The Podcast

In this episode of The Long View – Living with Type 1 Diabetes, I'm talking to Paul White, CEO of the Hidden Disabilities Sunflower programme. You may have seen the familiar green lanyard with its bright yellow sunflowers in airports, shops, train stations and workplaces around the world. But how did a simple symbol become a global movement helping people with non-visible disabilities feel recognised, understood and supported?

In this episode of The Long View - Living with Type 1 Diabetes, I’m talking to Melissa Slemp. She's a coach, podcaster and author. Diagnosed as a teenager in the early 1980s, Melissa spent years living with Type 1 without fully understanding the condition or its long‑term implications. Now a coach, podcast host and author of a new book, "Highs, Lows & Hormones", Melissa is passionate about helping women manage diabetes, hormones and midlife - a topic that’s still not talked about enough.

In this episode of The Long View – Living with Type 1 Diabetes, I’m talking to Pete Lambert about his extraordinary story of resilience, burnout and recovery. Diagnosed at just 18 months old, Pete has lived with Type 1 for more than 40 years. In this conversation he tells about the emotional and mental toll of long‑term diabetes management, including his experience of diabetes burnout. Pete also opens up about one of his lowest points when he lost his sight for a month due to complications, and how, just three years later, he went on to climb Mount Kilimanjaro.

In this episode of The Long View – Living with Type 1 Diabetes, I’m talking to Robyn Hawkins, a researcher looking at how people manage Type 1 at work and at university. Her research looks at how the everyday realities often go unseen, from telling people about your diabetes, to handling hypos while commuting and coping in busy workplaces and shared spaces. Robyn tells us what her research reveals about stigma, awareness and the small changes that could make a big difference to people living and working with Type 1.

In this episode of The Long View – Living with Type 1 Diabetes, I’m talking to Gareth Squance, whose daughter Amelie was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes just two months before we recorded. This episode is a little different, as Gareth also turns the questions on me. We talk about the differences between a brand‑new diagnosis and living with Type 1 for 50 years and what both parents and young people need most in the early stages.

In this episode of The Long View: Living with Type 1 Diabetes, I’m speaking to Candyce Norris Jenkins - life coach, speaker and mum, who has been living with Type 1 Diabetes for more than 30 years. We talk about motherhood, identity and the importance of putting your own “oxygen mask” on first - a concept that could change the way you think about self-care.

In this episode of The Long View - Living with Type 1 Diabetes, I'm speaking to Sam Walsh about life as a parent of a child with Type 1 Diabetes. Sam’s son Eli was diagnosed at just 10 years old and she tells us about the shock of those early days, the steep learning curve that followed and how their whole family has adapted.

In this episode of The Long View – Living with Type 1 Diabetes, I'm talking to Milly Williams, creator of the Instagram account Diabetes with Milly. Diagnosed during her final year at university, Milly transformed her diagnosis into a new role as an influencer and a researcher improving life for others living with Type 1.

In this powerful episode of The Long View, I’m joined by Phil Southerland. He's the CEO and co-founder of Team Novo Nordisk, the world's first all Type 1 professional cycling team. Phil was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at just seven months old and told he wouldn’t live past 25. Instead, Phil built the team to prove that diabetes doesn’t limit champions - it creates them.

In this episode of The Long View - Living with Type 1 Diabetes, we hear from Dr Claudia Berty, she's a GP, a mother and has been living with Type 1 Diabetes for 37 years.

Marcus Davies was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes in 2021 after a serious accident - and he didn’t let it slow him down. Starting with just 30 minutes of advice from a diabetes nurse, Marcus is now a full time trainer and Ironman athlete. In this episode Marcus shares how he balances extreme fitness, blood sugar management and everyday life with type 1.

In this episode of The Long View: Living with Type 1 Diabetes, I'm delighted to be speaking to Gemma George, who was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes in her 30s, just months after getting married. She tells us about her dramatic diagnosis, the challenges of managing diabetes during pregnancy and her experiences as a mother to her healthy baby boy.

Welcome to The Long View — a podcast about living with Type 1 Diabetes.

I’m Ruth Collin, and I’ve lived with Type 1 Diabetes for over 50 years. Diagnosed at the age of five, I’ve grown up with this condition and lived through everything from glass syringes to today’s closed-loop systems.

In this first episode, I explain why I’ve created this podcast and what I mean by The long view — because Type 1 isn’t a phase or a chapter, it’s forever.