Conference - World Bipolar Day 2025

anushka asthana

dorothy herson

heston blumenthal

dr iain campbell

jason smith

Leah charles-king

nicky chinn

dr sameer jauhar

SIMON KITCHEN

swagata sen

dr talen wright

Anushka asthana

Anushka Asthana is the Deputy Political Editor at ITV News and co-presenter of ITV’s flagship political programme, Peston. Previously she helped to launch and present the Guardian’s daily podcast, 'Today in Focus' and before that was the paper’s joint political editor. Anushka has also covered politics and policy, including health, for the Observer, Times and Sky News.

Anushka has a close family connection to bipolar.

Dorothy herson

Dorothy Herson is a solicitor, journalist, creative writer, and mental health advocate with lived experience of Type 1 Bipolar Disorder. She serves on the editorial board for the Cambridge University Press journal Depression and writes about bipolar disorder. Dorothy is Vice President at the Young European Movement and leads national programs for young people. She’s a freelance writer for publications like The Independent and National Geographic, focusing on mental health, and coaches individuals with bipolar through The Bipolar Coach Ltd.

Heston Blumenthal

Heston Blumenthal is a world-renowned chef and restaurateur.

Beyond his professional achievements, Heston has shown incredible courage talking publicly about some of the challenges he faced before his bipolar diagnosis, including extreme mood swings, hallucinations, paranoia and suicidal thoughts.

In July 2024, Heston wrote a foreword for our Bipolar In The Workplace report 

Dr Iain Campbell

Dr Iain Campbell is the Baszucki Research Fellow in Metabolic Psychiatry at the University of Edinburgh, where he explores bipolar disorder as a potential dysregulation of metabolism and brain energy. Living with bipolar type 2 himself, his research is informed by personal experience. He co-led a pilot study on a ketogenic diet for bipolar and is a workstream lead on the UKRI Medical Research Council Hub for Metabolic Psychiatry. 

Dr Campbell is also a husband, father, and composer, reflecting his experiences with bipolar in his music.

Jason SMith

Jason Smith, a barrister from Liverpool in his 50s, was diagnosed with bipolar type 2 in 2014. Prior to his diagnosis, he struggled with low mood and suicidal thoughts for many years. Jason is passionate about raising awareness of the delays in diagnosis and the stigma surrounding mental illness in the workplace.

Leah Charles-King

Leah Charles-King has contributed to over 35 years in mainstream media and the entertainment industry as a music artist, TV and radio presenter, TV property expert, and mental health advocate. 
 
In 2021 Leah joined the presenting team of the popular Channel 4 property programme ‘A Place in the Sun’ and has quickly become a fan favourite.  
 
In 2019, Leah spoke publicly for the first time about the condition she had been secretly managing: bipolar. She subsequently launched her own platform ‘Illuminate Mental Health’ to normalise the conversation in an attempt to help end stigma around mental illness. She continues to be featured on many podcasts and interviews openly discussing her mental health struggles.  
 
Follow Leah on socials: @leahcharlesking 

Nicky Chinn

A songwriter and record producer, Nicky co-wrote several international number one singles with Mike Chapman in the 70s and 80s. The many hits include 'Living Next Door to Alice', 'Tiger Feet', 'Lonely This Christmas' and the worldwide hit 'Mickey'. Chinn and Chapman were the recipients of three Ivor Novello Awards for songwriting, including the Jimmy Kennedy award for outstanding career achievement in 1997.

Nicky says, "Back in 1961 when I was diagnosed with bipolar at the age of 16, mental illness was not something that was accepted too readily. It was ‘pull yourself together’ territory. My parents were ashamed which made me ashamed as well. Therapy has helped me in more ways than I can describe. I believe it’s one of the reasons I’ve survived. Now I know the condition will always be there in the background, but that it doesn't have to be a prison sentence for life. I don't have to give it the power to rule me forever. Therapy has taught me how to manage bipolar and manage myself, and many other things as well." 

Dr Sameer Jauhar

Dr Sameer Jauhar is a consultant psychiatrist and clinical academic at South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust and Senior Clinical Lecturer in Mood Disorders and Psychosis at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King’s College London known nationally and internationally for his research into mood disorders and psychosis. Sameer mainly looks after the care of young people with first episode psychosis (including bipolar disorder). His current research interests are the neurobiology and treatments for bipolar.

Simon Kitchen

Simon Kitchen has been CEO of Bipolar UK since April 2018. His previous roles include running the Dementia Action Alliance, where he signed up over 1,000 organisations to support people with dementia. He also led a major co-production initiative at Leonard Cheshire Disability that empowered over 1,000 people with long term conditions in residential care to have more choice and control over their lives.

Simon’s first experience of bipolar was in his late teens when he supported a friend with the condition. His brother-in-law Kevin, also lived with the condition. 

Swagata Sen

Swagata is a 38-year-old Indian woman based in London, where she lives with her husband and their 5-year-old child. She currently works as a telephone interviewer for a social research company.

Swagata was diagnosed with bipolar type 2 shortly before her 30th birthday, 15 years after she first started showing symptoms. She is passionate about supporting others with similar experiences and advocating for mental health awareness and support.

Dr Talen Wright

Dr Talen Wright is Bipolar UK's postdoctoral research manager. She, alongside the director of research Dr Tania Gergel, is responsible for all research activities taking place within the charity. 

Talen's research interests centre on marginalised and minoritised people's mental health. Her work at Bipolar UK is to ensure lived experience is centred in all research work and to address the community's most pressing concerns. 

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