The Courage to Speak

Journalist, broadcaster and ITV news anchor Julie Etchingham is Leonie Mellinger’s guest in this episode. They discuss the shocking issue of modern slavery, especially the devastating impact it has on victims around the UK. Julie’s reports and documentaries have highlighted modern slavery at home and around the world, in places like Nigeria, Italy and the Philippines. She made a documentary on women kept as slaves in domestic servitude in London. Victims of modern slavery, especially those who are being sexually exploited, might face violence or threats, be forced into inescapable debt, or have their passport taken away. Many fall into this trap when trying to escape poverty, improve their lives or support their families. In this conversation Julie discusses some of the places that modern slavery may occur in plain sight across the country, including nail bars, car washes and in agriculture. Global charity Anti-Slavery International has identified seven categories: human trafficking, forced labour, bonded labour, people who are born into slavery, child slavery, forced or early marriage and domestic servitude. Julie has moderated several conferences on the subject, including at the Vatican with Pope Francis. She is on the advisory board for the Modern Slavery and Human Rights Policy and Evidence Centre and she won an award from the Human Trafficking Foundation for her reporting on cuckooing in the UK. As one of our most accomplished and experienced presenters, Julie is best known for anchoring ITV’s News at Ten and co-hosting their coverage at many of the nation’s biggest events. These include prime ministerial debates, royal weddings and funerals, and the coronation of King Charles III.  She has twice been named Presenter of the Year by the Royal Television Society and was the first woman to win that award. If you would like to discuss sponsorship or advertising on The Courage to Speak, please email the podcast team: info@thecouragetospeak.com⁠. Follow us: on Instagram ⁠⁠⁠@the_couragetospeak⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠@leoniemellinger⁠⁠⁠⁠ or Leonie’s X and LinkedIn accounts. The Courage to Speak is from Leonie Mellinger Ltd. It is produced by Square Elephant Productions with Danny Garlick. Theme music composed by Guy Pearson.

Dyslexia has been a serious issue for actress Amanda Barrie throughout her 75-year career, especially when she had to learn scripts for theatre, film and TV. In this hugely entertaining conversation, Amanda tells Leonie Mellinger about how the condition became a “nightmare” and about the techniques she then developed to cope with it. Her new autobiography I’m Still Here was recently published to coincide with her 90th birthday and it tells the story of a most extraordinary life. Having lied about her age and moved into a hostel in Soho as a 13 year old, Amanda performed in dance, review, cabaret and television in the 1940s and ‘50s. That was followed by long spells on stage as a lead actress in the West End and major touring productions, while also appearing in many films including her iconic lead role in Carry On Cleo. Amanda then established herself as one of the best loved characters on television - Alma in Coronation Street.  She was a key member of the cast for 13 years until Alma’s dramatic departure in 2001. She also lived with two secrets throughout most of her career, secrets which caused great anguish and pain, about which she writes very movingly in the book. Her sexuality, and her dyslexia. This interview focuses mainly on the latter and how she learned to deal with dyslexia in the decades when the condition was rarely recognised, with Amanda struggling to learn scripts amid insinuations of laziness or stupidity. In addition, she discusses the pressure on young actresses in the 1960s, when she developed eating disorders. She describes the special diets that actresses and dancers were advised to adopt and talks about her use of amphetamines to get through the long working days and nights. We also hear about her fear of being open about her sexuality, about being outed while on Coronation Street and how she eventually found great happiness with wife Hilary Bonner. Plus, there are stories about Gordon Ramsay, George Cole and Dora Bryan. If you would like to discuss sponsorship or advertising on The Courage to Speak, please email the podcast team: info@thecouragetospeak.com⁠. Follow us: on Instagram ⁠⁠⁠@the_couragetospeak⁠⁠ ⁠and ⁠⁠⁠@leoniemellinger⁠⁠⁠⁠ or Leonie’s X and LinkedIn accounts. The Courage to Speak is from Leonie Mellinger Ltd. It is produced by Square Elephant Productions with Danny Garlick. Theme music composed by Guy Pearson.

This episode is about the national disgrace known as the infected blood scandal. Caroline Wheeler is the political editor of the Sunday Times and for almost a quarter of a century she has been investigating what she describes as “the deadliest man-made disaster in British post-war history.” She joins Leonie Mellinger to discuss her acclaimed book Death in The Blood which exposed the full horror of more than 30,000 people becoming infected with HIV and hepatitis C through contaminated blood products imported from the USA into the NHS. The victims in the 1970s and ‘80s included those who required blood transfusions following routine surgery, childbirth or accidents, plus thousands of haemophiliacs, especially children who died of AIDS. Caroline shares some of the shocking stories she uncovered about individual victims and their families, the politicians and civil servants who turned a blind eye to the emerging scandal, the role of companies who put profit before ethics, and the school where dozens of children were experimented on without their knowledge or consent. She also tells how her passion for justice led to her ‘crossing the Rubicon’ in Parliament when she personally lobbied MPs to vote in favour of a key amendment relating to the campaign. Caroline’s reporting has revealed yet another example of British establishment incompetence, lies, secrecy and cover- ups damaging the lives of tens of thousands of people who have since been seeking justice, compensation and closure. She won journalist of the year, and political journalist of the year, in December 2024 in recognition of her work on this story and her campaigning on behalf of the victims. If you would like to discuss sponsorship or advertising on The Courage to Speak, please email the podcast team: info@thecouragetospeak.com⁠. Follow us: on Instagram ⁠⁠⁠@the_couragetospeak⁠⁠ ⁠and ⁠⁠⁠@leoniemellinger⁠⁠⁠⁠ or Leonie’s X and LinkedIn accounts. The Courage to Speak is from Leonie Mellinger Ltd. It is produced by Square Elephant Productions with Danny Garlick. Theme music composed by Guy Pearson.

Campaigner and businesswoman Gina Miller is Leonie Mellinger’s guest in this episode, discussing how she took the governments of Theresa May and Boris Johnson to court, winning on both occasions. Gina explains why she believed they were trying to illegally prevent Parliament from scrutinising proposed Brexit legislation. She is also remarkably candid about the terrifying abuse and death threats that she and her family received after she dared to fight for British democracy. She also speaks about her long, successful career as an entrepreneur, a passionate advocate for women’s rights in the workplace, a campaigner to end financial misconduct and her work on the Modern-Day Slavery Bill. And Miller talks through some of the many difficult personal situations she’s faced, including escaping an abusive relationship, being raped just before her final law exams and bringing up a daughter who tragically suffered brain damage during her birth. Gina is now being treated for a particularly aggressive form of breast cancer but this extremely powerful, inspirational interview demonstrates that her energy and passion for fighting injustice remain at astonishingly high levels. If you would like to discuss sponsorship or advertising on The Courage to Speak, please email the podcast team: info@thecouragetospeak.com⁠.  Follow us: on Instagram ⁠⁠@the_couragetospeak⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠@leoniemellinger⁠⁠⁠ or Leonie’s X and LinkedIn accounts. The Courage to Speak is from Leonie Mellinger Ltd. It is produced by Square Elephant Productions with Danny Garlick. Theme music composed by Guy Pearson.

Leonie Mellinger’s guest is Sir Michael Palin, one of the most loved and respected figures in British TV and film. From the Frost Report, Monty Python and Ripping Yarns, through The Missionary, A Fish Called Wanda and The Death of Stalin, to Around the World in 80 Days, Pole to Pole and now Venezuela, Sir Michael has been a fixture on our big and small screens for more than 60 years. He joins Leonie to talk about the organisation that bears his name and which has enjoyed his support since it was founded, The Michael Palin Centre for Stammering. They discuss its impact and how he became involved in the first place, while Leonie shares her and her daughter’s own experience of the centre’s important work. Michael also talks about how a stammer affected his father and their family life and reflects on playing Ken with a stammer in the iconic comedy film, A Fish Called Wanda. They chat about his recent travel series in Venezuela, undertaken at the age of 81, and the prospect of military intervention against President Nicolás Maduro’s regime by Donald Trump’s America. Sir Michael also reflects on his friendship with the late Terry Jones, the loss of his wife Helen and how he's coping with his grief. And, of course, there are entertaining stories and the suggestion that he should one day be designated the patron saint of silliness! The Michael Palin Centre for Stammering provides life-changing therapy for children who stammer, helping them find their voice and unlock their potential. They help 500 families a year and provide 250 new families with a charitably funded assessment every year. The centre’s therapists develop a personalised programme including individual or intensive group therapy. For more information on The Michael Palin Centre for Stammering and please visit their website michaelpalincentreforstammering.org. If you would like to discuss sponsorship or advertising on The Courage to Speak, please email the podcast team: info@thecouragetospeak.com⁠ Follow us: on Instagram ⁠⁠@the_couragetospeak⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠@leoniemellinger⁠⁠⁠ or Leonie’s X and LinkedIn accounts. The Courage to Speak is from Leonie Mellinger Ltd. It is produced by Square Elephant Productions with Danny Garlick. Theme music composed by Guy Pearson.

Leonie Mellinger’s guest is the multi-award-winning journalist, writer and documentary maker, Ramita Navai. She speaks passionately about impartiality and ethics in journalism and describes the chain of events surrounding the BBC’s decision not to broadcast her documentary Gaza: Doctors Under Attack which was instead shown on Channel 4. Ramita has strong views about the way she and her team were treated by BBC senior managers. Her extraordinary career has taken her to some of the most dangerous places in the world and she talks about terrifying experiences ‘in the field’, and why it is so important to give a voice to those who would otherwise have been silenced. Ramita's family left Tehran for Britain when she was a child, following the Islamic revolution, but her return to Iran decades later helped launch her journalistic career. Her own ‘courage to speak’ has seen her become a critic of the Iranian government, record with dissidents in Assad’s Syria, outwit the Taliban to film inside an Afghan prison and to investigate whether Israel has committed war crimes in Gaza. For more information on Ramita and her work please visit her website ramitanavai.com If you would like to discuss sponsorship or advertising on The Courage to Speak, please email the podcast team: info@thecouragetospeak.com⁠. Follow us: on Instagram ⁠@the_couragetospeak⁠and ⁠@leoniemellinger⁠⁠ or Leonie’s X and LinkedIn accounts. The Courage to Speak is from Leonie Mellinger Ltd. It is produced by Square Elephant Productions with Danny Garlick. Theme music composed by Guy Pearson.

EastEnders actress Harriet Thorpe chats about MoonWalk, the annual fundraising event for breast cancer charity Walk The Walk. Next year she’ll be joined in her team by host Leonie Mellinger, for whom the issue recently became personal. Having been friends for more than 40 years, since drama school, Harriet was one of the few people with whom Leonie had already discussed her diagnosis. But as this is The Courage to Speak she felt it important to share her own story and encourage women to have regular checks.Ahead of the 30th anniversary of Walk The Walk next year, Harriet talks about the work it does with the £146 million that the charity has raised so far. Plus, there are tips on how to train for and take part in the famous walks, including essential advice on how to prepare your bra!16th May 2026 will be the 28th MoonWalk in London – and it will be Harriet’s 26th – an incredible achievement. To find out more about the charity, including how to sign up for the MoonWalk, please visit their website ⁠walkthewalk.org⁠ Harriet also reflects on her acting career which includes West End musicals such as Cabaret, Wicked, Les Misérables and Mama Mia, TV comedies The Brittas Empire, Absolutely Fabulous and French and Saunders and, most recently, playing the glamorous matriarch of Albert Square, Elaine Peacock, in the BBC soap opera EastEnders.She also talks about her mother, the writer Gillian Freeman, whose groundbreaking 1961 novel The Leather Boys told the story of a gay relationship between two young working-class men. Her mum’s success took the family to Hollywood and to encounters with the likes of Jack Lemmon and Fred Astaire.Leonie also asks about another charity that’s important to Harriet, Acting For Others, through which all theatre workers can get financial and emotional support in times of need. Details of their work can be found at ⁠actingforothers.co.uk⁠ If you would like to discuss sponsorship or advertising on The Courage to Speak, please email the podcast team: info@thecouragetospeak.com⁠Follow us: on Instagram ⁠⁠@the_couragetospeak⁠ ⁠and ⁠⁠@leoniemellinger⁠⁠⁠ or Leonie’s X and LinkedIn accounts.The Courage to Speak is from Leonie Mellinger Ltd.It is produced by Square Elephant Productions with Danny Garlick.Theme music composed by Guy Pearson.

"I've stood on the cliff tops and considered death. I've been there. But they're not worth it.” In Lee Castleton’s first in-depth interview since announcing his new legal action, the former Bridlington sub-postmaster talks to Leonie Mellinger about becoming the first victim of the Post Office scandal to sue both the Post Office and Fujitsu. Lee believes that the Post Office's lawyers are still making compensation as difficult as possible for those who had their reputations destroyed by false accusations, despite the massive outrage prompted by Mr Bates vs The Post Office and despite the then Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, introducing legislation to quash convictions, calling the scandal “one of the greatest miscarriages in our nation’s history.” But Lee was the only sub-postmaster pursued by the Post Office though a civil action and that court’s judgment still stands. He explains why he continues to fight to clear his name, what has and crucially hasn’t happened since being portrayed by Will Mellor in the ITV drama, and how both he and his family survived having their lives wrecked by the scandal. It is a powerful and often shocking conversation. 21 years after their nightmare began, is this the start of The Post Office Scandal: Part 2? If you would like to discuss sponsorship or advertising please email the podcast team: info@thecouragetospeak.com⁠.Follow us on Instagram: ⁠@the_couragetospeak ⁠and⁠ @leoniemellinger⁠. The Courage to Speak is from Leonie Mellinger Ltd. It is produced by Square Elephant Productions with Danny Garlick. Theme music composed by Guy Pearson.

Singer and broadcaster Tom Robinson talks to Leonie Mellinger about having the courage to speak out for gay rights in the 1970s, and performs his best-known protest songs live on the podcast. Tom Robinson was Britain’s first openly gay rock musician, writing Good to be Gay in 1975, then three years later the iconic Glad to be Gay reached number 18 in the UK charts as part of the Tom Robinson Band’s Rising Free EP.Tom tells Leonie how he came to create those songs and discusses how he became an activist alongside his music career. He reflects on his own profound mental health issues and the difficulties that gay men faced in the 60s, 70s and 80s.And he explains about the prejudice he experienced after falling in love with a woman, the tabloid intrusion around his relationship with Sue and the birth of their first child, and how all of it impacted on his life, activism and music.Tom is touring the UK during October and November 2025. Tour dates and tickets are available at www.tomrobinson.comMusic and lyrics for Good to be Gay and Glad to be Gay are by Tom Robinson. With thanks to Tony Mccallum and BMG for permission to usethem in this episode.If you would like to contact the podcast team to discuss sponsorship or advertising please send an email to ⁠info@thecouragetospeak.com⁠Follow us on Instagram: ⁠@the_couragetospeak⁠and ⁠@leoniemellinger⁠The Courage to Speak is from Leonie Mellinger Ltd. It is produced by Square Elephant Productions with Danny Garlick.Theme music composed by Guy Pearson.

Paul Sinha joins Leonie Mellinger to discuss his decision to publicly reveal his Parkinson’s diagnosis, and to chat about life with the disease, his comedy career and being part of ITV’s hugely popular quiz show The Chase. As well as being Chaser ‘The Sinnerman’, Paul is one of the UK’s best known stand-up comics and a qualified GP. He was diagnosed with Parkinson's in 2019, at theage of 49, and immediately decided to use his public profile to raise awareness of the disease and help the charity Parkinson’s UK. In this moving and inspirational interview, Paul tells Leonie how he had already deduced that his symptoms likely pointed to Parkinson’s before being told by doctors, about the difficult job of informing friends and family, and the impact of the disease on him and others. Paul reveals his philosophy on life, chats about his comedy shows, and tells the story of how he became involved in The Chase. There’s also news of a forthcoming stand-up tour and a rather surprising ambition!“What I want to prove, and this is something I feel verystrongly about, is that Parkinson's is not the end of a story, it's just the beginning of a more difficult story. I think to myself, right, it's now my Parkinson's years. It's that chapter of the story, and I realise that it's going to be tough, and I realise it's going to be difficult, but I realise that it's going to be an adventure as well.”For more information about Paul, his stand-up gigs and his autobiography One Sinha Lifetime, visit www.paulsinha.com or @paulsinhacomedian_official on Instagram. For more information about Parkinson’s UK visit www.parkinsons.org.uk Follow us on Instagram @the_couragetospeak and@leoniemellinger The Courage to Speak is produced by Square Elephant Productions with Danny Garlick for Leonie Mellinger Ltd.Paul Sinha will be appearing at Cadogan Hall in London on Monday October 6th 2025 as part of Parkinson’s UK’s annual fundraising night of stand-up comedy Shake with Laughter. Tickets are available at https://cadoganhall.com/whats-on/shake-with-laughter/ If you would like to contact the team to discuss sponsorship or advertising on this podcast, please send an email to info@thecouragetospeak.comTheme music composed by Guy Pearson.

Leonie speaks to award-winning actor Roger Allam about his career on stage and screen, discussing his experiences in shows ranging from Les Miserables to Endeavour and The Thick of It. He also reveals some of the formative experiences that led to him speaking out, including his education at boarding school and early breakthrough with feminist theatre company Monstrous Regiment.

Leonie speaks to the pioneering broadcaster and journalist, best known for becoming Britain's first transgender newsreader and Loose Women presenter. India speaks movingly about her journey, from learning about her identity, to living a double life, and finally embracing who she is and standing up for others.

Leonie speaks to one of Britain's most distinguished lawyers about her pioneering career, from her humble beginnings in Glasgow to her recent appointment to The Order of the Thistle, the highest honour in Scotland. As a barrister with over 50 years experience, she has dedicated her life to speaking out for others.

Leonie speaks to campaigner Peter Tatchell about his extraordinary life and career, which has seen him become one of the greatest living examples of 'the courage to speak'. He discusses his difficult childhood in Australia, his experience of coming out, and how standing up for LGBTQ+ rights across the world has left an indelible mark. For more on Peter's foundation, visit: https://www.petertatchellfoundation.org/

Leonie speaks to the award-winning actress, whose many acclaimed performances range from the Royal Shakespeare Company to Succession and Ted Lasso. She reveals how she dealt with difficulties at school and learnt to find her voice through acting and activism, as well as what prompted her to write her new book 'She Speaks'.

For the first episode of series two, Leonie speaks to footballer turned presenter Gary Lineker, who is known for speaking out on a range of humanitarian, climate and other issues. He discusses how he overcame his early shyness, how fame has impacted him, his ability to stay calm under pressure, and the recent furore over his suspension from Match of the Day. For more on The Courage to Speak, visit www.mellinger.co.uk/podcast

Leonie speaks to bestselling novelist Kathy Lette, the self-described 'mouth from the south', about her landmark books and record of speaking out on a range of issues.

Leonie speaks to acclaimed actor Hugh Quarshie about his fascinating early life and how he found his voice on stage and screen.

Leonie speaks to a revered figure in the world of public health, who reflects on her outstanding medical career, as both clinician and scientist, and long record of speaking up.

Leonie speaks to the legendary cricketer who continues to inspire others with his eloquence, making him a true icon in the world of sport.