188: The Good Listening To Show with Chris Grimes - Episode 188188: The Good Listening To Show with Chris Grimes - Episode 188
UK Health Radio Podcast
Chris Grimes swaps the host’s chair for the guest seat as Neil Bett guides him through his own storytelling format, touching on childhood in Uganda, family loss, and a multifaceted creative career. The conversation centres on Chris’s idea of a personal “clearing” where story, humour and family sit at the heart of his life.
37:01•3 Oct 2026
Chris Grimes in the Clearing: Story, Loss and a Life of Laughter
Episode Overview
- Childhood years in Uganda created a deep sense of family unity and adventure that still influences Chris’s outlook.
- The death of his sister Hazel at 22 reshaped the entire family, leaving lasting effects on joy, resilience and life choices.
- Drama teacher training and actor training opened a varied path as actor, teacher, facilitator, coach and motivational comedian.
- Chris uses the idea of a “clearing” – a warm, circular space – as the centre of his work in storytelling, kindness and connection.
- Family, including his children and their creative journeys, remains the central motivation and emotional anchor in his life.
“My whole reason for being is the family.”
Curious about how others navigate their sobriety journey and wider life stories? This instalment of The Good Listening To Show flips the usual format, as regular host Chris Grimes becomes the guest and hands the “golden baton” to actor and long-time friend Neil Bett. The chat centres on Chris’s signature storytelling space – his metaphorical and literal “clearing” – and how that idea shapes his work, relationships and sense of purpose.
You'll hear Chris talk about growing up in Uganda from the age of two-and-a-half to ten, describing it as a halcyon time that deeply influenced his outlook. He contrasts those golden years with the shattering loss of his sister Hazel in a car accident, saying the family was “desiccated slightly” and that his life “would have just been different” had she lived. That mix of light and shadow runs through the conversation, giving real weight to his humour.
Neil guides Chris through his own 5-4-3-2-1 storytelling exercise, teasing out the experiences that shaped him: drama teacher training at the Central School, actor training at Bristol Old Vic, years of comedy improvisation, and a polymath career as personal impact coach, facilitator, “motivational comedian” and entrepreneur. Chris jokes that LinkedIn keeps congratulating him “for being Chris Grimes still”, reflecting on four decades as “global head of myself”. Family sits at the centre of his clearing.
Chris describes his wife and children as “the energetic hub of everything I do” and shares tender details of supporting his daughter Lily’s singing confidence with an image of standing in “the biggest orb of golden sunlight” on stage. He also talks about finding peace on his bike at Ashton Court in Bristol and in an imagined circus ring bathed in straw lighting – spaces where stories, connection and kindness can flourish.
If you’re drawn to honest, funny, emotionally grounded conversations about meaning, loss, creativity and how to keep showing up for the people you love, this episode might be just what you need today. How might your own clearing look if you gave yourself permission to step into it?
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