It is the end of season three and we are taking a break! But we'll be back...now is a great time to catch up on any episodes over the past year that you might have missed. See you back in time for Sober October.

When do you realise that drugs and alcohol are actually not your friends? And when exactly is it time to behave like a grown up and not a spoilt child? 

For the final episode of the third season of This Is Powerful, we have something really special for you. Today we welcomed music & culture PR and marketing consultant Jamie Danan to the studio. Jamie has some profound memories and reflections to share about his younger brother, TV star Paul Danan who sadly passed away earlier this year.  Jamie himself has been clean and sober from drugs and al...

He might have been an entrepreneur by 12, a boxing champion by 17, and now a familiar face in Hollywood blockbusters, but he didn’t truly believe in magic until he found sobriety.

This week we welcome the powerhouse that is Tamer Hassan. The actor from the South East of London is best known for his role opposite Danny Dyer in The Football Factory, Tamer has also appeared in Layer Cake, Batman Begins, The Business, Kick-Ass, The Hooligan Factory, Game of Thrones and Snatch.

Now in sobriety, Tamer talks about his life journey through boxing, films, his strong en...

Privately educated from a young age, she was bullied at school for being both a geek and a hippy, but then went on to become one of the most successful glamour models, adhering many magazine covers over the course of her career. 

The notorious Jodie Marsh began glamour modelling in 2002, appearing on Page 3 of The Sun.  Since then, she has appeared on and produced several documentaries for television including her own reality show titled Totally Jodie Marsh.

Also known for her fitness regime and natural bodybuilding, Jodie has recently found her happy place, in operating Fripps Fa...

Spotted by a leading London modeling agency at just 13 years of age, she entered a world of glamour and fame, while quietly battling addiction and eating disorders. 

Today, Ebony Gilbert is a birth doula, published poet, and devoted mum to her son George, who lives with complex disabilities. With 18 years of sobriety, Ebony has walked an extraordinary path of recovery alongside her partner Steve, who has been sober for 21 years.

Ebony opens up about raising George, navigating his multiple diagnoses, and the lessons she’s learned about self-compassion, ancestral trauma, and the healing power of asking for...

In this episode we welcome special guest, Scott Barnhill, who's a long-term friend of Paul’s. Scott’s presence in the modeling world is iconic as one of America's models who shaped the fashion industry in the 90’s and the early 2000’s. He has fronted campaigns for luxury brands like Versace, Yves St Laurent, Calvin Klein, Tommy Hilfiger, and many, many more.

Today, Scott's journey has taken a new creative direction as he leads the band Scott and the 1015. We were blown away by this conversation, especially when Scott talks about his dental odyssey, his awakening and his recovery...

His lowest point was that dreadful moment of clarity when he knew he had to stop drinking forever…now he knows that recovery is the new rock and roll. 

A British household face and name, Kevin Kennedy has appeared in many popular television series but is probably best known for his iconic portrayal of the “sex symbol” Curly Watts in Coronation Street. His West End credits and broader theatre work spans a wide and dynamic range. Beyond acting, Kevin has enjoyed a notable music career, beginning as the original bass player with the legendary band The Smiths, before...

This former Buddhist monk helps men break free of porn addiction.

Jeremy is a meditation teacher and coach who helps high-achieving men break free from compulsive behaviors and build lives of integrity, discipline, and deep fulfillment. 

Speaking to us today from Thailand, Jeremy is originally from the San Francisco area in California. With over 13 years of meditation experience and hundreds of days spent in silent retreat, Jeremy blends ancient wisdom with modern day science to guide individuals toward emotional resilience and personal freedom.

This episode is like a free coaching session with Jeremy, from w...

He never imagined he could continue his DJ career if he left behind drugs and alcohol.

Internationally known DJ and nightclub promoter Ross Mac is now nearly 11 years sober but when he began his sober journey, Ross didn’t know anyone else who had found sobriety. In this intimate discussion that touches on challenges in finding sobriety in the music industry and the rise of sober events, Ross expresses the great importance of community support in recovery. 

Ross’ story is highlighted by honest anecdotes about relapses, the influence of his wife in seeking help, and how he ev...

Thanks to the kindness and support offered to him by a stranger in a railway station, he escaped a life of homelessness and illiteracy.

Since 2005, Andy has been delivering drug and alcohol intervention programs, drawing on his own experiences in order to connect with young people. In this episode, Andy shares how a life of chaos gave way to purpose. From an early life lived on the streets and in prisons, Andy now enjoys a happy family life.  

Please let us know your thoughts on our listener feedback form:

She was thrown a curveball that made her question the way she was living in the now and planning for the future. 

As well as being a motivational speaker, Emma Levy is the host of the award nominated podcast ‘When Life Gives You Lemons’, where she interviews high performing individuals, from across the sporting, cultural and corporate worlds and beyond, who have been through adversity but who have then come back stronger and gone on to achieve amazing things. 

Emma Levy’s unique perspective on post traumatic growth developed after she was diagnosed with breast cancer. ...

Overcoming anxiety:  regardless of what's happening around her, she now knows how to be quiet and content in her own skin. 

Carly Church is a youth advocate and outreach lead at Stride Foundation UK. Born in East London and raised in Newham by her mum and her mum’s partner, alongside her brother, she spent over 15 years in the financial industry before moving into community work. She has since supported teachers in primary and secondary schools, particularly in pastoral care, helping to create safer, more supportive environments for young people. In recovery since 2005, Carly uses her lived experience to pr...

Paul’s wife delivers some hard truths today, that might just save your life. 

Dr. Federica Amati is Head Nutritionist at  ZOE, the science and nutrition company, Nutrition Topic Lead at Imperial College School of Medicine, and head of nutrition science at medical concierge company Wellfounded Health. 
Federica is the author of Recipes for a Better Menopause and Sunday Times Bestseller Every Body Should Know This. Her approach focuses on improving overall dietary quality throughout the life course, using food as the best tool to transform health. 

This week is Cancer Prevention Week and in aid of...

How does a bench-pressing VIP bouncer end up in a kibbutz in Israel?

Our guest today is Jamie Skipper, an ex-doorman who left his colorful life in the past after realising he wasn’t looking to the future or living in the present. Jamie now helps kids of all ages to embrace resilience through his holistic approach. By utilizing his master NLP training and his physical skills as a personal trainer, he speaks honestly and openly about his past experiences, training hard as a bodybuilder and using a cocktail of drugs at the same time, which ended in a...

You may not know about her struggles with alcohol but she is finally breaking the silence and embracing her vulnerability. 

Suzanne Shaw is a singer, actress, and performance coach who first gained
fame with the pop band Hear’Say on Popstars. She later starred in musical
theatre and TV, winning Dancing on Ice in 2008. In 2020, Suzanne shifted
her focus to health and well-being, becoming a life coach and advocate for
mental wellness. Known for completing ultramarathons supporting mental
health charities, she now inspires others through motivational speaking, and
coaching in confidence, public spe...

Welcome back to This is Powerful! We will be back next week with our regularly scheduled interviews but in the meantime, here are some highlights of what is to come.

If you haven’t caught the roundup of Paul’s favorite bits so far, take a look. In the meantime, we look forward to sharing another season of This Is Powerful with you…take care.

Please let us know your thoughts on our listener feedback form:
https://forms.gle/AFptgi3mMJKTZdYg8

If you or someone you know is struggling with addiction, there are plenty...

What do you get when you combine the vulnerability of male bravado, the genetics of addiction and cloud visualisation techniques?

This is a special episode of This is Powerful. We thought it'd be good fun to put together a bunch of our favorite nuggets of information and gems of experience that our guests have shared along the way. Here's some great advice and there will be highlights of some of Paul’s favorite moments from the podcast so far.

Please let us know your thoughts on our listener feedback form:
https://forms.gle/AFptgi3mMJKTZdYg8

We have completed season two, which is pretty incredible. Thank you, to everyone who tuned in for an episode or a few. We have now put out 37 episodes in total and we've had some incredible guests over the last nine months.

If you haven't heard all 37 of our episodes, now is a great time to catch up either here or on YouTube. 

Whilst we are taking a break, Paul will still be active on Instagram, so if you have any questions or feedback, please get in touch!  We are back with you with more amazing guests in...

She’s lived through trauma, illness, and violence that might make anyone justify their addiction.

Today we welcome Vicky Nicholson, an incredibly brave woman who walks us through how far addiction can take you down a dangerous path. From an exciting DJ career in her teens through a crumbling relationship with her family, and nearly taking her own life, Vicky’s life unravelled through secrecy, shame, and a daily fight to survive. The woman who emerged now cherishes her close relationship with her family, is a supportive wife and loving mother and an inspiration to anyone who hears her...

Sonia Gibney shares her journey of growing up in East London with a non-English-speaking mother, an absent father, and struggling through school with severe dyslexia. 

Now 21 years into recovery, Sonia is a yoga instructor and coach with a thriving practice, whose calm presence contrasts sharply with her past. She’s dedicated to helping women and speaks powerfully about the freedom found in self-reliance, believing that when you go within, you will never have to go without. For Sonia, that means no longer feeling the need to be saved...she’s become her own knight in shining armor.

...

He had a taste of life in the fast lane but found himself desperate to escape his life-threatening habits when paranoia and self loathing took him to some dangerous places. 

Now clean for 18 years, Psychotherapist and Addiction Specialist Taner Hassan explains how self-obsessive thinking led to his massive social anxiety and how using alcohol to silence that constant internal dialogue led to his early struggles with addiction. Paul and Taner talk about his drug of choice (MORE) and Paul’s drug of choice (PRESTIGE).

Taner has extensive experience, having worked within the field of addiction for ove...

This week, we’ve got something really special for you. Instead of our usual episode, we’re bringing you an episode from Hurt to Healing, a brilliant podcast hosted by Pandora Morris. You might remember Pandora from Season 1 of This Is Powerful, when we shared her incredible story of learning to manage her OCD and recovering from an eating disorder that manifested for her through extreme restrictive eating and chronic over-exercising. Pandora has travelled the world, working with OCD experts and has made it her mission to support others on their path to mental health recovery.

This time, the...

Today we have an incredible guest. Dr. Rayann Zafar is a neuropsychopharmacologist with a core focus on addiction. After a battle with anorexia nervosa as an adolescent, Dr Zafar was compelled to learn more about how the brain works and as a result dedicated his life and career to finding science-backed solutions that help others to tackle addiction and make sense of their own mental health. Rayyan talks about the reward pathways being hijacked by addiction, whether there is a genetic predisposition to addiction and the spiritual elements of addiction. Dr. Zafar is in the midst of some very exciting...

Our guest on today’s episode is one of the what we would call strongholds of the twelve-step community.  Jim (or Jimmie, as Paul affectionately refers to him) gets straight into the nitty gritty: why trusting his head over his gut did not serve him well, why sweeties as a very young child then smoking at seven was just the start of his dangerous and progressive addiction, the strict incarceration he endured from age 16, getting sober in prison and the Peter Pan syndrome.

Jim grew up in a poor, rural Scottish community and being the youngest of seven sib...

Alistair Richardson is a powerhouse in the world of therapy, energy psychology, and healing, helping people break free from trauma, addiction, and codependency. With 23 years of long-term recovery from addiction and codependency himself, Alistair not only brings deep professional expertise to the table, but also invaluable personal insight and compassion.

Alistair shares about the surprisingly various spectrums of love addictions, he introduces us to the mind-blowing concept of healing the matrix, and we dive into the pure and central self and how you can heal yourself at any age and at any stage of your life.

In this episode of This Is Powerful, Paul welcomes renowned therapist and author David Smallwood to explore addiction, recovery, and the deep roots of trauma. With 37 years of sobriety, David shares his personal journey—from growing up in a challenging home environment to struggling with anxiety, alcohol, and benzodiazepine dependence. He discusses how early childhood trauma shapes addiction and why addressing core emotional wounds is crucial for long-term recovery.

David and Paul dive into the concept of cross-addiction (why so many in recovery swap alcohol for tobacco, sweets, exercise, etc), the impact of fear on mental health, an...

For this episode we welcome Millie Mackintosh - Made in Chelsea alum, style icon, entrepreneur and mother of two. Millie has spent the past three years redefining her relationship with alcohol and shares how her struggles with self-worth, bullying, and binge drinking began in her teenage years and followed her into adulthood. We get some honest banter about the realities of fame, the pressure and problems with seeking perfection and the wake-up call that left her reaching out for sobriety.

In Millie’s new book, Bad Drunk, she lays bare the highs and lows of her drinking years an...

This week, Paul sits down with Laura Hearn—renowned BBC journalist, host of the Flip It podcast, and fierce advocate for mental health. Laura shares her journey through childhood isolation, an eating disorder that took hold in her late teens, and the life-changing experience of seeking treatment in the U.S. She reflects on the challenges of returning to work after recovery, the moment she chose to leave the BBC, and how storytelling became her most powerful tool for healing. Paul illustrates how the most impactful help can come from those who have shared experiences to us by sharing the co...

Kevin Bishop is a British actor, writer and award-winning comedian known for his roles in Grange Hill, Muppet Treasure Island, The Kevin Bishop Show, and Porridge. With a career spanning three decades, he has always stood out with his sharp wit and fearless performances.

This episode has its fair share of laugh aloud moments as Kevin shares his journey with sincerity and wry self-reflection. After  enjoying a few years living life in the fast lane like his hard-drinking idols, Kevin was shocked to find he needed help and after giving up alcohol, a relapse was the gift that u...

Welcome back to the podcast! Kicking off the second season is this deeply personal episode featuring entrepreneur, model, and NACOA (National Association for Children of Alcoholics) patron Calum Best. Known to many as the son of football legend George Best, Calum opens up about his own struggles, healing and daily choice of purpose over destruction.

Calum recounts the moments that shaped him, from his wild years in Hollywood to the loss of his father and the spiral that followed. But this isn’t just a story of hardship—it’s one of resilience, self-discovery, and a relentless drive to hel...

We have come to the end of season one, after 25 powerful episodes. Here's a special announcement from Paul to you.

If you or someone you know is struggling with addiction, there are plenty of resources on the Stride Foundation website: https://stridefoundation.com/

Watch all our episodes on YouTube @thisispowerfulwithpaulsculfor 

Find This Is Powerful on Instagram @this_ispowerful

Find Paul on Instagram @paulsculfor 

It is the first episode of the New Year and we are featuring our youngest guest so far. Jack Curran speaks to us candidly about his ketamine addiction and by way of his account of the catastrophic mental and physical damage it caused him personally, gives a rather ominous warning to anyone even considering the drug. 

Jack has been featured on The Guardian and on other media outlets, speaking out about genZ’s recreational drug of choice in the UK that at times made him feel like he ‘was peeing glass’. Jack is a recovery worker at Step By Step...

As we are approaching the season of parties, cheer, family, friends, temptation and a whole minefield of disturbances to our serenity, we are sharing some of the ways in which Paul has handled the festive season over the years. 

We cover the gifts of Christmas present, the pain of Christmas past, the tips for Christmases future and unrealistic New Year’s resolutions.

Just a taste of what’s to come- you aren’t wearing concrete shoes, phone a friend and why leaving a turkey in the oven and driving to Vegas is just not a good idea. <...

This week, we’re joined by Victoria Vanstone, self-confessed ‘drunk mother gone sober’. Victoria is the host of award-winning podcast Sober Awkward and author of the heartfelt and hilarious memoir,  A Thousand Wasted Sundays. Known for her raw honesty and relatable humor, she offers a fresh take on sobriety which appeals to drinkers of all classifications!

We caught up with Victoria in Thailand, where she’s traveling with her children, to cover loads of big topics, from accepting that routine binge-drinking is actually a problem, to mourning the loss of her party-girl identity and embracing the joy of sober par...

Our guest this week is Mark White, who at over 22 years sober, has established himself as a community builder and true visionary. Mark has successfully launched workshops that are designed for ‘the next regeneration of mindful movers’ around the world and was recently voted as one of the UK’s top social entrepreneurs because of his work in the wellness space.  

One of the most driven people out there, Mark comes clean about personal shame, suffocating the darkness and that can of worms that no one should open. Mark is a proud father of two daughters, a keen runner...

In this episode, we follow George’s journey through the depths of addiction and his incredible transformation. For years, George was trapped in a destructive cycle of alcohol and drug abuse, leading to repeated hospitalisations for physical emergencies and psychiatric ward admissions for mental health emergencies. His addiction was fuelled by a desperate need to escape overwhelming emotions like worry, panic, fear, anger, and paralysing frustration. 

Finally George entered rehab and committed to a 12-step program and it seemed his life was on the upswing. All of his hard work was put to the test when his criminal pas...

This is one of those remarkable interviews that will surprise you, pull on your heart strings and reveal the depth of the human spirit. Growing up in a conservative, deeply religious London family, our guest Vinny reveals how he strayed into a life of crime, addiction, and self-destruction. His rock bottom moment came after months of heavy substance abuse, a heart attack, and a near-tragic incident involving his wife and children. From functioning as a plumber constantly under the influence, to spiraling emotionally, Vinny’s mantra, “I’ve got this,” was a lie that masked his slow self-destruction. 

Today, Vi...

Today we welcome Dr David McLaughlan to the show. David always had his sights set on a medical career, but did a bit of modelling in his earlier days. Working with a variety of people reinforced his values of being a kind and compassionate person, (so-called ‘soft skills’) and helps him engage with patients today.  Now one of the UK's leading addiction psychiatrists, David has contributed to international treatment guidelines, academic journals as well as mainstream media outlets. Additionally, David serves as Academic Secretary of The Royal College of Psychiatrists' Addiction Faculty. Aside from being incredibly articulate, engaging and well-educated, David...

This week we hosted the incredible host of the Hurt to Healing podcast, Pandora Morris. A former lawyer turned mental health activist, Pandora’s journey began in childhood, facing OCD and an eating disorder that manifested through restrictive eating and chronic over-exercising. 

Much like obsessive behaviour often linked to addiction, Pandora would regularly run at least twenty miles a day, take midnight bike rides and start her days with a swim in the sea - an activity which once saw her hospitalised with hypothermia. As part of her own healing, Pandora’s travelled the world working with OCD exper...

This week, we welcome former professional footballer turned successful entrepreneur Andy Ramage. After a career-ending injury, Andy pivoted to create two financial brokerages and soon discovered that his life changed dramatically when he decided to go alcohol-free. This decision not only transformed his health and mindset but also became his unique selling point, helping him stand out in a competitive business market. 

The coaching initiatives that Andy has created have collectively helped hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of people to revitalise their lives. Andy provides refreshing authenticity and humour while providing plenty of advice that you can p...