It’s October 22nd 2025. 📅

For approximately 1% of the population, October 22nd is a day for raising awareness and being heard. 💬💚

International Stammering Awareness Day 🌍

I had been doing my bit to try and raise awareness by sharing videos on social media 🎥. I have always loved Chris Evans from way back when, in the 1980s (so only a few years ago 😄), when he did the radio show Too Much Gravy. I have enjoyed everything he has done since. I listen to his breakfast show every morning ☀️. I love the energy and the positiveness — just a great way to start the day.

He has a section called Big Ad Little Ad, so I thought that would be great to get a shout-out for Changes on ISAD and raise awareness too 📻. I sent a few messages over the weeks leading up to ISAD and then, on the morning of ISAD, I sent another to see if we could have a shout-out.

At approx 8.30 a.m. I received a phone call from a withheld number ☎️.
When I answered the call, the person on the other end said, “It’s Tilly.” Oh my goodness — I couldn’t believe it! 😲 I knew who it was straight away — The lovely Tilly from the Chris Evans Breakfast Show! 🎉

Trying to keep calm and listen to why she was calling (with my head racing around 😅) she then asked if I was aware they were doing Be Our Guest. I knew what this was and had listened to it many times, but wasn’t aware it was happening on that day. She then carried on to ask if I wanted to be on Be Our Guest. I could hear myself replying, “I would love to!” 💖

Tilly went through a few things, asked me some questions, and then said if I was to be one of the guests, they would give me a call back. I was home alone — so I quickly called my husband, who was away, texted my daughters as both were working, and called my parents. I literally just said, “Make sure you have Virgin Radio on — I MIGHT be on — byeeee!” 📱😂

No time to chat — I needed the phone off and me to be calm — I was going to be talking to Chris Evans 💚.

I received two more calls to check all was okay and to say I was going on 📞.

It was roughly 40 minutes since the first call, and I was live on Virgin Radio — talking to Chris Evans 🎙️.

I loved every minute of it for soooo many reasons: 💫

💚 It was ISAD and I was raising awareness on a big scale 🙂
💚 It was ISAD and I was speaking to Chris Evans about stammering, and it was so positive and uplifting. I loved it — and have since heard that many other people did too.
💚 I was getting to talk about Changes for Stammerers on the radio and share what I do, and I was receiving the most incredible support.
💚 I was talking to Chris Evans — what’s not to love! 😍

A few hours later (after lots of calls and lots of buzzing, as I couldn’t sit still with the adrenaline rush 😅), I sat down and heard it back. This was also one of the reasons I loved it.

I sat there on my own listening — tears falling down my face (actually now too, as I type) 😢. For all the times I have struggled, for all the times I have been laughed at, for all the times I couldn’t say my name, for all the times I have had the phone put down on me, for all the times I have been humiliated, for all the times I have just been so exhausted from stammering that I just couldn’t speak. For all the frustration — I sat there and just cried — hearing me talking (it’s not often we hear ourselves talking), using my technique and sounding so confident and having fun on Live Radio💚.

I can’t explain the feeling other than that I felt so very proud ❤️ <3

Then the giggles — as I heard the end of the chat, when I thought I was off-air and I said, “Oh my goodness.” Then I heard Chris repeat it back, laughing 😂 — realising I was still on-air 🎧. It’s a funny moment — sharing a giggle - and a perfect end to a wonderful surprise on ISAD 2025 🎉.