Richard Bacon - ‘I Was Betrayed By My Best Friend’

What connects Barack Obama, a tabloid sting and Love Islander Alex George? Have a Blue Peter badge if you were thinking of Richard Bacon... While the broadcaster and producer is perhaps best known for the time his Blue Peter contract was terminated - following a tabloid reveal of his cocaine use - there is so much more to the man. His storied time in television led to him founding a production company and creating numerous TV shows on both sides of the Atlantic. He credits this restless creativity to his ADHD, a diagnosis he only received later in life. We discuss how neurodivergence fuels him; how the cocaine exposé in the 90s impacted who he is; his relationship with his parents; his failed move to America, landing an interview with Barack Obama... and being tracked by the Secret Service. Richard talks movingly about being an addict, going to AA, his failure to quit drinking and a near-death experience that could have been averted by a certain doctor on Love Island. Trust me, an hour with Richard Bacon is quite the ride - strap in! IN THIS EPISODE: 00:00 Intro03:57 Defining Success Today04:15 Botox Water And Moisturizer05:32 Parents And Upbringing10:05 ADHD Intelligence 11:38 Blue Peter Cocaine Exposé21:06 Fallout Press And Shame25:42 Dad Crying in Secret26:35 Public Humiliation to Resilience29:01 Trust After Betrayal30:05 America Move32:37 Woody Harrelson 33:30 Obama Interview Whiplash35:36 Work as Identity and Failure37:53 Addiction Coma and GratitudeLINKS + MENTIONS:Richard’s podcast ‘Why Are You More Successful Than Me?’ is available nowJoin the How To Fail community: www.howtofail.supportingcast.fm/#contentElizabeth’s Substack: www.theelizabethday.substack.comWANT MORE?Claudia Winkleman – swap.fm/l/Q65AatVGMWgB27BoS0g2 LOVE THIS EPISODE?Subscribe on Spotify, Apple or wherever you get your podcastsLeave a 5⭐ review – it helps more people discover these storiesFollow How To Fail & Elizabeth:Instagram: @elizabdayTikTok: @howtofailpodPodcast Instagram: @howtofailpodWebsite: www.elizabethday.orgGuest bookings for How To Fail only come from official @sonymusic.com emailsElizabeth and Richard answer listener questions in our subscriber series: www.howtofail.supportingcast.fm/#contentHave a failure you’re trying to work through for Elizabeth to discuss? Click here to get in touch: howtofailpod.com Production & Post Production Coordinator: Eric Ryan Engineer: Matias TorresAssistant Producer: Shania MandersonSenior Producer: Hannah TalbotExecutive Producer: Alex LawlessFind more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcastsTo bring your brand to life in this podcast, email [email protected] more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Every success story you've ever been told is incomplete. How To Fail with Elizabeth Day is the part they leave out.Each week, Sunday Times #1 bestselling author Elizabeth Day sits down with someone extraordinary - and asks them about the moments that didn’t go according to plan and how these failures shaped them. Kate Winslet on body image. Malala Yousafzai on rewriting her story. Pamela Anderson on refuting shame. Phoebe Waller-Bridge on creativity. Salman Rushdie on survival. Emilia Clarke on fame. What happens when the people you most admire stop performing and start telling the truth? Five hundred episodes in, we're still finding out.With sold-out nights at the London Palladium and Sydney Opera House, millions of listeners worldwide, and a British Podcast Award to its name, How To Fail is one of the UK's most successful podcasts. And yes, we're aware of the irony. Pick an episode. Start anywhere.An Elizabeth Day and Sony Music Entertainment production.All guest booking is managed from an official Sony Music email address.Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts and follow @sonypodcastsTo bring your brand to life in this podcast, email [email protected]

• No. of episodes: 392
• Latest episode: 2026-07-15
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