Therapy after my breakdown was a ‘happy accident’ – it led me to Celebs Go Dating, says Anna Williamson

SHE'S gone from the bonkers satellite of kids' TV to go 1 of the nation's champion loved-podcasters and a regular connected a deed Channel 4 world show.

But it hasn't been each plain-sailing for Celebs Go Dating's Anna Williamson, 43.

From her aboriginal days presenting to youngsters connected Channel 5's regular greeting amusement Milkshake, Anna has spent much than 2 decades grafting successful the amusement industry, moving done galore nonrecreational setbacks and adjacent a intelligence health situation successful her mid twenties.

It was that breakdown portion successful a psychologically abusive narration that yet enactment her connected the way to becoming a trained psychotherapist and beingness manager - a skillset she puts to large usage successful the CGD bureau wherever she helps celebrated faces similar Helen Flanagan, Gogglebox's Stephen Webb and Lauryn Goodman amended their romanticist prospects.

The Sun caught up with Anna the time aft she and podcasting pal Luisa Zissman delivered their game-changing interactive unrecorded show.

Over 2 nights, immoderate 4,000 fans attended LuAnna's raucous Big Blow Off astatine London's Troxy, with music, stories, strippers and naughty games seamlessly blended for a amusement dissimilar immoderate other.

It was a vocation precocious for mum-of-two Anna, who was awestruck astatine what the duo achieved.

Speaking from her home, she told us: "I'd similar to accidental it was much of a clever curated program than the blessed mishap it really is successful truth. I deliberation the eventual thread of that is I americium truly grateful.

"It sounds truly cheesy, 'hashtag blessed'."

Those looking successful from the extracurricular mightiness spot her modulation from the likes of Celebrity Big Brother's Bit On The Side and This Morning agony aunt to podcast queen arsenic a creaseless ride.

But Anna had to flooded debilitating panic attacks, chronic insomnia and the inability to devour arsenic a effect of her home torment, each the portion trying to clasp down a occupation connected ITV.

Therapy yet saved her from the months-long nightmare she'd go trapped successful and opened her caput to the profound effect it could have, inspiring her to larn much astir it.

She continues: "I've ever been tenacious. I've ever had a emotion of moving successful entertainment, successful broadcasting, but besides in therapy, which became again, a blessed accident, turning a affirmative into a antagonistic of having a intelligence breakdown successful my twenties, which past led maine to starting to bid and suffice successful talking therapist, which past led maine to Celebs Go Dating, you know, being a psychotherapist, specialising successful dating relationships connected that show."

Anna's begetter besides instilled successful her a beardown enactment ethic that laid the foundations for creating her ain 'good luck' professionally.

She says: "I've ever had the proposal of my father, which was, if you privation to bash thing severely enough, you'll find a mode to bash it.

"And I've ever besides lived with the motto that, you know, if somebody's got to bash it, wherefore not you?

"And I truly bash benignant of basal by that. And I mean I'm definite radical mightiness look astatine what I bash present and go, 'God, you know, wow, look astatine that', but my goodness, I've had 25 years of rejections.

"If we're doing a sliding scale, it's 1 oregon 2 yeses versus 200 no's, but it conscionable makes those yeses adjacent sweeter. And I emotion what I do, to beryllium honest.

"I'm astatine a constituent present wherever my kids are starting to recognize what I bash and beryllium arrogant of what I bash and that makes it a cherry connected apical of the cake."

FORCE FOR GOOD

Mental health and wellbeing person travel to the fore successful caller years, with much and much absorption connected it crossed mainstream outlets.

As a effect past stigmas person begun to autumn distant arsenic the motto 'it's OK to not beryllium OK' has established itself successful the nationalist consciousness.

Anna is utilizing her bubbly property and emotion of show to proceed changing perceptions of what it is to beryllium a trained intelligence wellness professional.

"I deliberation radical are ever amazed to cognize that I americium a afloat trained psychotherapist and beingness manager and NLP practitioner," she admits.

"I deliberation this has besides been my benignant of mission. When I got into the satellite of therapy, I could person easy conscionable kissed goodbye to broadcasting and TV. But the accidental came to benignant of bash a hybrid of the two.

"And I abruptly thought to myself, well, look, you cognize what it takes to interruption the mould. You know, you person to truly judge successful what you bash and you person to beryllium bully astatine what you do. And I judge I'm a precise bully manager and a bully therapist successful my disconnected surface and disconnected broadcast work.

"And I anticipation that translates connected surface arsenic well. I've been broadcasting for 25 years, truthful I cognize however to bash telly and broadcasting. And I deliberation peculiarly successful this time and age, I've ever wanted to marque therapy and coaching conscionable much accessible.

"We don't person to beryllium each prim and due sitting successful a achromatic overgarment down a table and saying now, 'how bash you feel?'

"I cognize those days of therapy are backmost successful steeped successful the 70s. Coaching and therapy is simply a full antithetic ballgame now. And I deliberation that reflects successful the clients that I have, due to the fact that I americium straight-talking, but I travel from idiosyncratic experience, nonrecreational experience, and I travel from a fistful of modalities successful nonrecreational qualifications to marque maine a precise targeted therapist."

PODCAST QUEENS

Perhaps the astir endearing happening astir Anna is her willingness to fto her hair down and clasp silliness.

It's thing that resonates with millions of podcast fans and had has resulted successful LuAnna achieving 4 consecutive nominations successful the Listeners' Choice class astatine the British Podcast Awards.

"We've been going six years present and we're enormously arrogant that millions perceive to america each month," says Anna.

"I mean who connected earth would ever predicted that? Not us, that's for sure. But we've ever trailblazed the satellite of podcasting. We were the archetypal to person toured, we were the archetypal to person done the London Palladium and truthful we decided we request to support coming up with new, bigger, amended ideas."

The pair's narration is precise overmuch a lawsuit of opposites attracting and they supply the cleanable foil for 1 another.

"We're the yin to each other's yang," says Anna. "I thin to beryllium the calm, beingness coach, friend-sitter, agony-aunt and Louisa is benignant of that mate that tells you what you don't privation to perceive but you request to perceive and the operation seems to enactment truly well."