This podcast summary features the experiences of Graham Roberts, a former member of the Welsh Guards, whose service record and subsequent transition to civilian life offer a raw look at the realities of modern military duty.

Graham Paul Roberts served as a soldier in the Welsh Guards. His transition to civilian life was marked by extreme psychological distress, leading him to the brink of suicide. He recounts a harrowing moment where he planned to take his own life in the woods, only to be stopped by a sudden, overwhelming emotional breakdown that resulted in him seeking help instead. He eventually found support through North Wales Veterans and a dedicated medical team, which he credits with saving his life.

Roberts speaks with significant candor about the trauma he carried from his deployments, specifically highlighting the moral and emotional toll of his time in Kenya.

• Environmental Trauma: He describes vivid, recurring nightmares involving the faces and bodies and events he witnessed or dealt with during his service.

• The Weight of Silence: He explains that for years, he "bottled up" the things he had seen, including the smuggling of goods and other "stuff" that he felt unable to discuss with his family or peers.

• Emotional Detachment: He admits to purposely detaching himself emotionally from his experiences to survive the scenarios he was placed in, a tactic that later contributed to his mental health struggles.

• The "Bravado" Myth: Roberts is critical of the military "bravado" that prevents soldiers from seeking help, noting that he initially refused medication and support because he wanted to handle it alone.

To process his trauma, Roberts turned to writing as a form of therapy. His book, "Echoes in the Silence," was written over several months as a way to "explore" the elements of his past that he had previously blocked out. He emphasizes that while medication (such as quetiapine and anti-depressants) helped stabilize him, the act of documenting his experiences was vital to his recovery.

#WelshGuards #VeteranMentalHealth #PTSDAwareness #EchoesInTheSilence #MilitaryTransition #KenyaService #VeteransSupport

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Born in Kenya in 1969, Alka moved to Leicester as a toddler. Raised in a strict Hindu household, she grew up with defined gender expectations: girls were encouraged to pursue education only as a precursor to arranged marriages within their caste. Despite an early interest in crime and pathology sparked by Agatha Christie novels, Alka initially followed a conventional path, working in insurance for nine years.

Alka’s entry into the police was a profound act of personal rebellion and courage. Facing an unwanted arranged marriage to a man living abroad, she chose to break the engagement. This decision, coupled with her desire to join the police—a profession her family deemed unsuitable for a woman—resulted in her being asked to leave her family home and a long-term estrangement from her father, who was himself a traffic warden.

In 1997, without knowing where she would live, Alka posted her acceptance to Leicestershire Police.

Alka joined the service in 1998, training at Ashford during a time when Asian female officers were a "rarity". Her career spanned several diverse roles:

• Frontline Policing: She served in rural areas like Ashby and Coalville, where she faced significant racial abuse from the community.
• Specialized Units: She spent time in the Youth Offending Team, which allowed her to balance work with raising her children.
• Detective Work: Alka eventually became a detective, working in child abuse investigation, serious and complex crime, and a secondment in Counter Corruption, which she described as her toughest role due to the emotional weight of investigating colleagues.
• Mutual Aid: Near the end of her career, she assisted in Merseyside following the tragic murders of three children.

Throughout her 27-year career, Alka balanced the "heavy lifting" of being a mother, wife, and professional. She remains a staunch believer in meritocracy, refusing to join identity-specific police associations and instead focusing on her skills as an investigator.

Upon retiring, she transitioned into her "second vocation": sports safeguarding. She currently works with the Leicester City Football Club Academy, aligning her professional expertise with her lifelong passion for sport. Despite the personal sacrifices, Alka maintains that she would do it all again "100%"

#BreakingBarriers

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Police & Detective Life

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Culture & Representation

#SouthAsianExcellence

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#Leicester

#ShatteringGlassCeilings

#EmpoweredWomen

Career & Transition

#CareerPivot

#SportsSafeguarding

#LCFC

#SecondAct

#ProfessionalDevelopment

#WorkingMoms

Niche & Catchy

#FromPatrolToPitch

#DefyingExpectations

#DetectiveAlka

#PodcastSpotlight

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Alex Belfield is a former radio presenter for BBC Radio Leeds who was dismissed for misconduct. He was convicted of stalking charges in September 2022 and imprisoned.

Belfield worked at Mansfield 103.2 FM in the early 2000s. He presented the mid-morning show on BBC Radio Leeds. In 2010 he made lewd comments about weather presenter Keeley Donovan's broadcasts at home that resulted in complaints from listeners. As punishment, Belfield was suspended from the station for a day and strongly reprimanded by BBC bosses.

On 18 June 2021 Belfield was summonsed to appear at Nottingham Magistrates' Court, where he was charged with 12 counts of stalking "involving fear of violence or serious alarm or distress" on 1 July.On 29 July 2021, Belfield appeared at Nottingham Crown Court accused of stalking eight people between November 2012 and March 2021, including BBC staff members Stephanie Hirst and Jeremy Vine.

Belfield was convicted in September 2022 for four of eight stalking charges at Nottingham Crown Court. He was sentenced to five and a half years in prison; before sentencing "he was allowed to deliver a closing speech deriding the case as a 'BBC and police witch-hunt' based on five arrests and 3 invasions of his home, without a warrant and any evidence of any crime, and describing himself as 'the No 1 anti-BBC journalist'". He told the jury "I am offensive... My human right allows me to speak words that are not to everyone's taste". The judge said that while Belfield acknowledged the distress he caused the victims, he showed more concern during the proceedings about being treated unfairly and how the process impacted him (Belfield) personally. A bid for leave to appeal was refused in February 2023.

In May 2024, the Nottinghamshire police detective who had led the stalking investigation into Belfield won a libel case against him. Belfield had falsely accused the detective of being corrupt, lying in court and colluding with the BBC in a witch hunt against him.

Belfield was released from prison in June 2025, after 2 years and 9 months. He will serve the remainder of his sentence on licence.

Janet has her own channel on Ticktok

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