Happy Place

Who gets to decide who and what you are? Amanda de Cadenet quit the fame she’d found on British TV after being hounded by the press. She was seen through the eyes of others – journalists, photographers, and viewers – so she chose to reclaim her image by becoming a photographer herself, and reclaimed her voice by starting her own chat shows...

What do you feel the meaning of life is? Purpose? Happiness? Does it matter if we’re not sure? In this chat, Fearne and actor Minnie Driver explore how it might gently fluctuate as we go through different stages of our lives.

Minnie also talks about her innate ability to articulate emotion, something that was often agony during her childhood, but has now allowed her to parent her own son in a deeply empathetic way...

Rugby player Jonny Wilkinson was once driven by a quest for perfection, and an obsession with becoming the best player in the world. Now though, he’s learning to be content with who he is in the present.

In this chat, Jonny and Fearne explore the idea that sometimes our own imagination is what’s limiting our idea of success before we’ve even begun, and they wonder if our understanding of ‘ambition’ needs to be reframed to be more inclusive of the journey, not just the final outcome...

It’s been thirty years since brothers Isaac, Taylor, and Zac Hanson started making music together, but despite growing up under the spotlight they’ve retained an incredibly strong sense of self. In this chat with Fearne, they talk about the role their parents and faith played in helping them stay grounded in a turbulent world...

We’ve been encouraged to suppress our intuition, to look to others for answers instead of trusting that we already have the answers within ourselves. Spiritual guide and teacher Giselle La Pompe Moore is determined to help us return to our authentic selves.

In this chat, Fearne and Giselle share their belief that spirituality isn’t an elite club that centres around buying stuff...

You might feel aware that the internet makes you feel strangely disconnected from others, but writer and podcaster Emma Gannon feels it makes us disconnect from ourselves too. In this chat, Emma and Fearne dissect cancel culture and why we’ve got to allow each other the space to learn and grow, as well as why our offline activity should take precedence, because actions speak louder than token words on a screen...

If you’re a high achiever, do you ever wonder if you sometimes use success to mask pain? Performer Will Young recognises this is something he did for many years. Now though, he’s discovered the importance of actively connecting to others and physically moving trauma out of his body when he finds himself in a low place...

Does being happy make us healthier, not only mentally, but physically too? Dr Rangan Chatterjee explains the very real effect chronic mental stress can have on our bodies. 80% of ailments he sees as a GP are due to our collective modern lifestyle – that’s not to shame anyone, it’s to help us understand the lifestyle changes we can all make to alleviate both mental and physical symptoms...

Actor Ruth Wilson feels she can’t help but bring the essence of herself to all the characters she plays. She’s learnt that in both her professional and personal life the most rewarding moments come from being the most authentic version of herself...

Why can it feel more difficult to talk about mental health with the people you’re related to? In this Mother’s Day special of Happy Place, Fearne and her mum Lin explore their shared ancestry, wondering how much of who they are and what they feel is down to nature, and how much is nurture.

In this chat, Fearne hears about her maternal grandmother, who she’s always known suffered mentally, but has only recently learnt more of the details from her own mum...