It Can't Just Be Me

Joining Anna on the podcast this week is the legendary dancer and choreographer Dame Arlene Phillips. From humble beginnings in Manchester, she ended up at dance school in London, where she worked as a live-in nanny for none other than film director Ridley Scott in order to get by. From there, she gained stratospheric success in dance and choreography - and her groundbreaking dance troupe, Hot Gossip, made her a household name in t...

This week Anna is joined by clinical psychologist Dr Hazel Harrison to discuss a listener's experience of her on/off relationship which she's starting to realise is unhealthy. Anna and Dr Hazel discuss the potential impact of this kind of relationship, how our attachment styles can affect how we interact with loved ones, and offer some gentle advice for navigating tricky situations like this.

If you have a dilemma or situation y...

Anna's guest this week, Laura Adlington, shot to fame as a finalist on the 2020 series of the Great British Bake Off. In the midst of the pandemic, she brought some light in the darkness of that horrible year with her sharp wit, especially in the face of culinary disaster (whatever you do, don’t mention ice cream cake).

Since then, baking has taken a backseat. These days, she's an outspoken writer, presenter and campaigner aroun...

Anna is joined by clinical psychologist Dr Soph, aka Dr Sophie Mort, to answer a listener dilemma. This person is feeling like they've lost their sense of direction in life, but they also sense themselves getting in their own way in the process of trying to rediscover it. Dr Soph offers some positive, practical and simple advice and exercises that anyone feeling similiarly can try themselves at home.

If you have a dilemma or sit...

Anna's guest this week is Ashley James: woman full of contradictions. Originally from a working class family in Northumberland, she won a scholarship to boarding school where she had to change her accent to fit in, and had a friend with a castle who quite literally rubbed shoulders with royalty. She found fame via Made in Chelsea, and it's been hard graft since then: she’s DJ’d all over the world, built up an impressive broadcastin...

This week, Anna is joined by psychotherapist Sam Pennells-Nkolo to discuss a listener question. Lou is in her 50s and very happy with her life, but her husband wants to relocate from the city to the country. Does getting older mean we automatically want a slower pace of life? And how do we navigate big decisions where ultimately people want different things without compromising a loving relationship? Sam has some excellent advice t...

Anna's guest this week is the one and only Lou Sanders. Anyone who's seen Lou's live shows, watched her on TV or read her memoir What's That Lady Doing? will know that she doesn't shy away from frankness – it's part of her signature candid style of comedy. But there's a deeper meaning to it as well, as she tells Anna: being honest about difficult situations is how you can get through them. She shares why choosing sobriety was essen...

In these weekly episodes of 'It's Not Just You', each week Anna will be joined by a different expert to explore the issues and dilemmas that are affecting you. No guests, just your dilemmas discussed by Anna and her expert.

This week, Anna is joined by Dr Shirin Lakhani to answer a listener's question about recovery after childbirth – both physical and emotional. It's very normal to need extended time to recover after birth befo...

Joining Anna this week is Lu Featherstone: a self-proclaimed former wild child, who turned ‘good wife’ and ‘good mother’, before throwing it all up in the air and reclaiming her freedom once again – this time, in her 50s. Feeling trapped after trying to squeeze herself into roles that didn’t feel true to who she really was, she finally exploded out of the box she’d found herself in, and embraced an avalanche of rainbow sequins, hug...

This week Anna is joined in the studio by Dr Radha. They're answering a dilemma from a listener who doesn't have a great relationship with their own mum, and wants to make sure that they're not repeating the same patterns of behaviour with their own children. How do we break the cycle of what happened to us with our own parents if it's not the way we want to parent too?

If you have a dilemma or situation you'd like discussed, re...

It's only the beginning of January and we've all already been bombarded with a million messages about how and why you should change your life this year. To counterbalance the endless 'New Year, New You' messaging, Anna is putting herself in the hot seat on the podcast this week! 

She's enlisted the help of Sam Pennells-Nkolo, psychotherapist at the London Practice, to get some sensible and helpful advice about how to approa...

This week Anna is joined by Emma and Sophiena from Secret Mum Club to answer a listener dilemma on something that's relatable to lots of us: navigating friendships after one of you has a baby. What happens when one friend becomes a mum and their life changes beyond recognition, but the other is following a different path? Can your friendship ever stay the same?

If you have a dilemma or situation you'd like discussed, reach out t...

Crack open the mince pies and pop the Bucks Fizz, it's the super festive It Can't Just Be Me Christmas special! Joining Anna in the studio are Sophiena and Emma from hit parenting podcast Secret Mum Club to talk about all things Christmas. It can be a tricky time of year for all sorts of reasons, and it doesn't help that we're all surrounded by perfect families having a lovely time on adverts and on TV. Soph, Emma and Anna compare ...

In these weekly episodes of It's Not Just You, each week Anna will be joined by a different expert to explore the issues and dilemmas that are affecting you. No guests, just your dilemmas discussed by Anna and her expert.

This week Anna is joined by TV and radio presenter, qualified counsellor and friend of the show Katie Thistleton to talk about a listener dilemma. Hannah recently split up with her partner and is enjoying a bit...

Anna's guest this week is Sharon Gaffka, former Love Island contestant turned political campaigner and ambassador for the domestic violence charity Refuge. As she shares with Anna, Sharon's journey has been remarkable; from teenage beauty pageant queen to civil servant, then reality TV star to aspiring politician – but it's not been without its challenges. Sharon talks frankly about the horrifying racist and misogynistic abuse she'...

In these brand new weekly episodes of 'It's Not Just You', each week Anna will be joined by a different expert to explore the issues and dilemmas that are affecting you. No guests, just your dilemmas discussed by Anna and her expert.

This week Anna is joined by clinical psychologist Dr Hazel Harrison to discuss a listener's experience with overwhelming anxiety in all aspects of their life, from personal to professional. Anna and...

This time on In Can't Just Be Me, Anna is joined by Race Across The World's Betty Mukherjee, who won viewers' hearts this year with her down-to-earth humour and vulnerability as she travelled 15,000km from Japan to Indonesia with her brother, James. On the show, Betty revealed how a diagnosis of the rare condition MRKH syndrome at just 16 years old had altered the course of her life. Here, she shares with Anna how it felt getting s...

In these brand new weekly episodes of 'It's Not Just You', each week Anna will be joined by a different expert to explore the issues and dilemmas that are affecting you. No guests, just your dilemmas discussed by Anna and her expert.

This week, Anna is joined by broadcaster, author and GP Dr Radha Modgil to tackle a listener’s dilemma about feeling overwhelmed. Together, Anna and Dr Radha explore the impact of big life chang...

In this episode of It Can’t Just Be Me, Anna sits down with actor, filmmaker and author Jassa Ahluwalia. Born to an English mother and an Indian father, he grew up the 'white' boy that was fluent in both English and Punjabi. Jassa talks to Anna about embracing his mixed heritage, why he wrote his book 'Both Not Half' and how he navigates a world that wants to put us in boxes.

If you or someone you know is struggling with any of ...