Behind The Title

Please take care when listening. Jess Gross has had three miscarriages and nobody at work knew about any of them.Not because she didn't need support but because telling your employer you've had a miscarriage means admitting you were pregnant. Admitting you were pregnant means they now know you're trying for a baby and in too many workplaces, that single piece of information can quietly change how your commitment, your ambition, and your future are perceived.So Jess grieved in silence, still showed up and held it together.With over 250,000 miscarriages happen in the UK every year, this is the hidden tax on women in the workplace. We talk about getting more women into leadership, but we cannot build workplaces where women can genuinely thrive if we are still expecting them to perform through experiences they dont feel comfortable sharing. The cost is invisible.While we debate flexible working policies and parental leave frameworks, one your colleague may be sitting in a Monday morning meeting having miscarried at the weekend saying nothing, because the professional risk of saying something feels too high.In the latest episode of Behind The Title, Jess, Managing Partner at MSL shares her full story with a courage I have enormous respect for. She talks about grief that had no space to breathe, a workplace culture that expected her to carry on, a leader who never once acknowledged what she was going through and what she now believes leaders must do differently.Real gender equality doesn't start with a policy document. It starts with a conversation like this one.If you manage people, this episode is for you. If you've been through this, this episode is for you.

Join me as Hamish Nicklin and I briefly discuss where it all started with the podcast and the realities of fight or flight mode.

In this episode of Behind the Title, we sit down with Paul Sculfor. A former international male model, TV personality, and founder of the Stride Foundation.From the outside, Paul’s life looked flawless: global campaigns, red carpets, parties, success. On the inside, he was spiralling, battling addiction, shame, and a growing sense that he was disappearing behind the image.Paul opens up to us about...How addiction crept in through “normal” industry behaviourThe moment he realised he couldn’t stop — no matter how hard he triedWhy asking for help felt like failure… until it saved his lifeChoosing life over fame at a crossroads that changed everythingWhat real freedom, success, and masculinity mean to him nowThis is a raw, unfiltered conversation about addiction, identity, leadership pressure, and the power of vulnerability especially for those who feel they have to keep it together for everyone else.If you’ve ever wondered “Is this sustainable?” this one’s worth your time.

In this episode of Behind the Title, I’m joined by Emma Bain, Chief Operating Officer at TLC Worldwide, for a conversation that strips away the polished veneer and gets honest about what senior leadership really feels like.This is an episode about vulnerability without oversharing. About strength without pretending. And about the quiet pressure so many leaders carry without ever naming.We talk about: • Having a phobia of public speaking in a senior role• Leading through Covid while going through IVF and saying nothing• Why “imposter syndrome” might not actually be a syndrome at all• The pressure to look composed while feeling anything butWhat stood out most wasn’t the job title, it was the permission to stop labelling normal human feelings as failure.If you’ve ever thought “Why do I still feel like this?” this conversation might change how you see yourself.

⚠️ Trigger warning take care when listening.In this episode of Behind the Title, I speak with Matt Longley, CEO of Mobsta, about anxiety, leadership and a lived experience rarely discussed openly at senior level.Matt shares what anxiety really looked like behind his title, from toxic pressure and burnout to late‑onset self‑injury, therapy, and learning that you don’t need to hit rock bottom to ask for help.This is a raw, honest conversation about leadership, identity, and why struggling doesn’t make you weaker, it makes you human.

What does class look like in the creative industries and why are we still not talking about it enough?In this episode of Behind the Title, we sit down with Lisa Thompson, Strategy & Planning Partner at Wavemaker North and co‑founder of Common People, a movement committed to tackling class inequality across creative and media industries. Together we explore...Why class is the forgotten diversity metricThe reality of the North–South divide (and whether it still exists)How confidence, accents, and “fitting in” shape careersWhy being yourself is your biggest advantage — especially in pitchingThe hidden barriers facing working‑class talentHow organisations can design inclusion that actually worksThis is a conversation about fairness, voice, and the power of creating space for people to show up as they really are, not who the industry expects them to be.If you care about better work, better culture, and better leadership, this episode is for you.

Nobody talks enough about what happens when your “superpowers” suddenly disappear.Sometimes the thing that looks like “success” from the outside is costing someone far more than anyone can see.Ali Reed shares what happened when menopause collided with senior leadership, pressure, family life and the expectation to keep showing up like nothing had changed.This is a part of working life we still do not talk about enough how often high-performing people are praised for coping, while quietly breaking underneath it all.Ali thought stepping back meant failure. It saved her.This is not just a conversation about menopause.It is a conversation about identity, pressure, leadership, and the things people carry silently at work.A genuinely important one.

This episode of Behind The Title, recorded a little while ago, feels more relevant than ever right now. Take care when listneing to the episode. Because Daniele Fiandaca co-founder of Hard as Nails is working at the exact opposite end of that spectrum.Not by lecturing men. Not by demonising them. But by giving them something the manosphere accidentally understood and weaponised, a space to feel seen.He told me something I haven't stopped thinking about. By the time your child turns 18, you've already spent 90% of the time you'll ever spend with them. Let that sink in.If boys are filling that gap with Andrew Tate, it's not because they're broken. It's because someone's filling that gap. Make sure it's you.#Manosphere #MensMentalHealth #LouisTheroux #BehindTheTitle

Lucy Foy, Director of IMedia, joined me to talk about something she rarely speaks about publicly living with Crohn's disease for her adult life while building a career in media.Lucy has been in pain every single day for over 20 years.In her words, I don't know what it feels like to wake up and feel amazing. I just don't know what that's like.You'd never know it.She's built a career across publishing and out of home, shows up for her team, smiles in every meeting yet needs to injects herself with medication every two weeks just to function.That's what a hidden disability actually looks like.New episode of Behind The Title.#BehindTheTitle #HiddenDisability #Crohns