When Fearne Cotton started Happy Place, her mega-successful podcast, there wasn’t a grand, set-in-stone mission. Instead, there was a series of “happy accidents”.

“I wasn’t really sure where I wanted to take my career,” said Cotton as part of a panel talk at this year’s Advertising Week Europe event. “There was definitely a natural end to a chapter, and I guess the beginnings of Happy Place started with a book called Happy, which was my first proper book and my first chance to speak authentically.

“I thought I’d just be really honest and talk about my mental health, and that seemed to not only feel really good for me personally, but it also connected with people. And then the idea for the podcast came about.”

That focus on authenticity, openness and honesty has been key to the Happy Place podcast’s massive success, and it’s a set of values Cotton has stuck with since launch. “I know what it’s like to feel awful mentally,” she shared. “What you don’t want is too many options and you don’t want any bullshit language. You don’t want to hear fancy terms that just mean nothing, and you don’t want there to be this magic quick fix. You just want to be heard and seen, and you want to feel OK. I think our message is always: don’t we all just want to feel OK? And that we can, and we’ve got all the tools to do that.

“You don’t have to drown in shame”: Fearne Cotton shares why it’s so important to open up about mental health