Richard Bacon: Headlines, Addiction & Love “I Wouldn’t Be Alive Without Her”

Richard Bacon: Headlines, Addiction & Love “I Wouldn’t Be Alive Without Her”

From Begin Again with Davina McCall by Begin Again

August 6, 2026 · 1h 18m

About this episode

Richard Bacon discusses his journey through addiction, ADHD, and the impact of love on his life.

What if your worst moment is actually your biggest gift? In this episode of Begin Again, broadcaster and television producer Richard Bacon joins Davina for a funny and deeply moving conversation about public failure, addiction, ADHD, love and building a new life after everything changes. Richard reflects on landing his dream job at Blue Peter, the betrayal by a close friend that turned his private life into a national headline, and what it felt like to lose everything so publicly at just 22 years old. He shares how unexpected people rallied around him, why the chaos that once got him into trouble later became one of his greatest strengths, and how he learned to keep moving forward when others believed his career was over. Together, Richard and Davina explore his relationship with addiction, his ADHD diagnosis in his forties, and the relief of finally understanding the way his mind works. Richard explains how that diagnosis helped him make sense of both his scattered attention and extraordinary ability to hyperfocus, and why the qualities he once struggled with have become central to his creativity and success. But this conversation is about much more than headlines. Richard…

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Host: Davina McCall

Guest: Richard Bacon

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