Happy Mum Happy Baby

Giovanna is joined this week by the writer Kerry Hudson.Kerry had a turbulent upbringing marred by poverty. She tells Gi how homelessness and time spent in and out of foster care made her all the more determined to create a sense of stability and comfort for her own son.Kerry also shares her experience of giving birth in Prague, living life to the full with a chronic illness, plus how parenthood has affected her marriage.

For this very special episode we’ve been working with Great Ormond Street Hospital Charity, which is currently in the middle of its biggest-ever fundraising appeal to build a world-leading cancer centre at Great Ormond Street Hospital.And no-one understands the significance of this appeal more than this week’s amazing guest Shaima, whose daughter Tia was diagnosed with a rare type of cancer when she was just 4 years old. Tia is now 12 and doing well at home, but has spent over half of her life in hospital.Shaima sits down with Gi for a very candid conversation about her journey with Tia’s cancer treatment and why places like Great Ormond Street Hospital need our support.Trigger warning: this episode contains discussions about cancer. If you feel this may be a difficult listen, please choose another episode.

Love is in the air in the studio this week!Everyone’s favourite maître d', Fred Sirieix, perhaps best known for appearing on Channel 4's First Dates, joins Giovanna to talk all things fatherhood, food, and falling in love with the UK.Fred also opens up about dad guilt, his upbringing in France, and the pride he felt when his daughter Andrea won a bronze medal for diving in this year’s olympics!

Giovanna quite literally fell off her chair from laughing so hard with this week’s guest Olivia Bowen!Reality royalty Olivia was runner-up on the second series of Love Island in 2016 with her now husband Alex Bowen. And six years later they became parents to baby Abel!Olivia and Gi talk body confidence, with Olivia opening up about her struggles with body image after giving birth, plus how much she loved dressing her baby bump.

This week we have journalist and broadcasting legend Victoria Derbyshire in the studio! Victoria tells Gi all about life as a mum of two teenage boys, blending motherhood with a hugely successful career, and how her 2015 breast cancer diagnosis inspired her to marry her partner of 17 years.Plus Victoria speaks about the domestic abuse she faced in her childhood growing up with a violent father.Trigger warning: this episode contains discussions about domestic abuse. If you feel this may be a difficult listen, please choose another episode.

Giovanna sits down with Melissa Hemsley for this week’s delicious episode!Melissa is a former private chef, a writer, and a huge champion of sustainable, nourishing food. Now mum to baby Summer, Melissa and Gi had so much to catch up on, from IVF and pregnancy to ultra-processed foods and placenta smoothies…Melissa also opens up to Gi about her struggles with fertility and postnatal anxiety, and the steps she took to healing.

This week’s Parenting SOS is another bonus episode brought to you by Bupa, who have identified some of the most urgent questions when it comes to helping our children with their mental health.Giovanna welcomes back child psychologist Professor Sam Wass to guide us through these questions, which include how to have conversations about drugs and alcohol, and how to support a child through a period of change or stress.

On this week’s episode, Giovanna is joined by Bad Girls and Eastenders actress Kellie Bright, who is also mum to three boys!Kellie talks about having two of her babies via IVF, plus tells Gi what it was like being pregnant at 44.Kellie also talks about her fight to get her son an Education, Health and Care plan (EHCP), a document which describes a child’s special educational needs and should entitle them to support in school from the local council.

An exclusive this week as new parents Olly and Amelia Murs join Giovanna for their first interview as a couple!They tell Gi all about life with baby Madison, and Olly shares his heartbreak at having to leave Amelia and their newborn baby daughter to go on tour.Plus bodybuilder Amelia talks about training during pregnancy and her struggle with recovery after her c-section.