The Next Chapter by Ellie Barker

Cathy Moseley grew up in Bethnal Green in London. She describes it as a true working-class upbringing with a proper, honest work ethic. As a teenager, Cathy was the only girl working on a big city tr…

Have you come back from holiday and thought - I really don't want to live like this any more? Did you have one of those moments when you were on the beach and thought there has to be more to life?

Gi…

Joe Sims grew up in Bristol in a home which - in his words - may not have had lots of cash but was filled with love. Thanks to his passion, hard work, a brilliant teacher at school and the support of…

Amanda Prowse loved reading as a child. She was very shy and used to escape with her ‘friends’ in her books. She loved the idea of writing her own stories, but when a teacher told her at the age of 7…

Cha Rajakaruna is a world-renowned heart surgeon. We feel so lucky that not only does he work here in Bristol but he’s also one of our very special friends. But Cha grew up in a whole different world…

Angela Marsons loved writing as a child but never thought she could be an author – but she kept writing and began submitting to agents – encouraged by her partner Julie who would leave out a pencil a…

Clara didn't set out with a big plan for her life, but by listening to her heart, it's taken her exactly to where she feels she's meant to be. 

Clara only started practising yoga as a way of coping wi…

Imogen Clark says she advises her children to create their own luck - and she leads by example - by following her own heart Imogen has done exactly that in her own life.

First she became a solicitor …

Farrah Storr has not only been the editor of Elle Magazine, she’s also been the editor of Cosmopolitan as well as launching Women's Health magazine too. She was listed as one of the 1,000 most powerf…

Tracy worked as a cancer nurse for 25 years - specialising in breast cancer and later becoming a Macmillan nurse. It’s safe to say Tracy has seen first hand how precious life is – and has spent many …

Today I’m going to share part of an episode which has had a big impact on many of my listeners.

If you ever watched 60 minute makeover with Peter André you may remember a lovely carpet fitter called …

Mamma Mia! Here we go again! I'm so,so sorry but how can I resist this. 

I love all my Next Chapter conversations but this is one which resonated with me such a lot - I thought I would share it with y…

As we head towards the summer holidays, you may be thinking what book to take with you to read by the pool. One of my very favourite authors is Jill Mansell and she came on the podcast back in series…

AJ says he was a really shy child growing up – he says he often didn’t feel very good at anything and wasn’t invited to parties.

However, as he got older and his confidence grew he became a broadcast…

Anna Clements worked as a commercial lawyer but when she had young children and she realised her job didn’t suit family life. 

She’d always loved interiors so she decided she’d give herself a budget …

David grew up on a council estate in Chiswick in two rooms with his mum, sister, aunt and grandmother - plus a debt collector, Mr Butler, who visited most weeks. Despite having no money, he says it w…

Ruby developed a love for make-up when, as a child, she’d watch her mum dress up for cocktail evenings and dinners where they lived in Nigeria. She later had pictures of models (not pop stars) on her…

Kylie Pentelow says she grew up in a big family which was filled with love and a strong hard working ethic.

This she says provided the foundation to her career as a journalist - and what a career. Fr…

Kathy had a huge job in advertising which took her all over the world. But behind the glamour and fabulous hotels Kathy was suffering from burnout. One routine trip to the doctors changed everything.

…

Louise Ross loved reading and storytelling as a child but she had her heart set on being a lawyer. She became a barrister and while she loved helping people -she started to feel it was time to do som…