Letter To My Younger Self
Michael Ball: ‘I hid in my flat for months. I suffered so badly with nerves’

Michael Ball: ‘I hid in my flat for months. I suffered so badly with nerves’
Kiefer Sutherland: ‘I didn’t know how lucky I was being in The Lost Boys’

Kiefer Sutherland: ‘I didn’t know how lucky I was being in The Lost Boys’
Ralph Fiennes: ‘Don’t be complacent. Have the courage to speak your mind’

Ralph Fiennes: ‘Don’t be complacent. Have the courage to speak your mind’
Francis Rossi: ‘I was lucky. I was able to just give up drugs’

Francis Rossi: ‘I was lucky. I was able to just give up drugs’
Simon Amstell: ‘I had to lie about who I was because I liked boys’

Simon Amstell: ‘I had to lie about who I was because I liked boys’
Chiwetel Ejiofor: ‘Education is the most important thing we have’

Chiwetel Ejiofor: ‘Education is the most important thing we have’
Don Warrington: ‘I had a secret longing to be an actor since I was a boy’

Don Warrington: ‘I had a secret longing to be an actor since I was a boy’
Samantha Morton: ‘I felt a lot of anger when I was a teenager in care’

Samantha Morton: ‘I felt a lot of anger when I was a teenager in care’

Subscribe to The Big Issue
From just £3 per week
Take a print or digital subscription to The Big Issue and provide a critical lifeline to our work. With each subscription we invest every penny back into supporting the network of sellers across the UK.
A subscription also means you'll never miss the weekly editions of an award-winning publication, with each issue featuring the leading voices on life, culture, politics and social activism.
Richard E Grant: ‘Every job I’ve had is a result of being in Withnail & I’

Richard E Grant: ‘Every job I’ve had is a result of being in Withnail & I’
Shirley Ballas: ‘I’ve spent my life in an industry dominated by men’

Shirley Ballas: ‘I’ve spent my life in an industry dominated by men’
Dominic West: ‘I feel I’m in the summer of my life – it can’t last forever’

Dominic West: ‘I feel I’m in the summer of my life – it can’t last forever’
Stella Rimington: ‘KGB saw us as extraordinary creatures from another world’

Stella Rimington: ‘KGB saw us as extraordinary creatures from another world’
Jean-Michel Jarre: ‘My success was so big and violent it was almost abstract’

Jean-Michel Jarre: ‘My success was so big and violent it was almost abstract’
Mark Knopfler: ‘I’ve been tested, but the desire to make music has remained’

Mark Knopfler: ‘I’ve been tested, but the desire to make music has remained’
Chris Bonington: ‘Even after loss, I’ve never considered not being a climber’

Chris Bonington: ‘Even after loss, I’ve never considered not being a climber’
Mishal Husain: The presenting powerhouse doesn’t know any other way to live

Mishal Husain: The presenting powerhouse doesn’t know any other way to live
Romesh Ranganathan’s teenage struggle with poverty was ‘insane’

Romesh Ranganathan’s teenage struggle with poverty was ‘insane’
Prue Leith: I was amazingly selfish and amazingly unaware as a teenager

Prue Leith: I was amazingly selfish and amazingly unaware as a teenager
Ruth Davidson: I thought I’d be married in my early twenties with two kids

Ruth Davidson: I thought I’d be married in my early twenties with two kids
Rod Stewart: The 16-year-old me wouldn’t believe I’m still doing this at 73

Rod Stewart: The 16-year-old me wouldn’t believe I’m still doing this at 73
Coleen Nolan: Losing my sister made me question my own mortality

Coleen Nolan: Losing my sister made me question my own mortality
Josh Groban: ‘If I could go back in time I would warn everyone about Trump’

Josh Groban: ‘If I could go back in time I would warn everyone about Trump’
Terry Waite: “I’ve had mock executions, been tortured, but I came through it”

Terry Waite: “I’ve had mock executions, been tortured, but I came through it”
Mary Robinson: “I’d tell my younger self you can’t change things too quickly”

Mary Robinson: “I’d tell my younger self you can’t change things too quickly”
Sylvester McCoy: As Doctors, we’re a part of a very special club

Sylvester McCoy: As Doctors, we’re a part of a very special club
Geoffrey Robertson QC: “The Daily Mail said I was known as the Rottweiler”

Geoffrey Robertson QC: “The Daily Mail said I was known as the Rottweiler”
Henry Blofeld: “My life would be an innings of desperate uncertainty”

Henry Blofeld: “My life would be an innings of desperate uncertainty”
Ben Elton: “I was never able to say goodbye to Rik Mayall”

Ben Elton: “I was never able to say goodbye to Rik Mayall”
“The damage is done”: Dame Stephanie Shirley on Trump’s immigration policies

“The damage is done”: Dame Stephanie Shirley on Trump’s immigration policies
Windrush child Don Letts: “Our parents were getting screwed”
