The investigative series Bed of Lies returns on Tuesday October 12th telling the story of a major medical disaster from the survivors’ perspectives: Infected Blood.
The six-part series explores how up to 30,000 people in the UK were unintentionally infected with HIV and Hepatitis C whilst receiving medical treatment in the 1970s and 80s.
The Telegraph’s Cara McGoogan tells the story of people poisoned, families torn apart by grief and a mass cover up. The trailer for the series can be listened to here.
Also returning is Bryony Gordon's Mad World series, with a focus on addiction which will run daily from October 18th- 23rd to coincide with Addiction Awareness Week. The intimate conversations around getting unwell and getting better shine a spotlight on the importance of openness around mental health.
High profile guests include Nile Rodgers, Davinia Taylor, Camilla Tominey, and Hayley, a recovering addict who gives an insight into her personal experience of gambling addiction.
The first guest, Nile Rodgers, opens up about growing up around addiction, the shocking moment he came back to life as doctors were filling out his death certificate, and the challenge of finally getting sober.
Discussing his first encounters with drugs, Nile said: “I was around drugs and addiction my entire life. Some of my earliest memories when I became self-aware was hearing the word junkie, and I didn't even know what that meant. It actually sounded sort of romantic in a way...I thought it was just people who hoarded junk... it took a while before I learnt that junkies were heroin addicts, and also that a lot of the junkies around that were in my life also were dying at a higher rate than just regular people.”
The first series of Bed of Lies which won Best News Podcast at 2020 Press Awards.
Following the launch of Mad World in 2017, Bryony Gordon won the ‘Making a Difference’ award from mental health charity, Mind, as well as ‘Campaign of the Year’ at the British Journalism Awards for challenging stereotypes and showing that mental illness knows no boundaries.
More information on Addiction Awareness Week can be found here.
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