Believe in People
Believe in People explores the realities of addiction, recovery, and stigma through conversations with those who’ve lived it.
Featuring voices from across the recovery community - individuals with lived experience, frontline professionals, public figures, and policymakers - offering unfiltered insight into the personal and societal challenges surrounding substance use.
Hosted by Matthew Butler and produced by Robbie Lawson, this award-winning series is a trusted platform for dialogue, empathy, and change.
🎙 2025 British Podcast Award Nominee - Best Interview
🎙 2025 British Podcast Award Nomine - Best Factual
🎙 2024 British Podcast Award Winner - Best Interview
🎙 2025 Radio Academy Award Nominee - Best Speech & Entertainment
🎙 2024 Radio Academy Award Nominee - Best New Podcast
Episodes
45 episodes
Mel Barrett: Triplets, Trauma & Transformation - Finding Fellowship, Pub Culture, Cocaine & Non-Linear Recovery
Mel shares her powerful journey from growing up as a triplet in a family where drinking was the norm, to finding recovery through boxing, community, and addressing her mental health. She opens up about identity struggles, belonging in pub cultu...
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Season 1
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Episode 45
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1:07:52
Emma Hardy MP: Floods, Ketamine & Community - Politics, Public Health & the Power of Unity
Emma Hardy MP joins Believe in People for the second time to discuss Hull’s triple flood threat, the rise of ketamine harm, and the cost of living’s toll on mental health. From sewage systems to social housing, she tackles some of Britain’s big...
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Season 1
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Episode 44
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55:02
Elly Mortimer: Three Decades in Harm Reduction – Hep C, Learning, Listening & Leading
Elly returns for her third appearance on Believe in People to share insight from over 30 years working in harm reduction, with a focus on eliminating Hepatitis C. She explains how treatment has progressed from year-long courses with...
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Season 1
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Episode 43
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51:22
Henry Beercock: Binge Drinking, Business, Burnout & AlcoHull Free - Join the Sober Rebellion
In this energising and unfiltered conversation, we meet Henry Beercock, founder of Hull’s growing sober movement Alcohull Free. After nearly two decades of heavy binge drinking, Henry made a bold deci...
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Season 1
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Episode 42
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1:19:45
Alexis Ffrench: Classical Connections, Apple Music & 60-Second Sonata
Apple Music x Believe in People: A Classical Connections FeatureIn this special collaboration, Believe in People host Matthew Butler is featured on Classical Connections, the Radio Academy Award-winning podcast hosted by renowned ...
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Season 1
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Episode 41
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14:26
Andy Woodward - The Whistleblower Who Changed Sports History Forever (Part 1)
In the first of a powerful two-part conversation, Andy Woodward joins Believe in People to recount the beginning of a journey that would ultimately expose one of the biggest scandals in British sporting history. A former prof...
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Season 1
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Episode 40
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1:19:21
Young Lee: Recovery vs. Recovered - Fatherhood, Identity & The Spiritual Path
In this gripping return to Believe in People, Young Lee opens up about what happens after the chaos of addiction — when the drugs are gone, the dust has settled, and the real work begins. Once a rising star in the music scene, Young shares how ...
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Season 1
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Episode 67
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1:11:28
Ross McAndrew: Suicide & Sobriety – From Losing His Father to Leading With Andy’s Man Club
Ross joins the podcast to share his powerful journey from personal tragedy to public advocacy, following the suicide of his father - a traumatic event that profoundly shaped his mental health. We explore how Ross turned to alcohol and cocaine t...
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Season 1
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Episode 66
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1:15:11
Woody Albrow: Butane, Breakdown & Belief – A Journey Through Trauma & Transformation
Matt speaks with Woody, the National Connecting Communities Lead at Change Grow Live, who shares a candid account of his journey through addiction, recovery, and professional development. Woody refl...
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Season 1
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Episode 65
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1:02:26
Chris De Banks: Not Saints, 90s Drugs & The Creativity Myth – Building a Sober Music Scene
Matt speaks with Chris De Banks, founder of Not Saints - the UK’s only not-for-profit record label supporting musicians in recovery - to explore the powerful intersection of music and sobriety. From navigating the drug-fuelled 90s music s...
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Season 1
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Episode 64
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42:32
Daniel Ramson: Addiction Is Not A Disease - Talk2BigDan, Pervert Powder & Psychosis
In this raw and controversial episode, Matt sits down with TalkToBigDan - aka Daniel Ramson - to explore his unapologetic, tough-love approach to recovery. Rejecting conventional services, Dan shares how he went from partying with ...
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Season 1
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Episode 63
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48:07
John Levesley: Booze, Binge & Botox – Solitude, Social Media & Seeking the Real Self
John’s story is one of quiet transformation - trading binge drinking and chaotic nights for clarity, creativity, and connection. After a 5am moment of reckoning, he chose sobriety not because he identified as an alcoholic, but because alc...
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Season 1
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Episode 62
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1:03:00
Paul Haley: Heroin, Healing & the Imposter Within – From Lived Experience to Leadership
Paul Haley’s journey from the depths of heroin and crack cocaine addiction to national leadership is a powerful testament to resilience, transformation, and purpose. After a near-fatal injecting injury became his rock bottom, Paul made the cour...
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Season 1
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Episode 61
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1:08:17
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Amy Goldberg & Caitlin Morrison: Believe in People America – Matthew Butler Meets the Matthew Perry Foundation
In this powerful transatlantic collaboration, Believe in People host Amy Goldberg welcomes our UK counterpart Matt Butler into the guest seat alongside special guest host Caitlin Morrison - sister of the late Matthew Perry and driving ...
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Season 1
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Episode 60
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34:01
Tom Fitzsimons: 3,073 Miles to Redemption – Alcoholism, Ultramarathons & Cowboy Pastors
Matt sits down with ultramarathon runner Tom Fitzsimons, whose extraordinary journey from alcohol addiction to running 3,073 miles across the U.S. in 100 days is a powerful testament to human resilience. Through candid storytelling, Tom s...
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Season 1
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Episode 59
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1:20:54
Sarah Hicks: Assault, Advocacy & The Fight To Change Systems – Violence Against Women
In the second part of this powerful two-part episode, Matt continues his conversation with Sarah Hicks as she reflects on her journey through trauma, justice, and recovery. Sarah shares her experience of surviving sexual assault and the l...
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Season 1
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Episode 58
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52:11
Sarah Hicks: Gaslighting, Grief & Generational Pain – Surviving Trauma & Reclaiming Life
In this in-depth two-part episode, Matt sits down with Sarah Hicks for a raw and reflective conversation that spans addiction, trauma, abusive relationships, grief, and recovery. Sarah opens up about her early experiences with substance u...
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Season 1
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Episode 57
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57:57
Chris Tait: Detroit, Drink & Disconnection – Electric Six, Sobriety & the Music Industry Reckoning
What happens when the highs of the music industry collide with the depths of addiction? In this compelling episode, Matt speaks with Chris Tait - keyboardist for Electric Six and founder of
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Season 1
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Episode 55
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1:24:08
Shev Nuttall: Pints, Parenthood & Patterns – Pub Culture & the Rise of Sober Festivals
Matt jumps straight in at the deep end as Shev opens up about the weight of adult responsibilities thrust upon her from a young age, including becoming a mother at just 17. In this heartfelt and unflinching conversation, Shev reflects on the em...
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Season 1
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Episode 54
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55:05
Tom Norcliffe: Psychosis, Paranoia & Cocaine – Battles with the Bottle & The Will To Live
Join Matt for a gripping and emotional conversation with Tom, a former talent agent whose high-flying lifestyle in central London masked a devastating struggle with cocaine addiction. Tom recounts the harrowing moment he realised he was using d...
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Season 1
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Episode 53
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1:04:23
Ollie Dent: Cannabis, Withdrawal & Waking Up – Isolation & the Quiet Strength of Recovery
Matt is joined by Ollie for a raw and introspective conversation tracing his journey from early childhood trauma to recovery. After losing his mother at just eight years old and navigating the fallout of his father’s 22-year prison sentence at ...
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Season 1
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Episode 52
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1:11:59
Andre Edmund: Murder, Addiction & 31 Years Inside – Gang Violence, Redemption & Corruption
Join Matt for an extraordinary conversation with Andre, whose story spans over three decades in a Los Angeles prison following convictions for armed robbery and murder. Opening with a raw account of the grief, addiction, and desperation t...
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Season 1
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Episode 51
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1:11:15
Emma Plant: Ecstasy to Overdose – Heroin, Maternal Struggles & Naloxone Awakening
Join Matt as he sits down with Emma, whose powerful and unflinching account traces a journey through addiction that began at just 11 years old. Growing up in a family shaped by substance use - her father’s addiction and her grandmother’s role a...
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Season 1
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Episode 50
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1:02:25
Johnny Borrell: Razorlight & Recovery – Teenage Heroin & Championship Manager
Johnny Borrell - guitarist, singer, and frontman of Razorlight - joins Matt for an honest and introspective conversation about teenage heroin addiction, the road to recovery, and the stigma surr...
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Season 1
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Episode 49
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26:04
Adam Maxted: Life After Love Island, Steroids & Wrestling - Big Flex Fame, WWE & Mental Health Advocacy
Adam Maxted - professional wrestler and Love Island reality TV star - joins Matt for an unfiltered conversation about life in the spotlight, the pursuit of physical perfection, and the emotiona...
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Season 1
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Episode 48
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1:23:48
