In The Room with Ronnie Barbour In The Room Podcast

This time in the Room I'm talking to Gail Porter, the brilliant TV presenter, documentary maker and mental health advocate. We'll hear about the one job she really didn't want, how she almost became homeless, and what she'd say to her younger self.

Anyway, the first room I put her into was the dressing room at Top of the Pops, where she got her big TV break.

To hear more about Gail's work, follow her on twitter here: twitter.com/Gailporter

This time I'm talking to Stiliyan Petrov, the Celtic and Aston Villa legend, who played football until 2013, when he was diagnosed with leukaemia. We'll hear about how his drive to succeed was bigger than his talent, how being alone in Glasgow became very lonely, and how he dealt with his cancer diagnosis.

Anyway, the first room I put him in was the Celtic dressing room before his first home game.

To find out more about Stilyan's work with Player 4 Player go here: https://www.player4player.com/

This time in the room we're speaking to Dame Joan Bakewell, broadcaster, journalist and Labour Party member in the House of Lords. We'll hear about her early forays into the world of love and sexuality, we'll learn about the barriers that were put in her way when it came to reading the news, and how the pandemic has changed the perception of older people in the UK.

Anyway, the first room I put Joan into was her room in Newnham College at Cambridge university, when she left home in Stockport to study.

To find out more about Dame Joan and all of her work go here: https://joanbakewell.com/

This week in the room I'm speaking to Kriss Akabusi, the olympic legend, gold medallist and now motivational speaker. We'll hear about his upbringing in care, how he treats every moment in life as an opportunity and we'll hear about that iconic moment when he delivered gold for the UK.

Anyway, the first room I put him in was the barracks in 1975, where he started his professional life, in the Army.

To find out more about Kriss, visit his website here: https://www.akabusi.com/

This week in the room, we’re talking to Iain Dale, the LBC presenter, podcaster, publisher and writer. We'll hear how Iain pursued a career in politics, how he then turned his hand to publishing, and how he thinks we all have a duty to improve the standard of debate in this country. The first room we put Iain in was as David Davis' chief of staff in 2005, as the conservative leadership battle began.
To find out more about Iain or to listen to his programme on LBC go here: https://www.iaindale.com/

This week in the room I'm talking to Professor Dame Elizabeth Anionwu, the nursing pioneer, whose work on sickle cell disease has helped thousands upon thousands of people to lead better lives. We'll hear how her life began in care, and how that led to her passion for nursing, how she thinks Covid-19 has been a wake up call for equality in the NHS and we'll hear her advice to anyone thinking of pursuing a career in nursing.

To find out more about Dame Elizabeth's work go here: https://www.elizabethanionwu.co.uk/about-me/