Emily Atack - ‘I’ve forgiven people for unforgivable things’

How To Fail With Elizabeth Day

Sony Music

Society & Culture

4.7 • 9.6K Ratings

🗓️ 27 May 2026

⏱️ 65 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

*triggers: contains description of physical assault Emily Atack left school at 16, confident she wouldn’t need a GCSE for what she wanted to do: act. It turns out, she was correct. She starred as Charlotte Hinchcliffe in the smash-hit comedy The Inbetweeners when she was just 17 and is currently on our screens as Sarah Stratton in Disney+’s hit drama Rivals, as well as co-hosting a new ITV game show, Nobody’s Fool, with Danny Dyer. But it hasn’t always been easy: she faced sexual harassment and abuse from the age of 10. We talk about the impact this has had on how she now understands her own capabilities and about how her unbreakable bond with her sister, Martha, has helped her survive the toughest challenges. ✨ IN THIS EPISODE: 00:00 Introduction to Emily 03:19 Learning Boundaries 05:33 Class and Growing Up 07:39 Paul McCartney Connection 10:00 Failing to Believe In Herself 14:58 Leaving Home at Sixteen 25:10 Inbetweeners Fame Fallout 30:18 Praise for Rivals 31:23 Earning Creative Trust 32:51 Emotional Regulation Struggles 35:40 Forgiveness and Loneliness 37:20 Childhood Trauma and Sex 41:35 Alistair and Finding Home 46:52 Motherhood and Body Image 55:19 Keeping Nice Things and Goodbye 💬 QUOTES TO REMEMBER: So many people don’t take responsibility for their failures…. Which is why this podcast is so great. Forgiveness is something you have to find in yourself I hate being called fat - it hurts my feelings. 🔗 LINKS + MENTIONS: Emily hosts ‘Nobody’s Fool’, a brand new strategic quiz show with Danny Dyer, available to stream on ITVX, with the final three episodes airing on 30th, 31st May and the final on 1st June at 9pm on ITV1 and ITVX Join the How To Fail community: www.howtofail.supportingcast.fm/#content Elizabeth’s Substack: www.theelizabethday.substack.com 📚 WANT MORE? Katherine Parkinson - Fresh from her latest BAFTA win, Katherine Parkinson joined Elizabeth to discuss the self-doubt, trauma, humour and resilience that shaped her journey from awkward outsider to one of Britain’s most beloved actors: swap.fm/l/CplscDFzT9oyNGV1Oan0 Danny Dyer – the actor and national treasure on identity, anger, vulnerability and learning to break the patterns you were born into: swap.fm/l/L192dU5DZHQnCUjFWuX8 💌 LOVE THIS EPISODE? Subscribe on Spotify, Apple or wherever you get your podcasts Leave a 5⭐ review – it helps more people discover these stories 👋 Follow How To Fail & Elizabeth: Instagram: @elizabday TikTok: @howtofailpod Podcast Instagram: @howtofailpod Website: www.elizabethday.org Guest bookings for How To Fail only come from official @sonymusic.com emails Elizabeth and Emily answer listener questions in our subscriber series, Failing with Friends. Join our community of subscribers here: www.howtofail.supportingcast.fm/#content Have a failure you’re trying to work through for Elizabeth to discuss? Click here to get in touch: howtofailpod.com Production & Post Production Coordinator: Eric Ryan Engineer: Matias Torres Assistant Producer: Shania Manderson Senior Producer: Hannah Talbot Executive Producer: Alex Lawless How to Fail is an Elizabeth Day and Sony Music Entertainment Production. Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts To bring your brand to life in this podcast, email podcastadsales@sonymusic.com _________________________________________________________________________ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	I just needed to pay the rent, so it was kind of like, I have to get this job.
0:03.4	There's no, there's, you know, I can't fail at this.
0:07.3	But Rivals is just allowing me to go in and do my job and do it well.
0:14.1	I remember somebody saying to me when I was younger, nobody's coming to save you.
0:17.9	And I've never actually told anybody this.
0:20.1	This episode of How to Fail is brought to you by Dove Whole Body Deodorant. Welcome save you. And I've never actually told anybody this. This episode of How to
0:21.4	Fail is brought to you by Dove Whole Body Deodorant. Welcome to How to Fail, the podcast that
0:27.1	firmly believes failure is what makes us human. Before we get into this conversation, please do remember
0:33.4	to like, follow and subscribe so that you never miss a single episode.
0:47.2	This podcast is all about speaking the truth, honest, transparent storytelling and embracing our perceived failures to discover what we've learned from them. Every week, I'm lucky enough to
0:53.1	speak with some of the most impressive and
0:54.9	inspiring people from around the world. But while those conversations are always a joy,
1:00.9	they do sometimes take me out of my comfort zone. And when I'm feeling the pressure, there's
1:06.0	always the risk of getting a bit hot and bothered before my esteemed guest arrives, which is why I'm so
1:12.5	pleased to have Dove Whole Body helping me feel calm and confident. Dove Whole Body Deodorant
1:19.0	delivers all day odour protection and is designed to be used beyond underarms on areas such as
1:25.1	the chest, back, thighs and feet, helping you feel fresh from head to
1:29.3	toe. It even comes with added skincare, so it's suitable for my sensitive skin. To help reach those
1:36.0	trickier spots, Dove whole body deodorant comes in a spray, in a stick and in a cream format, with three fragrances to choose from, including
1:48.3	raspberry and rose, lavender and chamomile, and sea mist and peony, my personal favourite.
1:54.4	Go about your day with confidence, with dove whole body deodorant, available at major
1:59.3	retailers in store and online.
	...

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