In a podcasting world awash with celebrity soundbites and performative wellness, the Believe in People podcast has quietly become one of the UK’s most trusted and transformative recovery platforms. Recorded inside ReNew – Hull’s drug and alcohol support service, provided by Change Grow Live – the show operates on a ‘recovery on the go’ model: stripped back, authentic, and rooted in lived experience.
Now entering its fourth year, the series delivers longform one-on-one episodes with individuals whose lives have been shaped by addiction, trauma, homelessness, mental health crises, or the crimÂinÂal justice system. Its guests are diverse, but united by a single principle – every voice matters. There are no scripts, no overproduction, no polished narratives, just unflinching honesty.
With more than 5m engagements to date and thousands of listening hours downloaded weekly, the podcast has become a powerful tool for connection. The team regularly receives messages from listeners who say the show helped them access support for the first time, encouraged a loved one to seek treatment, or in some cases saved a life.
The project gained national attention when BRIT and Emmy Award winning Michelle Heaton chose Believe in People as the first non-mainstream media platform to share her recovery story. She was so moved by the experience that she stayed in contact with producer Robbie Lawson and arranged for her Celebrity Mastermind fee to be donated to help build a permanent studio in the heart of Hull’s recovery service. She then returned 18 months later to record a second episode, driven by her passion for breaking stigma and supporting other people facing addiction.
Other high-profile guests have followed suit. Nineties icon Amy Jo Johnson spoke publicly about sobriety for the first time, while Razorlight lead singer Johnny Borrell shared a candid account of his teenage heroin addiction and recovery and Love Island’s Adam Maxted used the platform to talk openly about steroid use and body image.
High-profile guests don’t receive special treatment, however. ‘The point is that no one voice is more important than another,’ says host Matthew Butler. ‘Celebrities don’t come to perform or promote – they have meaningful conversations with me and they let their guards down in our safe and trusted environment.’
The podcast has now released more than 70 episodes and received national recognition. It won Best Interview at last year’s British Podcast Awards and earned nominations at the ARIAS (Radio Academy awards) in both 2024 (Best New Podcast) and 2025 (Best Speech & Entertainment), sharing the shortlist with industry giants like Louis Theroux, Annie Mac, the BBC and Apple Music.
‘This is about breaking stigma on a national scale and ensuring that recovery stories are no longer confined to the margins,’ says producer Robbie Lawson. ‘We’ve had a profound effect on how recovery is understood and accessed – not just by individuals, but by families, services, and communities. At a time when podcasting is the fastest-growing media format in the world, we’re making sure that the modern recovery journey is part of that conversation.’
Robbie Lawson is producer and Matthew Butler is host of the Believe in People podcast
You can listen to Believe in People: Addiction, Recovery & Stigma on Spotify and Apple Music. For show notes, transcripts and additional content, visit believeinpeoplepodcast.com