Hannah Bradfield

My Latest Work

The Twenty-something Tales •

20 things I’ve learnt in my twenties

We are kicking things off with a list, because who doesn’t love a list? Grab a coffee and settle down for the lowdown on 20 things I’ve learnt in my twenties so far.

You have to put the work into long-distance relationships and friendships to sustain them. Pencil in dates way ahead of time if you need to. Plan fun things. My friends and I now do ‘Wednesday Waffle’, where we essentially send each other video note updates of our lives every Wednesday. It’s like a weekly personal podcast. Credit t...
The Twenty-something Tales •

Introducing The Twenty-something Tales

I can officially no longer say I am in my early twenties. I know, cue the tiny violins. Honestly, calling 24 ‘early twenties’ was probably a bit of a stretch, but 25 is about as mid as you can get really, isn’t it? I would now be in the X-Factor’s Over 25s category. Wild. I always thought that was such a distant age. Probably precisely because Simon Cowell made a separate category for it. Ah, ageism.I know it’s all relative, and 25 really isn’t that old at all, but I still shudder about the time...
The Indiependent •

September TV column: What to watch this month

Spoiler Alert: This article contains spoilers for season three of Emily In Paris and The Jetty.I’m ready for Autumn. There, I said it. Not everyone will be on my wavelength, but there’s just something about those early Autumn evenings: settling in with a new drama and a cuppa, feeling cosy and satisfied as the sun sets.We’re back in Nottinghamshire for this high-stakes drama, with a new and even more violent storyline featuring a mixture of old and new characters. Like the previous season, seaso...
Runner's World •

Who is Neil Gourley? Meet the British champ who just progressed to the 1500m Olympic semi-final

Team GB's Neil Gourley has reached the 1500m Olympic semi-final. With 200m to go, the 29-year-old put in a late surge to secure his spot in the semis on Sunday, where he'll join teammate Josh Kerr to battle it out for a place in the final. Fellow Brit George Mills will need to jostle for a second time for a semi-final place, however, after finishing 10th in his heat this morning.Competing in a packed Stade de France, Gourley .css-b8iqzl{-webkit-text-decoration:underline;text-decoration:underline...
Runner's World •

Get to know Jemma Reekie: 800m Olympic medal hopeful

Ayrshire-born Jemma Reekie stormed onto the scene at the age of 21, with a rare double gold in the 800m and 1500m at the 2019 European U23 Championships in Sweden.Then, Reekie broke three British indoor records within the space of eight days. First came the 800m record at an invitational race in Glasgow – her time of 1:57.91 the fastest in the world since 2006. The following week, at the Millrose Games in New York, Reekie ran the Wanamaker Mile in 4:17.88, taking almost a second off .css-b8iqzl{...
ManchesterWorld •

I started my own fashion brand with £20 in lockdown - now it's worn by celebs

The 2000s-style vest tops were constantly sold out, so Izzy’s mum suggested she try sewing one herself to tackle the lockdown boredom if anything else. Izzy purchased £20 worth of material - enough to make several tops - and got sewing. She showed the final result to her friends, who loved them.She said: “I thought, why shouldn't I post them on Depop and see if I can get some money because I didn't have very much money. Within about 10 minutes of uploading one, it sold, and then another one sold...
Journo Resources •

Where Are We Really At With Women's Sports Coverage And What Comes Next?

In recent years, women’s sport has had more coverage than ever, thanks to landmark broadcasting deals, improved attitudes, and the sheer hard work of those working in the sector. But, scratch the surface and we still need to ask whether the coverage is reaching enough people, how the industry can capitalise on all this momentum, and, importantly, what comes next.
It was only when sports journalist Nancy Gillen went to university that she realised how unique her childhood experience of football w...
The Indiependent •

TV Diaries: Everything I’ve seen this month and what I’m excited about

In the latest instalment of her TV Diaries column, Hannah Bradfield recounts her month in TV and what she’s excited to watch next.

Spoiler alert: This feature contains spoilers for season two of The Outlaws.

May was a stressful one. Full of exams and farewells, I didn’t have much time for TV. Nevertheless, I still managed to fit in some gems and have racked up quite the watch list for the coming months.

Last month, I wrote about how I excited I was for season three of The Outlaws. My God, it
Mancunian Matters •

Two in three patients offered anaesthetic for coil fittings, data shows

Guidelines say everyone should be offered anaesthetic for coil fittings but only two in three patients were last year, new data reveals.

The national benchmarking audit, published by the Faculty of Sexual and Reproductive Health’s (FSRH) clinical effectiveness unit, revealed that – on average – services made two in three patients aware of anaesthetic options at coil appointments.

Based on new FSRH guidelines, all individuals should be told about available analgesia (anaesthetic) options for co

Is it possible to survive seven days without a smartphone?

“It’s not for a burner phone,” I blurted out to the bewildered store assistant. As if someone actually wanting a burner phone would brazenly walk into EE to purchase one. My efforts were futile anyway because the most basic, brick-like device EE could offer turned out to be a jazzy-looking flip phone which still had WhatsApp and would leave me £89.99 lighter. “I’ll just take the Pay As You Go SIM, please.” And so, somewhat ironically, I ended up resorting to Amazon Prime to find my temporary ‘du
The Indiependent •

TV Diaries: Everything I’ve seen this month and what I’m excited about

Spoiler alert: This feature includes spoilers from the first season of Blue Lights.

In the second instalment of her TV Diaries column, Hannah Bradfield recounts everything she has watched recently and what she’s excited about next.

And so, in the blink of an eye, it’s May. The mornings are lighter, the evenings are warmer (give or take), and summer doesn’t seem so far away.

I was looking forward to season two of Belfast police drama Blue Lights from the moment it was confirmed, and it did not
Hannah Bradfield •

Spending a night on the town with Safe Haven

With post-pandemic nightlife back in full-swing in Norwich, I met up with Safe Haven — a volunteer-run community project operating on Saturday nights.

I spent two nights with the team to see what a typical Saturday night involves (spoiler: there is no typical Saturday night) and the types of support they provide.

From being a safe space to keep warm and charge your phone to providing life-saving medical support, services like Safe Haven are vital but rare.
South West Londoner •

Despite decline in contraceptive prescriptions, pill remains most popular

While the total number of contraceptive prescriptions in the UK* has decreased, the pill remains the most commonly prescribed method, new data has shown.

The data, obtained from the NHS Business Services Authority via a Freedom of Information request, shows the total number of contraceptive prescriptions decreased by more than 15% between the financial years 2015/2016 and 2022/2023.

The data reveals that the contraceptive pill — the first iteration of which was invented more than 60 years ago
The Indiependent •

TV Diaries: Everything I’ve seen this month and what I’m excited about

Are you looking for a watchlist but overwhelmed by online recommendations? Hannah Bradfield breaks down everything she’s watched recently and delivers the verdict on what’s worth the watch, what isn’t, and what she’s planning to watch next.

While this isn’t a super recent release, it’s had a resurgence after landing on BBC One and BBC iPlayer this year, having aired previously in Ireland. Created by Ciaran Donnelly (Camelot) and Peter McKenna (RED ROCK), Kin follows the Kinsellas, a hardened Du

Record-setting ultrarunner on adventure, patience and the joys of a Wetherspoons lasagne

Dressed as a giant purple crayon, Elise Downing didn’t think she could feel any more ridiculous running her first marathon. Until she began to cry. Then, she became the giant purple crying crayon. Catchily shortened by some passing children simply to ‘the crying crayon’. It turns out, though, if you don't really train or fuel properly, crying is a perfectly natural reaction to running 26.2 miles. Crayon outfit or not. And to rub salt in the wound, as she finally neared the finish line of the 201
Journo Resources •

‘It’s A Bias That Gets Deprioritised’: How To Report On Age Responsibly

Age is a protected characteristic under the Equality Act 2010. Yet, in 2021, research by the Centre for Ageing Better found that 55 per cent of adults agreed the UK is ageist. The media is a powerful player when it comes to promoting — and challenging — long-held attitudes and opinions. So, how might it have influenced age-based prejudice? And, more importantly, what role can it have in empowering older and younger generations in ways that don’t pit them against each other? In the latest instalm
The Indiependent •

Global Disney+ and BBC release date announced for 'Doctor Who'

It has been revealed that season 14 of Doctor Who will premier on Saturday, May 11, in the UK and Friday, May 10, in the US and internationally.

For UK viewers, the first two episodes will drop on iPlayer at midnight on May 11. It will then be broadcast on BBC One later that day, presumably before the Eurovision final. From sci-fi straight into singalong, it’s set to be a Saturday evening of stellar TV.

It is expected weekly episode releases will follow this format; first dropping at midnight
Happiful •

How to be there for others when you're grieving, too

One person shares her story of bereavement

My Nana was the life and soul of any party. Demure yet feisty, she could make you cry with laughter. A trusted and dependable listening ear for family and friends, she was also a volunteer with the charity Samaritans for almost 40 years.

For as long as I can remember, she would quietly pop out of the house, including on Christmas day, calling out, “I’m just off to Sam’s, you won’t notice I’m gone”. For years, my cousin thought she was off visiting a f
The Indiependent •

TV Review: ‘Trigger Point’ season two is far-fetched but does it matter?

You might have to suspend belief when watching season two of Jed Mercurio’s Trigger Point, but when it’s this good, does it matter?

“The Met is under a constant state of alert. We need to adapt to new threats, new techniques, new enemies,” says Lana Washington (Vicky McClure), as episode one opens. Moments before London goes up in flames behind them. Fresh from a teaching secondment in Ukraine, Lana is back in London. You can’t blame her for wanting to leave the UK, even for a warzone. To recap
Runner's World •

Is it safe to run when you are breastfeeding?

For a long time, there was a startling lack of evidence-based guidelines on pregnancy and exercise. Incredibly, the first official UK guidelines weren’t issued until 2017, and advice on exercising postpartum wasn’t included until 2019.

The full document highlights that physical activity doesn’t negatively impact breastfeeding postpartum. However, female runners are likely to have many more questions about running and breastfeeding: can it affect your milk supply? When should you feed/express? W
North West Londoner •

The Lexington pub to put free ASICS trainers on tap later this week

To highlight the mood-boosting benefits of exercise, sportswear brand ASICS has partnered with Islington pub The Lexington to serve trainers as well as pints this week.

The sportswear brand will feature on The Lexington’s menu on Thursday, 25 and Friday, 26 January.

Between 4pm and 6pm on these days, asking for an “ASICS Dry Run” at the bar could get you a free pair of trainers rather than a pint.

Research commissioned by ASICS earlier this month found that 25% of Brits attempted Dry January
The Indiependent •

Louis Theroux: why is he such a great interviewer?

Following another successful series of BBC Two’s Louis Theroux Interviews, we explore what has cemented Theroux as one of today’s most iconic interviewers.

“I’ve got a high tolerance for awkwardness, but yours is off the charts.”

“Explain,” Chelsea Manning replies to Louis Theroux, sitting inches away from her, his sensible white trainers almost touching her chunky lace-up boots.

“Well,” he says: “You seem to be more comfortable sitting in silence. You’re even better at it than I am.”

Disarm
The Indiependent •

Arriving at the Who-niverse 18 years late — why I’ve only just watched ‘Doctor Who’

After almost two decades without, I have finally welcomed Doctor Who into my life. To celebrate this incredibly significant moment, here are my thoughts on this glorious show — 18 years late.

My dreams have been Dalek-themed ever since.

What took me so long?

I was five when Doctor Who relaunched in March 2005, and whilst I can remember fragments of it in the background, it was never something we really sat down to watch as a family.

As a child, I was not necessarily brave with my TV choices
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