A year and a half ago, J Grange was excluded from school, labelled a troublemaker and was going down the wrong path. The Chelmsford rapper was experiencing run-ins with the police but an appearance in court changed everything. Now, the 17-year-old is on a different path - making music and wanting to spread vitally important messages. The teenager h…

Steve Hughes, from Chelmsford, is a man who has had to learn how to live his life without vision. The 38-year-old has Stargardt’s disease - a genetic condition that means he only has his peripheral vision at best. He has been dealing with the condition since childhood but in the last two years his eyesight has rapidly deteriorated. That resulted in…

On the second episode of the third series of Humans of Chelmsford we hear the story of Brian McGovern, the co-founder of Cool to be Kind Chelmsford. The community project has been helping rough sleepers in the city for several years and they have risen to become one of the prominent voices in the bid to improve the situation. Through their outreach…

On the first episode of Series Three of Humans of Chelmsford we meet Essex actress Claudia Grace McKell. She’s had to overcome a lot to get to where she is – overcoming deafness and a car crash that could have killed her. Those experiences – regardless of how difficult they might have been – have helped to shape her life into what it is now. Claudi…

On episode five of the second series of Humans of Chelmsford, we meet 18-year-old football referee Chloe Butler. As one of the Essex FA’s female officials Chloe has an important role to play in the sport with women’s football on the up. Traditionally football has been a man’s world and, despite the female game taking enormous strides in recent year…

On episode four of the second series of Humans of Chelmsford we meet Mark Strutton, the owner of restaurant Shwings and a former DJ. Mark’s life is very much focused on his chicken restaurant Shwings, which opened back in November 2018. But life before Chelmsford was very different for Mark, as he was a highly successful DJ in Marbella regularly mi…

On episode three of the second series of Humans of Chelmsford we meet Wendy Sillett, the owner of Chelmsford’s non-alcohol bar Abstinence. Abstinence opened up in the city in December 2018 and represents what has become Wendy’s ambition for the past couple of years, to open a non-alcohol venue to give people an alternative location to go out withou…

On episode two of the second series of Humans of Chelmsford we meet Katy Jackson, the lead singer of rock band Tigress. The Chelmsford-based band are approaching their fourth birthday later this year but have already gained significant traction for their music and have played all over the world. But earlier in 2019, on International Women’s Day, Ka…

On the first episode of the second series of Humans of Chelmsford we hear the stories of three recovering addicts who have experienced the very lows of life. Ben, 31, from Chelmsford struggled with drug abuse for years and eventually ended up homeless in January of this year. Barry Winch, 50 and from Maldon, faced problems with alcoholism after a d…

On this episode of Humans of Chelmsford we meet ecopreneur and Anglia Ruskin University student Sarah Clark. Prior to 2016 Sarah was living her life just like anyone would, working and going month to month paying bills. However - in a similar vein to how the recent documentary Blue Planet II was received - one day in 2016 Sarah sat down to watch Be…

On this episode of Humans of Chelmsford we meet clown Mr Popol - otherwise known as Paul Carpenter. He is one half of the Popolinos, a comedy clown dup that have been going strong for 16 years along with Kriss Freear otherwise known as Kakehole. The pair serve as managers of Circus Wonderland but every night they transform into their clown characte…

On this episode of Humans of Chelmsford we meet Sarah Payne and Chris Starbrook who are both currently homeless and sleeping rough in the city. For 24 hours I joined them and lived life as a fellow rough sleeper for 24 hours to gauge an insight into what life is actually like on the street. In doing so I found out all about the lives and background…

On this episode of Humans of Chelmsford we are joined by teacher Alex Earl. Back in 2009 Alex was diagnosed with scoliosis – a condition where the spine twists and curves to the side. Three years later the decision was made for Alex to undergo major surgery to correct the issue as her curve was growing an inch each year. Had it been left alone it w…

On this episode of Humans of Chelmsford we are joined by Dawn Wood, an Essex Police maritime skipper who is preparing for a mind-boggling challenge. In January 2019 the former Chelmsford Rugby Club player will row singlehandedly across the Atlantic Ocean. While much of her Atlantic adventure is based on challenging herself and trying to beat the wo…

On this episode of Humans of Chelmsford we speak to Stephen Cottrell who has been the Bishop of Chelmsford since 2010. The role requires a significant amount of responsibility with hundreds of churches falling under his remit and tasks covering the entirety of the county and much of East London. But what makes the man from Leigh-on-Sea? Contrary to…

On this episode of Humans of Chelmsford, former drug addict and gang leader Paul Hannaford tells us about his incredibly unforgiving and chaotic life. As a boy growing up in East London and then Essex, Paul had dreams of playing football for West Ham United. However, by the time he got into year nine at school his life spiralled out of control and …

In this episode of Humans of Chelmsford we are joined by author Phyllida Shrimpton. In February of this year Phyllida’s debut novel – the aptly-named Sunflowers in February – hit the bookshelves. Despite only becoming an author relatively recently ideas and stories have always been floating around her head. But there is much more to Phyllida than j…

In this episode of Humans of Chelmsford we are joined by personal trainer, speaker and blogger Sophie Holmes. After being born 10 weeks premature, Sophie was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis at four months old. Her parents were told that she might not make the age of 30, let alone her teens, and she has to take up to 80 tablets a day to stay alive. A…

In this episode of Humans of Chelmsford we are joined by Keith Bonsor, a man that has always had music as a key part of his life. From an early age growing up on Canvey, music influences were far and wide and, in the sixties, he was part of the group The Essex Five. As part of the band he got to support and work with legends such as Eric Clapton an…

In this episode of Humans of Chelmsford we are joined by Vicki Hornsby, someone who has used her past battles with mental health as a force for good. Opening up about your battles with depression and anxiety is a massively daunting prospect but Vicki knows exactly what that feels like. From an early age she had always felt anxious although she neve…

In this episode of Humans of Chelmsford we are joined by KJ, a man who spent seven years of his life living on the streets. KJ – which isn’t his real name as he has asked us to hide his identity – wound up homeless after his mental health problems took over his life. It all stemmed from a severe accident at work and he soon lost everything he held …

In this episode of Humans of Chelmsford we are joined by Karl Scarr, a zoologist who once spent four years of his life in a kennel with 150 dogs. You will be hard pushed to find someone as passionate about animals as the 54-year-old. After a spell driving taxis, Karl decided to pursue his passion and, after completing his zoological degree at the U…

In this episode of Humans of Chelmsford we are joined by builders Peter Cross and Chris Whittle, who have managed to pull off an incredible achievement. In November 2016 Peter was met with unspeakable news as he was told his brain tumour was terminal, with a life expectancy of between 10-14 months. The 51-year-old builder had one wish – to stay at …

In this episode we are joined by Tracie Long – a natural born psychic and medium who also works as a spiritual celebrant. For as long as she has known Tracie has been able to receive and interpret messages from another world. In her late 30’s she decided to pack up her job in order to fully embrace her spiritual side, allowing her to dive fully int…

In our very first episode we are joined by Toni Coulson, who talks about how her life dramatically changed when she was diagnosed with breast cancer. As she was under the age of 50, her diagnosis wasn’t picked up by screening but by discovering a lump. Despite the trials and tribulations that faced her and her family, Toni was adamant she wasn’t go…