The Suffolk Pod Show

Rob Jarvis, star of Luther, Hustle and Emmerdale, talks to us in this podcast episode about how life began as an actor; his early years, predominantly in musical theatre, and then how he transitioned into a successful TV and voice-over career. He takes us through memories of working at the Liverpool Everyman Theatre, The New Wolsey, The Bush in Shepherd’s Bush (where his TV career launched from) and working at the London Bubble.

Rob talks about the villainous character he played in Luther (Series 1:Episode 4) – serial murderer ‘Graham Shand’, as well as finally meeting Idris El...

Early morning presenter on Virgin Radio – Sam Pinkham joins us on podcast episode 43!

Sam is a massive fan of Suffolk and visits every year with this family and stays in Southwold as well as various other locations around the county – and he loves going to Latitude – who doesn’t?!

Sam began his career as a salesperson – selling houses, hoovers, cars and in his words ‘He’d sell his Gran!’. Listen to Sam’s first moment when he realised he wanted to be a radio presenter – the ultimate epiphany for him. He talks about his first job as an ‘eye in th...

In this podcast episode we talk to sensational cast members Sarah Whittuck, Peter Peverley and Olivia Foster-Browne as well as Pete Rowe Artistic Director of the New Wolsey Theatre and writer and director, of the smash hit show ‘Never Lost at Home’.

Pete Rowe tells the story behind the making of ‘Never Lost at Home’, a live stage show wrapped around Ipswich Town Football club’s UEFA Cup winning season in 1980/81.  The story (created from a collection of real stories from fans and Ipswich Town Football club from that t...

Jimmy Doherty talk to us about  the latest news from Jimmy's Farm & Wildlife Park including the birth of Suffolk’s first-born Tapir – named Tobias.  

Jimmy tells us about the Rare Breeds Survival Trust, founded by Adam Henson’s father, who played a major part in keeping the Gloucester Old Spot from becoming extinct. The trust was set up to protect Britain's native rare breeds – from chickens to horses. Jimmy talks more about protecting rare breeds and how important their genetic value is to protect the future of all livestock, as Jimmy says ‘to l...

In this exhilarating podcast episode Ray Travasso, gives us an extraordinary interview and talks about the magic that can happen when using music as therapy. 

Ray and his team of music therapy professionals elevate and mend lives every day. They work with adults and children of all ages and Ray tells us the story of ‘Margaret’ who has no speech or movement on one side of her body and yet music changes all of that for her – listen to the clip and hear what happens.

Suffolk Music Therapy Services works across East Anglia from Hertfor...

Sue and Annie are a dynamic duo who are changing the lives of adults and children for the better. Listen to this enlightening podcast episode for tips and advice on managing stress and anxiety in the workplace, menopause in the workplace and the importance of teaching sexual harassment awareness in schools and they tell us how we, as parents, play an important part in educating our children on the subject.

AND THERE'S MORE!! - Sue and Annie are offering a FREE 10 minute ‘Wellness in the Workplace’ webinar following on from...

Richard Grainger has recently returned to his Suffolk roots after his illustrious global banking career. Richard tells his story, about his own life and his work, with openness and integrity. He talks about his earlier years, a happy childhood, his life at Cambridge University and his first tender years as he stepped out into the world of banking.

New York, London and then Hong Kong; Richard started his career at Credit Suisse and then moved to Barclays Bank, which took him to Hong Kong in 2003. 

Richard talks about arriving in Hong Kong with his family o...

Pam is fun, vibrant, strong, passionate and a real expert in fashion and style!

Born and bred in Ipswich Pam started modelling in her late teens and went on to become a superstar in her industry.

Listen to Pam talk about how she launched her fashion styling business, her modelling career and how she's developed Suffolk's biggest fashion show 'Suffolk Fashion'.

Pam believes in empowering her clients through style and talks about how she works with her customers and changes their lives.

Pam also talks about working as a fashion model...

Extraordinary talent best describes our guests on this podcast episode. Listen to all five Suffolk business owners talk about how they changed their lives and set up their successful companies.

Cassie Bendall and Rich Wood – Founders of Cheddar Creative

Cass and Rich, both from the creative agency world, saw a huge gap in the market for a ‘human-centred’ design agency, an agency which revolves around design-thinking. They formed Cheddar Creative with a firm vision to help companies build sustainable brands and develop user experience (UX). Today they are in...

Being ‘you’ in business is tough! Being ‘you’ and being a huge success in business is a phenomenal achievement and that’s exactly how Bridget McIntyre worked her way up to being the former CEO of Sun Alliance. Bridget has just completed her term as The High Sheriff of Suffolk and now runs her own interconnected companies – Dream-On, Blossom Charity and Alitus.

In this podcast episode Bridget talks about her very unremarkable school life, being asked to mime playing her instrument in the school concert, and how, once she left school and took to the real world, she turned f...

This lively podcast episode will fill you with inspiration and admiration as we interview five special guests who talk about their lives and their flourishing Suffolk businesses.

Clair Bryant – Founder of The Handy Marketing Company and winner of Best SME Marketing Company for East Anglia 2021.

Clair shares her world with us – she’s vibrant, fun and an all-round marketing expert. Listen to Clair talk about how she works with many clients with different marketing needs, and how she can adapt to many marketing challenges. She is a social media buff and a consummate copy w...

Graham Ellis played rugby for Scotland and is now the Principal of leading independent school - Brookes UK.  

In this podcast episode Graham talks about his love of rugby from a young boy. He attended one of Scotland’s most prestigious independent schools, Hawick, where he jokes that you were given two choices on arrival – horses or rugby! He took rugby!  He was taught by the late great Bill McClaren, one’s of Scotland’s finest international rugby commentators, and Graham tell us about Bill’s huge influence on his life – which he carried through with him to playing for...

Fascinating episode with Nick, who talks about the phenomenal work that the National Trust do up and down the Suffolk coastline, as well revealing some hugely interesting facts about the filming of ‘The Dig’, at Sutton Hoo and what really happened on discovering the Anglo Saxo burial grounds. He also talks about  the incredible experience of visiting the site today.

He also shines a clearer light on the mysteries of Orford Ness. It is an internationally important site for nature conservation, breeding and migrating birds, specialised plants and other wildlife, but also...

Georgia Watson was pulling books off a shelf from the moment she could stand! 

Georgia has an extraordinary work ethic and such a positive outlook on life - this episode will uplift you and put a skip into your step! 

Georgia grew up on the family farm in Suffolk, and talks about her earlier life, her aspirations as a young girl, and also the influence her grandmother had on her, who as a fashion designer had been accepted into St Martins College, London, which was sadly thwarted by the outbreak of World War II. Georgia ta...

West Indies International Cricketer, John Maynard, talks about his cricketing career, playing for the West Indies and the Leeward Islands, alongside cricketing legends - Curtly Ambrose, Richie Richardson and Sir Viv Richards.  

Growing up on the beautiful Caribbean Island of Nevis, part of the Leeward Islands, John talks about his earlier years playing cricket in the 80s and early 90s  – and how different it was in those days to today’s training and game. Cricket was, and still is, a way of life on Nevis and played in every school...

Maison Bleue, in Bury St Edmunds, is one of Britain’s top French fine dining restaurants. It’s skillfully and lovingly run by husband and wife team – Pascal and Karine Canevet. 

In this podcast episode we talk to Karine, who has just won the Michelin Guide Award for Sommelier of the Year 2021. Karine tells us how Pascal and she first met, fell in love, and chased the dream. Now, as owners of Maison Bleue, Karin reflects on the journey that brought them both such extraordinary success.

Karine talks about venturing to the UK from Br...

Sophie Weller and Bethany Wright are sisters, international ballet stars, intrepid entrepreneurs and have recently founded their latest enterprise together – N&S Lifestyle.

Sophie and Bethany grew up in the world of ballet and musical theatre. Sophie attended world-renowned Elmhurst Ballet School and Bethany attended The Hammond, where they both successfully completed their ballet and contemporary dance training, as well as a studied for a general education.  Their stories are riveting, their work ethic incredible, and their extraordinary can-do attitudes, even from a young age, have quite rightly brought the...

Sam Hanks grew up in a family of ecologists and has always been at one with nature. As a current Farmland Wildlife Adviser for The Suffolk Wildlife Trust – Sam’s work is critical for the eco-balance of wildlife.

Sam talks about The Wildlife Trust and the many layers to the trust today, compared to its small beginnings back in the early 60’s when a group of volunteers got together with the understanding of how important it is to protect our wildlife. He talks about how, as a country, we need to join up our wildlife conservation programmes, and bu...

Six inspiring stories from six great guests talking about life, change and recent business success!
Georgina Little – Suffolk Brand Photographer
Georgina talks about her lifelong love for photography and how, whilst living in Kenya, she began to take it more seriously. When the pandemic hit in March 2020, Georgina took a long hard look at what she did, and quite literally ‘pivoted’ her business to working with like-minded creatives and small businesses producing high-end imagery for their brands. Now as ‘Suffolk Brand Photographer’ Georgina is loving her work and has developed an incredibly unique and sought-after service. G...

Rugby fans and experts worldwide – this podcast episode is for you! We talk to Nick Wakley – Former Welsh International and currently Head Coach at the Bury St Edmunds Rugby Club. Nick talks about his life and career and gives a very lively account of playing with (and against) some of the best rugby players in the world. 

Nick played for Wales in both the Sevens and Fifteens and shares his thoughts on many parts of the game including Women’s rugby and children getting into rugby for the first time. Nick also gives us a mini ana...

You’ll love this podcast episode if you like rock music and electronica, and going to see bands play live, as well as great music videos of the 80s and 90s with bands like The  Cult, Cranberries, Guns and Roses, Aerosmith, Twisted Sister and many more. Welcome Dax – lead singer and guitarist of Suffolk band Super Jelly. 

Dax Callner and his wife moved from New York to live in Bury St Edmunds in late 2018 - and they now call Suffolk, home.

Dax tells us his story – growing up with his showbiz parents. His mother was a singer...

Inspiration and motivation starts right here! Please note that you may want to pick up a pair trainers and run after listening to this episode.

Kelly talks to us about the amazing sport of Ultra Trail Running - running races across trails and tracks of 30 miles upwards - and in some cases up to 100 miles!

Kelly grow up in the country with her family and spent most of her time outdoors with her brothers, climbing trees and having fun. She ran everywhere as a child - it was naturally her! Kelly showed big talent at...

Mike grew up by the sea through the late 60s and 70s, and as he puts it, has salt water in his blood. He talks about life in Felixstowe Ferry, a fishing village just north of Felixstowe, as boy and present day.  

Mike spent his earlier career in farm management and eventually stepped back with enthusiasm to his roots and is now a fisherman, consultant, supplier, seafood chef and runs a blog ‘A Passion for Seafood’.

Mike tells us about inshore fishing around Suffolk and the coast of Britain. He talks about the abundance of fish...

Reconnecting with Normality after the pandemic

Piers talks about how difficult it is for some of us to 'reconnect with normality' during the final phases of lockdown. He talks about the importance of balancing life back to where it was pre-pandemic and gives us advice on how to mentally tackle the next few months.

Piers talks about the vaccine and phobias of being injected as well as leaving the house. He also talks about talking to people, breathing, walking, smiling, tiredness and offers suggestions to combat our fears and lows with a positive twist and...

Jason opens up the fascinating world of the racing industry and tells all sorts of interesting stories about Tattersalls - From Charles II keeping his horses at Tattersalls, right through to  the importance of being the world's oldest race horse auctioneers.

Show notes:

Jason Singh has been with Tattersalls for 20 years. Originally from Australia, Jason moved to England and found himself glancing through the Racing Post when he spotted a job at Tattersalls. Having got the job, Jason moved up to Newmarket and began an exciting career in the hub of the global r...

Errol McKellar (MBE) is one of the most inspiring men you’ll ever meet – so prepare yourself for some great stories, some hard facts and some very open conversation.

Errol was a budding footballer with dreams of playing for England, and although he didn’t become an international football player himself – he coached dozens of kids who did, including David Beckham, Sol Campbell and Ashley Cole. Errol, by trade, is a car mechanic and used to run his garage and MoT centre in Brent whilst coaching and enjoying family life. <...