MY STORY, RAW, DIRECT...
On 15th March 2018, my dad passed away, and it broke me. I remember sitting in his chair, staring at him lying there under a white sheet after the paramedics had pronounced him dead. I kept telling myself it was a bad dream and that I would wake up. But I didn’t.
Three days later, I took an overdose. The truth is, I didn’t want to die, I wanted the pain to stop.
I was taken to hospital by ambulance. I don’t remember much, but I remember a nurse reassuring me that I was safe. I said, “I’m very anxious… I don’t want to die.”
THE TURNING POINT
After surviving my overdose and being discharged from the hospital, I went to my GP knowing I needed help. I spoke openly about losing my dad, the pain I was feeling, drinking every day and using drugs to get me through how I was feeling. I just wanted to feel like me again instead of masking how I really felt.
I was referred to the mental health team, which took months, and I was seen by a psychiatrist, and then a few months later I was diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder in 2019. In 2023, following a reassessment that diagnosis was removed and instead I was diagnosed with Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.
I was told Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) could help, but I couldn’t access it in my area. That hit me hard. I thought having a diagnosis would make accessing therapy easier. I was very wrong.
I started thinking, how many people are struggling with no help, overwhelmed by a diagnosis or waiting for care that never comes?
That’s when activism became a responsibility. I didn’t want sympathy, attention or fame. I wanted change.
My fight was no longer just about my own pain. I wanted to help people who felt alone and unheard, challenge the stigma surrounding mental health and turned that pain into something more.
CHARLIE THE TEDDY DUCK
I met a lovely person called James at Manchester Christmas Markets in 2019. Up until that point, Charlie stayed zipped up inside my bag.
Charlie had been my comfort after losing my dad, helping me through some of my darkest times and making me feel less alone.
That day, James said something that stayed with me: “I’m glad you brought Charlie today. The world needs him to help others as he helps you. Don’t worry about what people think.”
I had always worried about being judged, laughed at or not being taken seriously. But that day I realised that strength isn’t about hiding vulnerability, it’s about using it.
Charlie stopped being something I kept hidden and became something I shared with the world.
That was the birth of John and Charlie's Journey.
Charlie brings the smiles, and I bring the conversation.
Together, we create a space where people can open up about their struggles, trauma, grief and anxiety, because expressing how you feel isn't weakness. It’s being human, and that is valid.
THE MOVEMENT WAS BORN
John and Charlie’s Journey is a mental health movement created to raise awareness, reduce judgement and challenge stigma.
Charlie provides the smiles. I provide the connection, listening, sharing my lived experience and signposting people to support when they need it.
By speaking openly about my own struggles, I’ve seen how honesty can help others open up too and realise they’re not alone.
Our mission is simple: to make mental health conversations safer and create a non-judgemental space where people feel heard, and supported.
We give people something you can’t buy, and that's time. When you give your time to someone who is struggling, it means the absolute world.
The movement is also about showing that comfort isn't weakness. Whether it's a teddy, a plushie or something else that helps you cope, don't be ashamed of it.
We are currently working towards establishing the John & Charlie’s Journey Foundation, with plans to bring free mental health and suicide awareness events to communities across Cheshire and Manchester.
Our events shall be small and will bring people together over a coffee in a relaxed and welcoming environment, with public speaking, lived-experience stories, mental health conversations and opportunities to meet Charlie.
COMFORT ZONE
One of the most life-changing moments in my journey came when I was invited on stage with Keith Duffy of Boyzone and Brian McFadden of Westlife. I was terrified and tried everything to avoid speaking.
Keith asked me to tell the audience about what Charlie and I were doing to raise awareness of mental health and help people feel less alone. He spoke about his friend Caroline Flack and the importance of talking openly about mental health.
Just before I spoke, Keith whispered in my ear, “You can do this, son.” And I did.
I shared my story and our mission. By the end, the audience was shouting “CHARLIE! CHARLIE!” with thousands of camera lights around the room. Afterwards, people came over to tell us how raw, brave and real it had felt. It was surreal.
That night changed something in me. It gave me confidence and showed me that fear had been holding me back.
I WAS STOPPED FROM SUICIDE
I want to thank Angela Samata, who worked on the suicide storyline that saved my life. I genuinely don't believe I would be here today without her and Lime Pictures, who produce Hollyoaks.
During the first lockdown in March 2020, I found myself in a very dark place again. I felt completely alone and trapped inside my house until a Hollyoaks suicide storyline reached me in a way nothing else had. I reached out to Samaritans and later shared my experience on a BBC Podcast, with Ashley Taylor Dawson, who portrayed Darren in the storyline. I was able to thank him personally for the impact it had on my life.
That experience inspired me to pitch my film to Channel 4, which later turned into me co-creating and appearing in Hollyoaks IRL in 2021, a series featuring real people whose lives had been impacted by Hollyoaks storylines. I later volunteered with Mind and Samaritans, using my lived experience to help inform guidance around the responsible portrayal of mental health in the media. I created training videos and guides for television production houses.
Then came another unforgettable moment: attending the BAFTA TV Awards with Charlie by my side. Seeing my teddy duck on the red carpet as a symbol of comfort and hope showed me just how far this journey had come.
Hollyoaks IRL was nominated for a BAFTA TV Award in 2022, and I later had the privilege of collecting a Royal Television Society award on behalf of Lime Pictures.
For me, it was never about nominations, awards or red carpets. It has always been about turning my experiences into purpose and helping people who feel alone know that they are seen, supported and never alone.
MENTAL HEALTH CALLS
In 2023, I was invited to speak with Sarah-Jane Mee on Sky News after my campaign calling for better mental health training for police officers gained more than 14,000 signatures in a week!
I spoke about concerns around police responding to people experiencing a mental health crisis without adequate training and why I believe Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) training could better equip officers to recognise a crisis and respond safely.
The campaign for better mental health crisis training continues today. I want every officer to have the knowledge and confidence to support someone safely and compassionately when they are at their most vulnerable. This campaign is ongoing, with multiple Members of Parliament assisting with the campaign.
WHERE I AM NOW
I left school with no GCSEs and never imagined that one day I’d be at university working towards becoming a psychotherapist.
My reason for doing this is deeply personal. I know what it feels like to reach the point of planning to end your life, and what it feels like to ask for help only to find the therapy you need isn’t readily available.
My experiences, alongside seeing the pressures and waiting times within NHS mental health services, have inspired my long-term goal: to establish a Community Interest Company (CIC) providing accessible therapeutic and emotional support.
Mental health care should be a human right, not a privilege. Nobody should be left waiting years for the support they need.
For me, university isn't just about qualifying. It's about turning lived experience and years of activism into the skills to help create meaningful change.
I am extremely passionate about preventing suicides, and that is why I do what I do!
My dream is to create mental health and wellbeing centres in every city across the UK, bringing psychotherapy, nutritional support, and wellbeing together under one roof.
I believe mental health is about more than what happens in our minds. What we eat, what's in our food, how we move and how we feel are all connected to mind and body.
Our vision is to make this whole-person approach to wellbeing accessible and affordable for everyone.
