ON FAMILY DYNAMICS… With Bella Freud and Danny Dyer

How To Fail With Elizabeth Day

Sony Music

Society & Culture

4.7 • 9.6K Ratings

🗓️ 16 February 2026

⏱️ 26 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Families are fascinating: how those first bonds shape our understanding of love, security and ourselves. In this episode, we revisit episodes with Bella Freud and Danny Dyer, who each open up about the simultaneous beauty and complexity of family life. Bella Freud, speaks about losing both of her parents to cancer within a week. As the great granddaughter of Sigmund Freud and the eldest sibling, she reflects on a complex childhood, the responsibilities she carried and how grief reshaped her sense of identity. Secondly, we hear from Danny Dyer, who shares what it was like growing up on a council estate with a single mother. He discusses the shock of discovering his father had another family and how the absence of love in his early years shaped the devoted parent he is today. Family dynamics can feel messy and taboo, but I hope this episode offers reassurance, validation and insight into the ties that form us first and stay with us for life. Listen to Bella Freud’s full episode of How to Fail here: swap.fm/l/mQntNELQPRhZ9CjFQO77 Listen to Danny Dyer's full episode of How to Fail here: swap.fm/l/L192dU5DZHQnCUjFWuX8 🔗 LINKS + MENTIONS: Family Support: www.family-action.org.uk Elizabeth’s Substack: theelizabethday.substack.com Join the How To Fail community: howtofail.supportingcast.fm/#content 💌 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: @howtofailpod @elizabday TikTok: @howtofailpod @elizabday Website: www.elizabethday.org Have a failure you’re trying to work through for Elizabeth to discuss? Click here to get in touch: howtofailpod.com 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 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	This episode is brought to you by Airbnb.
0:03.2	Now, I'm currently researching a sunny holiday in Sardinia, who can blame me, with some friends this summer,
0:09.6	perhaps in September when the sea will hopefully be at its warmest.
0:13.5	It's just a small group of my girlfriends, but we rarely get the opportunity to hang out together.
0:18.7	And the idea of a big kitchen where we can all
0:21.8	take turns to cook each night is just so dreamy and so much more appealing than sitting in our
0:27.4	separate hotel rooms and sitting down to a formal dinner each night. I personally love the
0:33.4	idea that no one's rushing around or checking the time. It also means we avoid set meal
0:38.4	times and have so much more autonomy over our day, which is ideal for this group of friends
0:44.0	who are all on different schedules in real life. You know what I'm talking about. We've got our eye
0:48.7	on a lovely little villa with a pool, which means no sharing with other people's kids. It's also
0:53.5	a guest favourite, which means
0:55.4	it's one of the most loved homes. I always feel reassured about my choice when it comes recommended.
1:01.7	There's just so much choice with Airbnb, and it makes planning the whole thing with friends
1:05.9	much more exciting. Did you know that M&S now stocks all the big beauty brands? I'm talking Estée Lauder,
1:13.6	Clinique, Benefit, Color Wow, the works. It's become my one-stop shop for, well, pretty much
1:20.9	everything. What I love is how seriously credible beauty at M&S has become. And it's so easy to shop, whether you're topping
1:29.1	up your makeup bag, adding your favourites to your food shop, or picking something up while you're
1:33.5	browsing for a new outfit. The convenience is unbeatable and there's something really satisfying
1:39.5	about getting it all in one place. So next time you're scrolling on M&S or visiting a store,
1:45.6	take a moment to explore the beauty section. There's a lot more waiting there than you might expect.
1:51.2	You can shop all your favourite beauty brands online in the M&S Sparks app or at your nearest store.
	...

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