Discover
Life Changing

Life Changing
Author: BBC Radio 4
Subscribed: 3,240Played: 83,392Subscribe
Share
© (C) BBC 2025
Description
In this series Dr Sian Williams talks to people who have lived through extraordinary events that have set their lives on an entirely different course.
This podcast is all about the human experience, how people deal with obstacles that turn their lives upside down. The journeys are not always straightforward and there are often some remarkable discoveries along the way.
Would you like to appear on the podcast? Do you have an extraordinary story to tell? We'd love to hear from you: lifechanging@bbc.co.uk
68 Episodes
Reverse
In her early twenties Carol Cairns, the daughter of a priest in Ireland, had a passionate affair with a young bohemian poet called Benedict Ryan. In the Dublin of the 1960s, their improbable partnership burned bright but briefly. Somehow the gap in their backgrounds was too great. Not long after, life took her in a completely different direction. Shortly after her 70th birthday, while thinking of names for a grandson to be, she remembered Benedict. Where was he now? After a failed marriage, she used Skype to see if the flame still burned. Carol tells Dr Sian Williams about the emotional moment they reunited, after almost half a century.Producer; Tom Alban
Phillip Browne was born into a large and loving Windrush generation family in Birmingham. Church and singing were an important part of his upbringing, and when he struggled at school it was singing that gave him an escape and a status. But just as he was beginning to show signs of real potential, a devastating ear infection robbed him of his hearing completely in one ear - and Phillip was told by a doctor that a singing career was out of the question. Phillip's struggle in the aftermath of his illness and his need to find a job resulted in him becoming a London bus driver. He knew the security of employment was a relief to his father who had spent a lifetime working on the railways, but it seemed to be leading him further and further away from his dream. Until a chance meeting with an old college friend turned his life in an extraordinary new direction.Phillip tells Dr Sian Williams about that Life Changing moment - and his incredible journey to the bright lights of the West End stage. Producer: Tom Alban
Robin Elsey Webb is a young and already very successful yachtsman with a dream of tackling the famous Vendee Globe, the single-handed round the world yacht race. But his plans were shattered during a trip to Antigua, when he was violently attacked and suffered severe head injuries. With his life hanging in the balance, it fell to his partner Liz to make swift and bold decisions about his treatment. Robin's job was to try and stay alive. Robin and Liz join Dr Sian Williams to piece together their own very different experiences of that terrifying ordeal, which changed so many things for both of them. Producer: Tom Alban
As a bright adventurous 16 year-old, Angela Tilley was thrilled to get a job in a busy London office. But after a year's unwanted attention from one of her co-workers, attention that today we would call stalking, she started having panic attacks on the way to work. The attacks became a debilitating daily occurrence, leaving her mentally and physically exhausted. Her courage in pushing back against her fears, forging a career and having a family came at a huge personal cost. But one seemingly innocuous purchase was about to change her life forever.Angela tells Dr Sian Williams about how she overcame her challenges and how she managed to stop her phobia defining her life.
Producer: Tom Alban
Husband and father, Larry O’Brien, loved the freedom his job as a long-distance lorry driver gave him. But on March 6th 1987, that freedom was almost lost in the horror of the Zeebrugge ferry disaster, in which almost 200 people lost their lives. Larry – who could not swim – risked his own life to pull 30 people to safety.
Almost 40 years later, Larry tells Dr Sian Williams why he never felt like a hero, how he came to terms with what happened, and why – after a career change into local politics – he decided to return to the road.
Producer: Tom Alban
When 18-year-old Stacey Goodwin got a job at a bookies, she put a pound coin into a slot machine and won enough money for a night out with her pals. It was the trigger for a destructive gambling addiction that led to a life of shame, brutal isolation and deceit. The money she lost over an eight-year period was eye-watering – on one occasion, frittering away a £50,000 online win in a matter of days. Sometimes suicidal, and always lonely, it was the damage she did to those closest to her which hurt the most.When her addiction saw her undermine the financial security of someone she loved, she reached a crossroads. Stacey tells Dr Sian Williams how she found the strength to ask for help - and turned her life around. Producer: Tom AlbanWarning: This episode contains discussions around suicide. Details of help and support are available through the BBC Action Line at bbc.co.uk/actionline.
In 1977, Ed Stewart was a happy-go-lucky teenager with his whole life ahead of him. With a new engineering job, a girlfriend and a motorbike, life was good. But when he dropped in on a friend’s party, a violent row with another teenager - who was carrying a shotgun - turned Ed’s whole life on its head. Ed had to learn to navigate the world in an entirely different way, but he made a success of it - becoming a piano tuner to the stars and counting Jools Holland and Brian Ferry as his customers. Despite a life of adversity, he tells Dr Sian Williams how not just one, but two Life Changing moments led him to be what he refers to as a “glass-three-quarters-full” kind of bloke. Producer: Tom Alban
For Lisa Hover and her husband Andy, life on the Hampshire Dorset border with their family of four children seemed idyllic. Even when a routine sight test on their young daughter Annabelle picked up an abnormality, it all seemed manageable. But the abnormality turned out to be early sight loss, which itself masked a more severe and life shortening genetic condition. With no cure available, Annabelle was determined the most from her limited life span. Lisa talks to Dr Sian Williams about the challenges, joys and sadness she experienced - and Annabelle's dream to have a white Christmas with all the family. Producer: Tom Alban
As a young man, Mohammed, AKA MFA Zaman, arrived in Britain from Bangladesh with a working visa, a patron and a job lined up as a chef. On arrival though, the promises of a bright future turned to ashes when he became a victim of modern slavery. But at this lowest of low ebbs in his life, Mohammed decided that he needed to do something - and that something was to volunteer at an old people's community club in Lewisham, near where he was living. Mohammed tells Dr Sian Williams how this life-changing decision helped him to find freedom. Producer: Tom Alban
After a whirlwind romance, Paul Mason and his wife Isabel were in no doubt that they wanted to start a family. It was not easy, but eventually that ordinary miracle happened. And yet it was a little more than ordinary - because they discovered they were to be parents to triplets. Paul tells Dr Sian Williams about the joyful and harrowing life-changing events of his children’s birth, and explains how the family have since discovered the extraordinary generosity of strangers. Producer: Tom Alban
Mother-of-two young children, Tanja Bage, had always been a keen singer and performer, so she was increasingly aware of her shortness of breath. The diagnosis was cancer, which required almost immediate surgery to remove the tumour, and with it her vocal chords. She would be losing her voice, and she had just a week to prepare herself and her family.Tanja tells Dr Sian Williams about navigating the challenges of motherhood whilst having to re-learn how to speak – and reveals an exciting new artistic venture which has changed her life. Producer: Tom Alban
After moving to Los Angeles, 12-year-old Dan Edozie and his mother were left homeless and begging for food. Life was not easy: they slept where they could, sometimes on public transport, sometimes in the refuges of the city’s infamous Skid Row. But a chance separation from his mother was about to change his fortunes forever.Dan tells Dr Sian Williams how this life-changing moment allowed him to take control of his own destiny and set his sights on sporting greatness. Producer: Elaina Boeteng
Sarah Fairbairns spent much of her life feeling she was a bit different. Growing up in the 1960s and 70s, she gained the reputation of a wild child – from travelling to India, to dancing on stage with the cast of iconic counter-culture musical Hair. And yet all the while, she faced bouts of sadness and depression, and a confusion as to why that should be. Later in life, Sarah made a discovery about a medical childhood trauma that changed the way she viewed the world – and wrote in to Life Changing to share her experience. Now in her seventies, Sarah speaks to Dr Sian Williams about how confronting her past has provided belated but extraordinary relief. Producer: Tom Alban
Strapped to explosives, threatened with execution and packed into a vehicle with a suicide bomber, civil engineer Nick feared for his life. It was 2013, and he had found himself at the heart of a violent attack on the Algerian gas facility he was working at, carried out by a group later revealed to be affiliated to Al-Qaeda. It was a deadly hostage situation, in which 39 workers lost their lives – several of them Nick’s close colleagues.Talking to Dr Sian Williams, he describes how the attack unfolded and why he has sought to use his horrific experience to support others facing similar trauma. Producer: Tom AlbanWarning: This episode contains descriptions of violence and death. Details of help and support are available through the BBC Action Line at bbc.co.uk/actionline.
Dr Sian Williams looks forward to another series of extraordinary stories.
When twins Georgia and Melissa Laurie set off a once-in-lifetime adventure to Mexico in 2021, they thought it would be an opportunity for some sisterly bonding. Whilst on their travels, they went for an ill-fated swim in a lagoon – and found themselves in a terrifying fight for survival. They tell their incredible story to Dr Sian Williams, and explain how in that moment, and over the years that followed, their love for each other kept them alive.
Tony Redmond was an experienced medical doctor from Manchester, used to dealing with challenging situations. In December 1988, he attended two major global disasters that left him feeling a broken man, ready to hang up his stethoscope. But it turned out he was not quite done yet.After writing in to Life Changing about his experience, Dr Sian Williams invited him onto the podcast to share his story.
Tier Blundell was never a bad kid. He was bright and curious, but also disruptive. Growing up sandwiched between two cultures, he felt excluded from society. Those feelings were amplified when aged 11, Tier was informed by his school that he would not be welcome back following the summer holidays – instead being sent to a Pupil Referral Unit. He left there with no qualifications and a sense of shame, until the day he put on a suit, turned up for an unscheduled meeting and demanded another go at learning — the results of which are staggering.Tier tells Dr Sian Williams his story, and why he demanded a reckoning with the education system.
Su Chantry was adopted as a baby and grew up fantasising that she was the daughter of a French princess who would one day return for her. As an adult with her own family, Su received an unexpected and life-changing phone call. Su tells Dr Sian Williams how she rushed to meet her mother, and they would spend just one day together – her mum’s last.
Aged 19, Dan Simmonds turned down a university place and instead became an oil trader in the City of London. It was an exciting and ruthless environment driven by big risks and even greater rewards. But it ultimately challenged Dan’s values and filled him with a desire to seek something new. Over a decade later, whilst jogging around Regent’s Park, Dan made a discovery that would change his life and career.Dan tells his story to Dr Sian Williams.
I was about to cry…
lovely story and lovely lady. thanks for sharing your story
I have to say I'm really really sorry to hear this sort of horrendous experience, or let's say nightmare; a fear to any extent is no good thing, cus not only would it be so frustrating, but it'd certainly destroy your freedom eventually. I remember, a decade ago when I was only 13, about eight dogs suddenly went for me and my cousin in total darkness. No eyes could see anywhere. I just began to run away from those directions from which the barks were coming. Having left one of my pair of sandals halfway near the seashore. I finally went into the water round my knee, to anyway duck out of that weird situation. I could barely think of the state of my cousin as I was scared out of my wits. After a while, I saw him approaching me with his wide but gentle smile. It really came quite as a surprise that he SURVIVED, and he said "the moment I was entirely surrounded by roughly ten of em, I had no choice but to slowly sit down and try to mimic a lion's gesture and roar so that they don't dare a
Hope Robin Boltman gets mentioned.
A beautiful love story. Each and every life is so wonderfully unique, but this woman's was fortunate in so many ways...
Brilliant podcast, thank you Jane and all your guests so interesting and inspiring, can't wait for series 2!
great first episode!