Pod Insights Happy Place “I wish I was chic-er!” Fearne on personal style and learning new skills About this episode What’s been going on for you this week? What are you happy about, and what’s making you not so happy? Fearne’s here with more chat about what’s putting her and the Happy Place team in a good mood, and what’s feeling a bit rubbish ...and Fearne has really really been feeling rubbish this week...
This is a comforting space for all of us to explore what’s been on our minds. Want to join the chat? Send us a voicenote, DM, or comment on Instagram @happyplaceofficial!
In this chat, Fearne explores:
-Wandering around art galleries because it’s not just an elitist thing
-Learning new skills, namely: sign language
-What goes down in the Wednesday Waffle WhatsApp chat
-Whether it’s important for your wardrobe to have a signature style
-Norovirus (hope you’re not eating right now)
-Being a stricter parent when you’re (incredibly) ill
-Loads of scenarios where people are unnecessarily rude in public
-The great tea vs coffee debate
Child on the line is a three-part documentary podcast series celebrating the Volunteer Counsellors of Childline, and the brave children & young people who contact the helpline service.
Listen here: https://www.childonthelinepodcast.com/
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy https://acast.com/privacy for more information.
Transcript Speaker names marked ? are inferred from speaking time and the show’s known hosts — they are not voice-verified.
0:00 Speaker 00 Hi, I'm Natalie Dormer and I'm proud to be an ambassador for Childline. This year, Childline turns 40. To mark it, I've made Child on the Line, a three-part documentary podcast. We hear why children needed a helpline in 1986, how it was built against the odds and the challenges children face today, from abuse and mental health to social media and AI. Search Child on the Line and listen wherever you get your podcasts.
0:30 Speaker 01 Hey, we're Nick and Jack, hosts of the best one yet.
0:32 Speaker 02 Behind every episode, there's research, emails, spreadsheets and our shared Google Doc, the headline hammer.
0:37 Speaker 01 With Google Workspace with Gemini, Google's AI is built right into the premium versions of tools we already use, like Gmail, Docs and Sheets. No new tools or extra logins, just personalized AI for the way we work.
0:49 Speaker 02 That means less time on the work around the work and more time finding the stories worth talking about.
0:53 Speaker 01 Get AI tools for work. Upgrade to Google Workspace with Gemini at goo.gle/workspacewithGemini.
1:00 Speaker 02 That's goo.gle/workspacewithGemini.
1:03 Speaker 03 Network freedom and flexibility, that's what you want in a healthcare plan. With a Humana Medicare Advantage PPO plan, you can see any doctor in the country who accepts Medicare, including specialists. No referrals, no kidding. Learn more at gethumana.com. See any doctor who accepts Medicare and is willing to bill Humana. Humana PPOs may not be available in all areas. Benefits and costs share may vary. Humana is a Medicare Advantage PPO organization with a Medicare contract. Enrollment in any Humana plan depends on contract renewal.
1:33 Fearne Cotton? Hello, this is Suzy Ruffel.
1:34 Speaker 05 And Maisie Adam.
1:35 Fearne Cotton? And together we host Big Kick Energy. Hey Mais, what is it?
1:38 Speaker 05 Only the best podcast ever.
1:39 Fearne Cotton? Yeah.
1:40 Speaker 05 A comedy entertainment podcast with a focus on all things women's football, all things hilarious, all things friendship. It's a laugh is what it is, Ruffel.
1:50 Fearne Cotton? Yeah, and a fair bit of gossiping too.
1:52 Speaker 05 Oh, and a lovely bit of gossip. Chow down on the gossip.
1:54 Fearne Cotton? Nom, nom, nom, nom, nom. You can listen wherever you get your podcasts, you just need to search Big Kick Energy.
2:00 Speaker 05 Grab a knife and fork and tuck in, baby.
2:06 Fearne Cotton? It's really important that we go out and like live life and go and look at things and feel in awe of things.
2:11 Speaker 05 I'm not from like some posh art family.
2:14 Fearne Cotton? Sometimes I wish I was chika.
2:16 Speaker 05 If I've ever even tried that, I feel like I'm doing fancy dress, like I've dressed as an adult.
2:21 Fearne Cotton? But I was not. No tolerance for any dicking about at that party. I'm about to say potentially something so gross. Do it. Okay. It was so, so bad. I missed my flight home. Hi guys, welcome to Happy Place with me, Fern Cotton. I hope you are well and if you're not, maybe this will cheer you up or maybe this will give you something to rant about. Because in these episodes, we talk about what's making us really happy and what's not making us happy. It's all welcome. Happy Place as a brand, as a podcast, as a festival, all the projects we're working on,
3:00 Fearne Cotton? has for me certainly never been a place where we're full of sort of toxic happiness and we just have to plaster a smile on and be happy all the time. We want to be a space where you can talk about it all, stuff that is pissing you right off, stuff that's making you feel a bit sad and a bit down. As well as then turning focus to look at things that are making us feel really rather jolly. Because life is all of it, isn't it? It's the good bits, it's the bad bits, it's the grey mundane bits in between. It can never be one thing. None of us, I don't think, unless you're maybe Eckhart Tolle or a monk living in a cave somewhere, just feel happy all the time. Life's too complicated, so this is a place where we look at it all.
3:42 Fearne Cotton? So let's start with things that are making us feel jolly and happy and great. Before I get to Team Happy Place, I'll kick off with me. What's making me happy this week? I went to the Tate and I went to the Turner Constable Exhibition. And time and time again, I forget how happy art makes me. And what I am keen to do here is explain that I'm not from like some posh art family. I'm common as muck. My dad was a sign writer, so I certainly understood that paint was really fun and I've always painted.
4:22 Fearne Cotton? But I've had to, my stomach rumbling, I have had to, or I haven't had to, I wanted to educate myself about art. And I think art is one of those funny things. Where it's still seen as niche, elitist, exclusive, you have to know about art, you have to know every artist, you have to know art history. I think that's a load of old codswallop. I think if it makes you feel good, amazing. Whether it's just doodling around with a sketchbook, having a whole day of painting if you have the time, but also making use of the UK's amazing art galleries. I'm very lucky that I live in London and we've got so many that you can just stroll into, or you can book ahead and go and see
5:04 Fearne Cotton? something like this was a bookable exhibition. But my god, it was incredible. I have always thought that I preferred Turner to Constable. I knew a lot less about Constable. And that's why I liked going to see his paintings in real life. And some of these paintings are well-known paintings, they're things I've seen in books. So to see them on this large scale, it's like seeing a Madonna or like a famous person in real life. Like, oh my god, that's actually it. It's like 150 years old, or I can't do maths, whatever it is. And it's there. And they had Turner and Constable's like sketch pads and actual paintbrushes and art boxes with little powdered paints. And it was so amazing. The whole thing, I
5:44 Fearne Cotton? feel totally inspired, which is also a reminder. Because if you're like me, and you cannot sit still, or you might even be a bit of a workaholic, which I certainly am, I could push myself to go from creative project to creative project. So right, finish that book, straight on to the next one. I've done that podcast, what's the next one? But actually, for all of us, whether we identify as creative or not, it's really important that we go out and like live life, and go and look at things, and feel in awe of things, and feel excited by things. So that made me so happy this week. And I am going to maybe, I'm saying this out loud, so I've got to commit to it now, like paint a landscape this week.
6:28 Fearne Cotton? I usually prefer portraits, that's my comfort zone. I, I think it might be quite interesting to push myself into that relatively unknown territory. So watch this space, I might have a painting to show, I have to, I have, I've fucking said it, I've got to do a painting now of a landscape, so I've, I bloody well will and I'll show you it. Right, what's making team happy place feel happy? Marcia is loving doing the crosswords in the paper on the commute. Lana is learning British Sign Language because she was in a taxi recently and the taxi driver was deaf. And she felt terrible that she didn't know any basic anything. I, I mean, I do, I, I feel ignorant not knowing any, so I'm inspired by that.
7:11 Fearne Cotton? And that I think will make me feel very happy. So we could all do with learning that, quite frankly. Sarah has got a WhatsApp group called Waffle Wednesday. Where every Wednesday, no matter what you're doing, you send a one minute video of yourself with an update of what you've been doing. Now, what I love about that is it's a great check in with your mates and there's a one minute rule. We have all got that friend that sends an eight minute voice note. Do I put it on double speed? Yes, I fucking do. Am I dipping in and out of listening to it? Yes, I am. Do I potentially then forget about it and not reply for weeks? Yes. No one wants an eight minute voice note. A one minute video? That is genius, I'm here for that.
7:54 Fearne Cotton? Oh, Basil, falling in love with old albums and Anushka says, trying on all your clothes to streamline your wardrobe, but also gently reaffirming to yourself what your style is. That's such a good one. I don't know what, I just still don't know what my style is. It is a jumble sale of emotions. I don't know what I'm, what my style is, I've got clue. Sometimes I wish I was chika. I wish that I wore like beige clothes, black slacks, a trench coat. If I've ever even tried that, I feel like I'm doing fancy dress, like I've dressed as an adult. Which often I don't identify as sadly. I can't do it. I would love it to be Scandi chic. It's not.
8:38 Fearne Cotton? It's fucking jumble sale, not even chic. It's just a mess. Amelia says blossom. There's nothing better. Blossom and magnolia. Why can't it stay around longer? Why is it such a fleeting moment of pink? Pink's my favourite colour. I'm fucking loving it. Magnolia here, blossom here. Next week it's all gonna be on the bloody floor. It's a nightmare. I'm being negative already before we've even got to dislikes. Let's move to dislikes now. My dislike is the same as Lauren's. How honest am I with this story? How graphic shall I get?
9:14 Fearne Cotton? Because I'm quite, as you know Amelia, I'm an open book. But many people listening to this I will never meet and I'm about to say potentially something so gross. I'm gonna.
9:26 Speaker 06 Do it.
9:27 Fearne Cotton? Okay. So Lauren and I, both of our dislikes for the week is neurovirus. Okay, so I went.
9:37 Fearne Cotton? I went to South Africa recently and I started to feel rather unwell and it came out of the blue. It was a shock. Started feeling a bit iffy, so I thought I'll go for the absolute classic cure for all illness, a can of Coke. And I had the can of Coke and it did nothing for me. It made me feel worse. If anything, it's put me off it for life, which is a terrible, terrible shame. Because when you eat or drunk something and then you're ill, you can't go near it again. Like once when I was really pissed when I was about 18, I was so drunk, I ate almost half a box of chocolate cornflakes. And then I spewed them up and I've never touched them since. It's always the way. You can't eat the thing that was just before you were sick.
10:20 Fearne Cotton? Now, I've never been this ill in my life, ever, ever, ever. It was so extreme. And this is the bit I'm worried about saying. We might even bleep it out if I change my mind down the line. But at one.
10:32 Fearne Cotton? At one point. At one point.
10:39 Fearne Cotton? It's so bad. No, we're all human. This happens to the best of us. It was coming at both ends and at one point.
10:46 Fearne Cotton? In the bathroom. My friend Giles has already told me that I should never say this out loud again because I did it on a voice note to him and he just couldn't believe I said it. I puked into my own shit.
11:03 Fearne Cotton? Oh, it was so bad. It was so.
11:09 Fearne Cotton? It was so, so bad. I missed my flight home. I missed my flight home. I had to get a flight the next day, still not feeling great, like stood in the security to get through to the gate to fly home, like slightly panicking that it could just start coming out of all orifices. Managed to get on the flight, slept a little bit, landed at 5am the next day to my son's 13th birthday sleepover with seven other 13 year old boys. You can imagine how I felt dealing with that. I was so strict with those boys, which I think they do react well to, but I there was no tolerance for any dicking about at that
11:54 Fearne Cotton? party. Probably wasn't that fun for X actually, but it had been quite dramatic. So on the list of dislikes, things that are making us unhappy this week is neurovirus. And I'm so sorry if you were anywhere near food during the listening for that segment. Shall we look at some more palatable unhappy moments of the week from other people on the team? Because I know I do appreciate that that was quite intense, guys. Okay. Sarah says when people stop in the middle of walking on the pavement, that is the most annoying thing. First of all, look around you. There are other humans. Secondly, why have you stopped? Keep walking. You're going somewhere. I'm so with Sarah. That fucks me off so massively.
12:37 Fearne Cotton? Archie says littering, use the bin. My worst is when people litter out of a car. What are you doing? Keep it in your glove compartment until you get home. Put it in the bin, mate. I can't bear that. I sometimes feel so enraged that I want to drive up and shout through someone's window. It's a terrible idea. I won't do it. But it makes me so angry. I'm with you, Archie. Basil, people, another one, rudeness, people not saying thank you when you hold the door open for them. Just say thanks. Just, it's always a lovely gesture when someone does that. Just say thank you. Equally, when someone stops at a zebra crossing, I always go, I'll do a thumbs up, cheers, thanks. When people just walk through, I'm like, hello, I've stopped
13:18 Fearne Cotton? in my car for you. Always say thank you. It's just a basic, basic etiquette, isn't it, quite frankly. Hannah says, when the milk runs out and you really want a cup of tea. Do you know what? That is a great one to end on because I had a, I want to say half an hour, kind of full throttle debate with my best mate Kai and my brother Jamie, who came for dinner on Friday last week. And they are both just passionate tea drinkers. My mum and dad are, as is my brother. I did not get the gene. I think tea tastes like dirty water. I think it's fucking disgusting. And Kai, who's known me since I was 10, didn't know that about me. And he was like, he's like, I just, I can't get over this. You
14:02 Fearne Cotton? don't like tea? I just, I don't, I don't get it. I don't understand. He said he would die if he didn't have 10 cups of tea a day. I don't get it. I don't get the tea hype. I, I've never, I think I've tried one cup in my life and I thought it was so gross. I don't like the smell of it. I don't get it. Coffee? Now you're talking. I love everything. I love the smell of coffee. I love the taste of coffee. Obviously couldn't drink it last week. Crikey, that would have been a danger zone. Absolutely can't get enough of it. Tea? Pointless. But me, my brother and Kai, I mean, they talked about the brand of tea. They like how they make it. My brother's got a certain technique and a science behind
14:43 Fearne Cotton? how he likes his tea, as has Kai. It's, it's the most British debate one can have, quite frankly. But Hannah is obviously on team Kai and Jamie. Loves a cup of tea, hates when the milk runs out. What are you loving? And you might not have liked that episode, quite frankly, after what I just said. What is, what's making you happy? What's making you unhappy? Let us know. Head to Instagram, at Happy Place Official. And just, is that the thing to do, do you reckon? Yeah. DM us? Yeah. Drop us, slide in to the, just slip on in to the DMs.
15:21 Fearne Cotton? Join the broadcast channel. I don't know what that is. Join the broadcast channel. Amelia runs all the Happy Place social media. Join the broadcast channel. I should be more on it with stuff like this. That's obviously a new element ish to what we're doing. Join the broadcast channel. Tell us what's making you happy and what's making you not very happy. Until next time, people. Have a lovely week, whatever you're doing, whether you're happy, not happy, or somewhere in the middle. Love ya.
16:18 Speaker 02 Hey, we're Nick and Jack, hosts of The Best One Yet. Behind every episode, there's research, emails, spreadsheets, and our shared Google Doc, the headline hammer.
16:26 Speaker 01 With Google Workspace with Gemini, Google's AI is built right into the premium versions of tools we already use, like Gmail, Docs, and Sheets. No new tools or extra logins, just personalized AI for the way we work.
16:37 Speaker 02 That means less time on the work around the work and more time finding the stories worth talking about.
16:41 Speaker 01 Get AI tools for work. Upgrade to Google Workspace with Gemini at goo.gle/workspacewithgemini.
16:48 Speaker 02 That's goo.gle/workspacewithgemini.
16:51 Speaker 03 Network freedom and flexibility. That's what you want in a healthcare plan. With a Humana Medicare Advantage PPO plan, you can see any doctor in the country who accepts Medicare, including specialists. No referrals, no kidding. Learn more at gethumana.com. See any doctor who accepts Medicare and is willing to bill Humana. Humana PPOs may not be available in all areas. Benefits and costs share may vary. Humana is a Medicare Advantage PPO organization with a Medicare contract. Enrollment in any Humana plan depends on contract renewal.
17:21 Fearne Cotton? Hello, this is Susie Ruffel.
17:22 Speaker 05 And Maisie Adam.
17:23 Fearne Cotton? And together we host Big Kick Energy. Hey Mais, what is it?
17:26 Speaker 05 Only the best podcast ever.
17:28 Fearne Cotton? Yeah.
17:29 Speaker 05 A comedy entertainment podcast with a focus on all things women's football, all things hilarious, all things friendship. It's a laugh is what it is, Ruffel.
17:39 Fearne Cotton? Yeah, and a fair bit of gossiping, too.
17:40 Speaker 05 Oh, and a lovely bit of gossip. Chow down on the gossip.
17:45 Fearne Cotton? You can listen wherever you get your podcasts, just need to search Big Kick Energy.
17:48 Speaker 05 Grab a knife and fork and tuck in, baby.
Previous Ruth Langsford: “We all go through sh*t!” My life with divorce and dementia Next Carol Vorderman: My ‘facelift’ became folklore! Can women have beauty and brains? Page updated October 31, 2026 · transcript and summary are machine-generated