Alice Peacock, Problem Manager at Virgin Media O2: She Left Work For 17 Years. Then Got Her Dream Job

My Duvet Flip by Jack Parsons

Jack Parsons

Careers, Business

4.2 • 8 Ratings

🗓️ 21 May 2026

⏱️ 25 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Alice Peacock is a Problem Manager at Virgin Media O2, responsible for investigating major network outages and putting permanent fixes in place for millions of customers across mobile, fibre, TV and business services. She started her career at 16 flipping burgers at McDonald's on Streatham High Street. After nearly two decades away from the workplace to raise her family, she returned through O2's Career Returners Programme — and hasn't looked back. Eight years in, her colleagues assume she's always been part of the furniture.

Virgin Media O2 is one of the UK's largest and most recognisable connectivity brands, delivering mobile, broadband, TV and business services to millions of customers across the country.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction & format explainer

01:57 Meet Alice

03:37 First job: McDonald's at 16

05:56 What young people should know about starting work

06:50 Alice's career break and the M&S chapter

07:52 How to get back into the job market

09:14 The O2 Career Returners Programme

10:17 Transferable skills from a career break

11:08 "Mum, I earn more than you" — the moment that changed everything

12:05 Imposter syndrome in tech

14:32 Why feedback matters

16:09 17 years away — and back like she never left

17:00 Getting paid to eat food and drink Prosecco

17:52 Why Alice chose Virgin Media O2

19:41 What a Problem Manager actually does day-to-day

21:08 When McDonald's is your client

23:18 Why customer trust is everything

23:45 Alice's Duvet Flip moment

Episode Partners

This episode is part of My Duvet Flip's Choose Customer series, produced in partnership with Virgin Media O2.

Disclaimer:

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Tell us a little bit about how long you had your career break for.
0:03.0	Okay, um, 17 years.
0:05.0	17 years. Wow.
0:08.0	Hi, my name is Alice Peacock and I'm a problem manager at Virgin Media O2.
0:15.0	We employ 15,000 people and this is my duvet flip.
0:19.0	I think I have a sexy title when I tell people what I do
0:21.6	people go wow that's a really interesting title I'm a problem manager a problem
0:26.2	manager all your major outages all your fiber breaks when you lose your service like
0:31.0	the whole of London it's me that goes in I really wanted to do something and I really wanted to speak to people.
0:39.3	I wanted some adult conversation and I thought like, how do I get back into the job market?
0:44.3	So I just joined the local community centre and there was this thing about getting back into work.
0:48.3	And actually the lady that did the mock interview was actually from O2.
0:52.3	Wow.
0:53.3	And she was going, Alice, it really looks like you're ready to go back to work. Why don't you? You just go for it. I wasn't expecting anything, but I actually got in out of like, I don't know, 200, 300 applicants, they narrowed it down and they only had like about 10 spaces. Alice, good on you. It's like, wow. What I'm noticing, Alice, is that it's all about put one step in front of the other, don't give up.
1:15.6	I love your passion. Like literally I would love to be able to call you and say I've got a problem.
1:21.6	I just feel like you'd go to the moon and back to solve it. I would, honestly. I know I can feel it.
1:25.6	What's your duvet flip? What kiss you out of bed in the morning to flip the duvet?
1:29.3	Oh, it's known that I can actually...
1:31.3	Whatever a man can do, a woman can do. I'm an example. There is support and actually
1:38.3	we need to build those numbers up and just support each other. But yeah yeah women can get into tech hello how are we hi jack nice to meet you
1:57.0	nice to meet you too so what's your name um al. Alice, lovely to meet you. We've not met
2:02.8	before. We've never. And as you know, this is our new format. And I don't know nothing about you.
	...

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