World Bipolar Day 2026

Professor Jeremy Hall

Professor of Psychiatry

I am Jeremy Hall, Hodge Professor of Psychiatry at Cardiff University. I trained in both fundamental neuroscience and clinical research. My main research interest is in combining genomics and neuroscience to bring more precision medicine approaches to psychiatry. Bipolar UK has been superb partners in this mission to understand both the scientific opportunities and the imperative to do better for those affected by mental ill health.

Denis Duagi

Research Manager

In September 2025, Dr Denis Duagi joined Bipolar UK as a postdoctoral Research Manager.
A mental health researcher specialising in lived experience–led approaches to policy and service development, Denis completed a PhD in Public Mental Health at King’s College London, where she designed and led a mixed-methods evaluation of school-based mental health interventions, focusing on long-term impact and policy translation.
Alongside her academic expertise, Denis brings lived experience of bipolar, which has shaped her commitment to inclusive and impactful research.

Dr Sameer Jauhar

Consultant Psychiatrist

Dr Sameer Jauhar is a consultant psychiatrist and clinical academic at South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust and Senior Clinical Lecturer in Mood Disorders and Psychosis at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King’s College London known nationally and internationally for his research into mood disorders and psychosis. Sameer mainly looks after the care of young people with first episode psychosis (including bipolar disorder). His current research interests are the neurobiology and treatments for bipolar.

Em Holdaway

Mental Health Advocate

Em is a self-termed (and very irreverent) 'madwoman' with complex mental health issues spanning several decades, who spends her free time discussing life with - and after - both chronic and acute psychiatric crises. With most major symptomatic aspects of her mental health in remission, Em is passionate about shining a light on the aspects of mental health disorders that are neither catastrophised nor glamourised; in particular, bridging the dissonance between the clinical comprehension of psychiatric disorders as diagnosed by professionals, and the complicated 'lived experience' lens that can muddy diagnosis - and, more importantly, treatment.

Emily Vicary

Mental Health Researcher

Emily Vicary is a mental health researcher and lived experience contributor. Diagnosed in 2020 with bipolar disorder with psychotic features, she draws on lived experience to inform mental health research and engagement. Emily serves on the Lived Experience Advisory Panel for the Brain and Genomics Hub within the UKRI Mental Health Platform, contributing to work at the intersection of psychiatric genomics, ethics, and service user perspectives. She is also completing a PhD in mental health at the University of Manchester.

Leah Charles-King

TV Presenter, Producer, Speaker and Mental Health Campaigner

Leah Charles-King is a TV presenter, producer and mental health campaigner with over 40 years’ experience in the entertainment industry. She currently presents Channel 4’s 'A Place in the Sun' and is the creator of Legacy Through the Lens - a YouTube platform celebrating legacy, mental wellness and creative storytelling.

A proud Bipolar UK ambassador, Leah uses her lived experience to raise awareness, support suicide prevention and challenge stigma - particularly within Black communities - and inspires others to thrive in spite of a bipolar diagnosis.

Melanie Blumenthal

Entrepreneur

Melanie Ceysson Blumenthal is an entrepreneur with a profound knowledge of marketing and communications, and a proud ambassador for Bipolar UK. Living with someone who has bipolar disorder has given her a deep insight into the challenges faced by both individuals and their loved ones, and the level of support they need.

She and her husband, Heston Blumenthal, are committed to bringing debate about bipolar into the mainstream. Together they worked on the BBC documentary Heston: My Life with Bipolar.

Melanie is passionate about raising awareness of bipolar disorder, speaking openly about the importance of understanding mental health, and challenging the stigma that often surrounds it. Through her advocacy, she hopes to foster greater support and understanding for those affected by bipolar.

Mia Hodgkinson

Head of Consumer PR

Mia received her bipolar diagnosis 13 years ago and has spent the last four years campaigning for people living with the condition to get the support they need to live in a more fulfilling way.

As an award-winning PR professional Mia uses her position and platform to ensure bipolar is being talked about in the right way. She speaks unashamedly about her condition – the good, the bad and the ugly in a bid to break down harmful stereotypes and encourage more understanding so that those who think they might have bipolar feel empowered to seek out a diagnosis.

Molly

Bipolar UK Services Manager

Molly joined the Bipolar UK team as a Peer Support Line volunteer in 2018, progressing to a full-time employee soon after the end of the volunteering period and transitioning into a senior role in 2021. Molly has an academic background in psychology, with experience in both statutory and third-sector mental health care.

Nicky Chinn

Award-winning Songwriter

A songwriter of more than 50 hits, Nicky co-wrote several international number one singles with Mike Chapman in the 70s and 80s. The hits include 'Living Next Door to Alice', 'Tiger Feet', 'Lonely This Christmas', 'Ballroom Blitz' and the worldwide hit 'Mickey'.

Chinn and Chapman were the recipients of three Ivor Novello Awards for songwriting, including the Jimmy Kennedy award for outstanding career achievement in 1997.

More recently, Nicky was a co-writer on ‘APT’ by Rosé and Bruno Mars which was number 1 on the Billboard Global Chart for a record-breaking 19 weeks.

Nicky was diagnosed with bipolar at the age of 16.

Professor Cynthia Fu

Professor of Affective Neuroscience and Psychotherapy

Cynthia is Professor of Affective Neuroscience and Psychotherapy at King’s College London and University of East London. Her research involves developing accessible treatments for bipolar depression, including home-based neuromodulation treatments. Cynthia and her team have been working closely with Bipolar UK to ensure their research is grounded in lived experience.

Professor Tania Gergel

Director of Research

In February 2023, Professor Tania Gergel joined Bipolar UK as our first ever Director of Research. Her work focuses on putting the lived experience of mental illness at the centre of mental health research and policy.
Alongside a team at King’s College London and colleagues at the Department of Health and Social Care, Tania’s research has been used to help deliver Advance Choice Documents as a central element of the new Mental Health Bill.
Tania provides an influential advisory role with the aim of getting more coproduction and engagement into research projects, and she has an ongoing focus on understanding suicide and diagnosis in bipolar.
Professor Tania Gergel holds professorships at Cardiff University and University College London.

Robyn Holdaway

Actor

Robyn is a non-binary actor best known for their work as Layla in Netflix's 'Sex Education'. Their credits also include: AMC's 'Moonhaven', BBC's 'Strike: Lethal White', and various other stage and screen roles. Their audiobook work includes the award winning 'Our Wives Under the Sea', as well as critically acclaimed 'Sistersong', 'How To Understand Your Gender', and 'Skin'. They are an active member of the LGBTQ community, and they are passionate about bringing this diversity into the mainstream both as an artist and as an activist. On social media they create content, along with their wife Em, about queerness and mental health.

Simon Kitchen

CEO

Simon has been CEO of Bipolar UK since April 2018. His previous roles include leading one of the largest co-production initiatives in adult social care at Leonard Cheshire Disability and running the social action movement at the Dementia Action Alliance. He has also held a number of policy and research roles in Whitehall and in the regions. He is passionate about peer support and giving people with bipolar greater choice and control over their lives. He has a family connection to bipolar.

Tatton Spiller

Simple Politics Founder

Tatton Spiller founded Simple Politics (SP) in 2015. Before that, he worked as an English teacher, spent time in Parliament educating young people about how it all works, and briefly ventured into lifestyle journalism. Since launching, SP has gained an audience of more than 1.4 million across social media platforms, and the podcast has won multiple awards. Tatton has published two books and can occasionally be heard on the radio.