, internalised stigma and understanding of dependency. Through personal reflections on her brother’s addiction, family trauma and her father’s rejection, Melissa explores how these experiences reshaped her view of recovery, compassion and what real care looks like.
This episode explores addiction recovery, trauma, stigma in healthcare, family dynamics, mental health and the importance of dignity-led, non-judgemental support. Melissa discusses fear, bias, grief, powerlessness, emotional silence and the transformative power of human connection in recovery.
Click here to text our host, Matt, directly!
🎧  If this episode connected with you, please subscribe and review. It directly helps us reach more people affected by addiction, trauma and stigma. 
🔗 Then share this episode with someone who needs to hear it!
Browse the full archive at 👉 www.believeinpeoplepodcast.com 
Believe in People is a platform for lived experience, recovery insight and honest conversation. Whether you’re in recovery, supporting someone who is, or working on the frontline, this podcast exists to inform, challenge stigma and inspire change.
If you or someone you know needs support with drugs, alcohol, housing, domestic abuse, or mental and physical wellbeing, free and confidential help is available via Change Grow Live:
📩 Contact: [email protected]
🎵 Music: “Jonathan Tortoise” - Christopher Tait (Belle Ghoul / Electric Six)
Listen & Subscribe:
Spotify | Apple Podcasts
🎙️ Facilitator: Matthew Butler
🎛️ Producer: Robbie Lawson
🏢 Network: ReNew

In this episode of Believe in People, The Secret Drug Addict joins us to discuss anonymous recovery, addiction stigma, and the reality of long-term sobriety. We explore themes of addiction recovery, trauma, peer support, mental health, and the lived experiences that shaped their journey.
This conversation challenges assumptions about addiction and visibility. We explore why anonymity can be a form of protection rather than shame, and how removing identity allows the message of recovery to stand on its own. 
We discuss the growing influence of social media in recovery spaces, including dopamine-driven algorithms, performative vulnerability, and the pressure to share pain publicly. The Secret Drug Addict reflects on grief, validation, and how easily recovery can become something that is performed rather than lived. There is a strong focus on ego, both in addiction and recovery, and the importance of staying grounded.
The Secret Drug Addict shares the reality of early recovery, including insomnia, anger, anxiety, and emotional instability, alongside the long-term perspective of nearly two decades sober. The conversation closes with reflections on humility, living one day at a time, and writing a recovery book without chasing validation, sales, or recognition.
Link to book: Diary of a Secret Drug Addict
This episode offers practical insight for people in recovery, family members, frontline practitioners, and anyone interested in real stories of change.
Search terms: addiction recovery podcast UK, anonymous recovery, addiction stigma, social media and addiction, dopamine and addiction, peer support, trauma and recovery, substance misuse, Believe in People podcast
Click here to text our host, Matt, directly!
🎧  If this episode connected with you, please subscribe and review. It directly helps us reach more people affected by addiction, trauma and stigma. 
🔗 Then share this episode with someone who needs to hear it!
Browse the full archive at 👉 www.believeinpeoplepodcast.com 
Believe in People is a platform for lived experience, recovery insight and honest conversation. Whether you’re in recovery, supporting someone who is, or working on the frontline, this podcast exists to inform, challenge stigma and inspire change.
If you or someone you know needs support with drugs, alcohol, housing, domestic abuse, or mental and physical wellbeing, free and confidential help is available via Change Grow Live:
📩 Contact: [email protected]
🎵 Music: “Jonathan Tortoise” - Christopher Tait (Belle Ghoul / Electric Six)
Listen & Subscribe:
Spotify | Apple Podcasts
🎙️ Facilitator: Matthew Butler
🎛️ Producer: Robbie Lawson
🏢 Network: ReNew

In this episode of Believe in People: Addiction, Recovery & Stigma, Kieran McCartney joins us to discuss cocaine use, ADHD, grief, and recovery.

Best known for his "win or walk" deal with Lord Sugar on the BBC show, The Apprentice, Kieran opens up about the pressures behind success, the loss of his father, and how that led to increased cocaine use.
We explore the normalisation of cocaine culture in the UK, the link between alcohol and stimulant use, and how substances can become tools for coping with trauma and emotional pain. 
Kieran shares insight into how his recent ADHD diagnosis shaped his experience of addiction, and why he has chosen a natural recovery route over medication.
This episode covers the turning point where use stopped being enjoyable, the role of therapy in processing grief, and the importance of recognising the root causes behind addiction. Kieran also reflects on business culture, identity, and the reality of recovery in environments where substance use is common.
This episode offers practical insight for people in recovery, family members, frontline practitioners, and anyone interested in real stories of change.
Search terms: addiction recovery podcast UK, cocaine addiction UK, ADHD and addiction, grief and substance misuse, lived experience stories, peer support, trauma and recovery, the apprentice, kieran mccartney 
Click here to text our host, Matt, directly!
🎧  If this episode connected with you, please subscribe and review. It directly helps us reach more people affected by addiction, trauma and stigma. 
🔗 Then share this episode with someone who needs to hear it!
Browse the full archive at 👉 www.believeinpeoplepodcast.com 
Believe in People is a platform for lived experience, recovery insight and honest conversation. Whether you’re in recovery, supporting someone who is, or working on the frontline, this podcast exists to inform, challenge stigma and inspire change.
If you or someone you know needs support with drugs, alcohol, housing, domestic abuse, or mental and physical wellbeing, free and confidential help is available via Change Grow Live:
📩 Contact: [email protected]
🎵 Music: “Jonathan Tortoise” - Christopher Tait (Belle Ghoul / Electric Six)
Listen & Subscribe:
Spotify | Apple Podcasts
🎙️ Facilitator: Matthew Butler
🎛️ Producer: Robbie Lawson
🏢 Network: ReNew