Episode Guest:

Samreen Khan is a Store Leader at Virgin Media O2 with over seven years' experience in telecommunications, progressing from sales into leadership. She is passionate about developing people, coaching high-performing teams, and delivering exceptional customer experiences.

Episode Partner:

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

0:00 Introduction

2:42 Meet Samreen: From Student to Store Leader

3:22 Starting Work at 18 and Finding an Unexpected Career

4:32 Why Stepping Outside Your Comfort Zone Matters

5:59 Learning to Deal with Customers Every Day

7:15 Building Resilience While Living with Anxiety

8:28 Why Great Customer Service Is About How People Feel

9:50 Falling Into a Career in Telecoms

11:04 The Skills Every Young Person Needs at Work

12:15 The Family Story That Built Samreen's Drive

13:28 The Book That Changed Samreen's Perspective on Failure

14:47 Turning the Region's Worst Store into One of the Best

16:18 Leading a Team Through Consistency

18:17 Why Caring About People Makes You a Better Leader

20:10 Why Samreen Loves Working at Virgin Media O2

21:11 Helping Young Team Members Grow

22:11 Career Progression at Virgin Media O2

23:13 Samreen's Duvet Flip

24:25 Final Thoughts

Disclaimer:

The content provided on Duvet Flip is for informational and entertainment purposes only and should not be considered professional advice. The views expressed by hosts, guests, brands or contributors are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of the show's producers, sponsors, or affiliates. The information shared is not a substitute for professional advice, including but not limited to career counselling, financial guidance, legal consultation, or mental health support. Listeners and viewers are responsible for their own decisions and actions based on the content provided, and Duvet Flip assumes no liability for any outcomes resulting from reliance on the information shared. By engaging with the show, you acknowledge and agree to this disclaimer.

If you're struggling with debt, trusted advice and free support can be found here:

https://www.gov.uk/debt-advice

If you're struggling with mental health of any kind, you can find free support here: https://www.nhs.uk/mental-health/

About Guest

Sam Collier is the Chief Operating Officer at Achieve Together, one of the UK's leading social care providers. Having started his career as a support worker, Sam has spent more than 25 years championing high-quality care and creating opportunities for people to live their best lives.

About Achieve Together

Achieve Together supports people with learning disabilities, autism, mental health needs, and complex health conditions to live independently in their communities. With more than 6,500 employees across England and Wales, the organisation helps people lead ordinary lives in ordinary homes with the right support.

Chapters

0:00 Introduction

2:06 Sam's First Jobs and Early Lessons

3:09 Why Social Care Became Sam's Purpose

5:32 Sam's Advice for Anyone Considering Social Care

7:46 How to Be Your Authentic Self in Interviews

9:42 How Values Evolve Throughout Your Career

11:02 Why Social Care Is a Professional Industry

12:42 Young Sam Never Planned to Become a COO

15:07 Inside Achieve Together and Its Mission

17:07 What a Group COO Actually Does

18:26 How Sam Manages 6,500 Employees

19:34 The Skills Needed to Become a COO

21:45 What Sam Loves Most About Leadership

23:19 Opportunities Across Achieve Together

24:53 Apprenticeships and Career Progression

26:35 How AI Is Transforming Social Care

28:22 Sam's Invisible Success: Never Give Up

29:46 Sam's Duvet Flip

Episode Partners:

Compare the Market Discover how you can make a difference at Compare the Market, the company behind one of the UK's most popular comparison sites. From tech and data to marketing and operations, they're on a mission to simplify decisions for millions.

https://bit.ly/4i53Svj

Disclaimer:

The content provided on Duvet Flip is for informational and entertainment purposes only and should not be considered professional advice. The views expressed by hosts, guests, brands or contributors are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of the show's producers, sponsors, or affiliates. The information shared is not a substitute for professional advice, including but not limited to career counseling, financial guidance, legal consultation, or mental health support.

Listeners and viewers are responsible for their own decisions and actions based on the content provided, and Duvet Flip assumes no liability for any outcomes resulting from reliance on the information shared. By engaging with the show, you acknowledge and agree to this disclaimer.

If you're struggling with debt, trusted advice and free support can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/debt-advice

If you're struggling with mental health of any kind, you can find free support here: https://www.nhs.uk/mental-health/

Episode Guest

Josephine Parmee is Head of Social Equity at Virgin Media O2, where she leads initiatives focused on digital inclusion, online safety, and helping people thrive in an increasingly connected world. With a background spanning human rights, consumer rights, and social impact, she is passionate about using business as a force for positive societal change.

Episode Partner

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

0:00 Introduction

2:04 Meeting Josephine Parmee

3:18 How Josephine's Career Started

4:50 Advice for Speaking to Senior Leaders

5:58 14 Years in Human Rights and Social Impact

7:28 Adapting to New Organisations and Roles

9:02 The Skills Needed to Influence Change

11:43 What Does a Head of Social Equity Do?

13:07 Why Digital Inclusion Matters

13:44 The Reality of Digital Poverty in the UK

15:13 Tackling Digital Wellbeing and Online Safety

16:25 How Virgin Media O2 Supports Digital Wellbeing

19:31 Connecting People to What Matters Most

21:38 Why Josephine Chose Telecoms

22:20 The Side Project That Changed Her Career

23:55 Why You Should Create Opportunities Outside Work

25:31 Finding a Career in Digital Consumer Rights

26:29 What Virgin Media O2 Taught Josephine About Trust

27:30 Why Career Paths Are Never Linear

28:04 The Power of Following Your Passion

29:22 Josephine's Duvet Flip

30:40 Final Reflections on Digital Inclusion

Disclaimer:

The content provided on Duvet Flip is for informational and entertainment purposes only and should not be considered professional advice. The views expressed by hosts, guests, brands or contributors are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of the show's producers, sponsors, or affiliates. The information shared is not a substitute for professional advice, including but not limited to career counselling, financial guidance, legal consultation, or mental health support. Listeners and viewers are responsible for their own decisions and actions based on the content provided, and Duvet Flip assumes no liability for any outcomes resulting from reliance on the information shared. By engaging with the show, you acknowledge and agree to this disclaimer.

If you're struggling with debt, trusted advice and free support can be found here:

https://www.gov.uk/debt-advice

If you're struggling with mental health of any kind, you can find free support here: https://www.nhs.uk/mental-health/

Episode Guest

Rachel Riley is an English television presenter. She co-presents the Channel 4 daytime puzzle show Countdown and its comedy spin-off 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown. She is a mathematics graduate.

Episode Timestamps:

00:00 The #1 Predictor of Success

00:25 Meet Rachel Riley

02:11 Rachel's First Job Paid £25 a Week

04:14 Why Rachel Has Never Been Able to Waste Money

05:01 From Oxford Maths to the Financial Crisis

06:39 How Rachel Accidentally Got the Countdown Job

08:23 Rachel Ate One Shreddy Before Her Interview

09:54 The Call That Changed Rachel's Life

11:44 How Rachel Spots Good People

13:26 How Rachel Stayed Grounded on TV

15:07 Why Rachel Believes Everyone Has Imposter Syndrome

16:37 The CBT Lesson That Changed Rachel's Life

18:16 What 250 Stages Taught Rachel About Confidence

19:51 Why Rachel Thinks Learning to Fail Matters

21:05 Rachel's Obsession With Puzzles & Numbers

22:12 Why Rachel Wants More Girls in STEM

23:08 Why Rachel Believes Numeracy Changes Lives

25:59 Encouragement Comes Before Confidence

27:01 Rachel's Growth Mindset Formula

28:43 Rachel on AI, Technology & Future Careers

29:06 The Film Rachel Thinks Every Young Girl Should Watch

31:06 The Teacher Who Believed in Rachel

32:43 Why Rachel Supports National Numeracy

34:50 Rachel's Best Money Advice

37:03 Why Schools Don't Teach Real-Life Money Skills

38:49 Rachel's Invisible Success Habit

39:38 Rachel's Take on "Fake It Till You Make It"

41:16 What Gets Rachel Out of Bed Every Morning

42:15 Final Thoughts

Episode Partners

📊 Compare the Market

Discover how you can make a difference at Compare the Market, the company behind one of the UK’s most popular comparison sites. From tech and data to marketing and operations, they’re on a mission to simplify decisions for millions.

https://bit.ly/4i53Svj

Disclaimer:

The content provided on Duvet Flip is for informational and entertainment purposes only and should not be considered professional advice. The views expressed by hosts, guests, brands or contributors are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of the show's producers, sponsors, or affiliates. The information shared is not a substitute for professional advice, including but not limited to career counseling, financial guidance, legal consultation, or mental health support.

Listeners and viewers are responsible for their own decisions and actions based on the content provided, and Duvet Flip assumes no liability for any outcomes resulting from reliance on the information shared. By engaging with the show, you acknowledge and agree to this disclaimer.

If you’re struggling with debt, trusted advice and free support can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/debt-advice

If you’re struggling with mental health of any kind, you can find free support here: https://www.nhs.uk/mental-health/

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:

The content provided on Duvet Flip is for informational and entertainment purposes only and should not be considered professional advice. The views expressed by hosts, guests, brands or contributors are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of the show's producers, sponsors, or affiliates. The information shared is not a substitute for professional advice, including but not limited to career counselling, financial guidance, legal consultation, or mental health support. Listeners and viewers are responsible for their own decisions and actions based on the content provided, and Duvet Flip assumes no liability for any outcomes resulting from reliance on the information shared. By engaging with the show, you acknowledge and agree to this disclaimer.

If you're struggling with debt, trusted advice and free support can be found here:

https://www.gov.uk/debt-advice

If you're struggling with mental health of any kind, you can find free support here:

https://www.nhs.uk/mental-health/

About Charlotte

Charlotte Low is the COO at Colosseum Dental UK, overseeing 80 dental practices across England and Wales. She started work at 15, skipped university, qualified as an accountant, and spent years across multiple industries before finding her home in dentistry. She now sits on the executive board and has led a culture transformation that cut staff turnover from 55% down dramatically by putting people first.

About Colosseum Dental

Colosseum Dental is Europe's largest dental group with over 630 practices across the continent and 80 in the UK. They offer career pathways from dental nursing apprenticeships through to clinical and operational leadership, and are passionate about making dentistry accessible for people from all backgrounds.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction

02:30 Charlotte's first job at 15 and working across generations

08:00 Why she chose not to go to university

14:00 Her first office job and what it taught her about leadership

22:00 Finding her way into the dental industry

30:00 What the COO role actually involves day to day

38:00 How Colosseum Dental cut 55% staff turnover

46:00 Partnering with Great Place to Work

54:00 Apprenticeships and careers in dentistry

01:02:00 Advice for young people starting out

Episode Partners:

Compare the Market Discover how you can make a difference at Compare the Market, the company behind one of the UK's most popular comparison sites. From tech and data to marketing and operations, they're on a mission to simplify decisions for millions.

https://bit.ly/4i53Svj

Disclaimer:

The content provided on Duvet Flip is for informational and entertainment purposes only and should not be considered professional advice. The views expressed by hosts, guests, brands or contributors are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of the show's producers, sponsors, or affiliates. The information shared is not a substitute for professional advice, including but not limited to career counseling, financial guidance, legal consultation, or mental health support.

Listeners and viewers are responsible for their own decisions and actions based on the content provided, and Duvet Flip assumes no liability for any outcomes resulting from reliance on the information shared. By engaging with the show, you acknowledge and agree to this disclaimer.

If you're struggling with debt, trusted advice and free support can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/debt-advice

If you're struggling with mental health of any kind, you can find free support here: https://www.nhs.uk/mental-health/

Episode Guest:

Prashant Narula is Managing Director of Ciklum UK, where he helps organisations use technology and AI to build better products and experiences. He is passionate about leadership, resilience and helping people grow through honest, values-led careers.

Episode Chapters:

0:00 Introduction

0:19 Why success is about what you give, not what you get

1:00 The true traits of a great leader

1:55 Meeting Prashant Narula

2:14 Prashant’s first job on the factory floor

3:09 The importance of a great manager early in your career

4:31 How honesty landed Prashant his first role in tech

5:28 Why honesty, resilience and reliability matter most

7:21 Why resilience is more important than ever today

8:41 Build a multi-skilled support network

10:08 How to network by giving value first

11:24 From beginner to leadership roles in hypergrowth companies

12:30 Leading teams through tough times

13:04 The leadership principles that actually work

14:48 Enabling teams vs micromanaging

15:02 Can everyone become a leader?

16:21 Career advice that changed everything

17:02 Make your work visible to leadership

18:52 When careers feel messy and chaotic

19:42 Why chaos early in your career is a good thing

20:22 Lessons in resilience from Ukrainian teams

22:51 The importance of understanding different cultures

24:05 Why learning never stops

25:02 The power of 30 minutes of daily learning

27:30 Why you shouldn’t compare your career to others

27:39 Inside Ciklum and what they do

31:01 The risks and opportunities of AI

32:09 Why now is the best time to join Ciklum

33:29 The invisible habits behind success

34:22 Stop worrying about what others think

36:23 Final thoughts

36:47 Prashant’s duvet flip

Episode Partners:

📊 Compare the Market

Discover how you can make a difference at Compare the Market, the company behind one of the UK’s most popular comparison sites. From tech and data to marketing and operations, they’re on a mission to simplify decisions for millions.

https://bit.ly/4i53Svj

Disclaimer:

The content provided on Duvet Flip is for informational and entertainment purposes only and should not be considered professional advice. The views expressed by hosts, guests, brands or contributors are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of the show's producers, sponsors, or affiliates. The information shared is not a substitute for professional advice, including but not limited to career counseling, financial guidance, legal consultation, or mental health support.

Listeners and viewers are responsible for their own decisions and actions based on the content provided, and Duvet Flip assumes no liability for any outcomes resulting from reliance on the information shared. By engaging with the show, you acknowledge and agree to this disclaimer.

If you’re struggling with debt, trusted advice and free support can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/debt-advice

If you’re struggling with mental health of any kind, you can find free support here: https://www.nhs.uk/mental-health/

Episode Guest:

Alan Vallance is Chief Executive of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW), a role he took up in April 2024. He is an ICAEW Chartered Accountant and an experienced leader of major professional bodies, having previously led the Chartered Insurance Institute, the Royal Institute of British Architects and held senior roles at the Law Society.

Episode Chapters:

0:00 Introduction

0:23 Meet Alan Vallance, CEO of ICAEW

1:03 The Power of Networking in Your Career

1:18 Why Networking Is Non-Negotiable

1:22 What Gets Alan Out of Bed (His Duvet Flip)

1:56 First Jobs and Early Career Lessons

3:08 The Importance of Teamwork Early On

3:46 Passion, Cars and Career Direction

5:07 Rejection vs Redirection

6:28 Why Getting a Job Is a Full-Time Job

7:02 Why Personalised Applications Matter

8:00 How to Be Authentic in Interviews

9:25 Biggest Job Application Mistakes

10:36 The Reality of Today’s Job Market

11:41 60,000 Applicants for 2,000 Jobs

12:25 Why You Shouldn’t Apply for Too Many Jobs

13:12 Lessons from EY and Becoming an Accountant

14:46 Accountancy vs AI: Is It Future Proof?

16:24 How AI Is Changing the Profession

18:21 Why Accountancy Is Still a Great Career

20:10 Moving to Australia and Global Opportunities

22:49 Leadership, Crisis and the Weather Bureau

24:23 The Power of Your Network

26:29 How to Grow Your Career the Right Way

27:54 What ICAEW Does and Why It Matters

30:22 Building Careers and Changing Lives

32:18 Alan’s Duvet Flip

Episode Partners:

📊 Compare the Market

Discover how you can make a difference at Compare the Market, the company behind one of the UK’s most popular comparison sites. From tech and data to marketing and operations, they’re on a mission to simplify decisions for millions.

https://bit.ly/4i53Svj

Disclaimer:

The content provided on Duvet Flip is for informational and entertainment purposes only and should not be considered professional advice. The views expressed by hosts, guests, brands or contributors are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of the show's producers, sponsors, or affiliates. The information shared is not a substitute for professional advice, including but not limited to career counseling, financial guidance, legal consultation, or mental health support.

Listeners and viewers are responsible for their own decisions and actions based on the content provided, and Duvet Flip assumes no liability for any outcomes resulting from reliance on the information shared. By engaging with the show, you acknowledge and agree to this disclaimer.

If you’re struggling with debt, trusted advice and free support can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/debt-advice

If you’re struggling with mental health of any kind, you can find free support here: https://www.nhs.uk/mental-health/