Ep 4: Lydia West

On this episode, Josh talks to It's A Sin star Lydia West AKA the Pink Palace ally, Jill. Lydia talks candily about the mental health impacts of playing Jill in the powerful new Channel 4 and HBO Max drama which follows a group of queer youngsters dealing with the impact of the HIV and AIDs epidemic in 1980s London. Lydia opens up to Josh about the most heartbreaking scenes to film (including one where she had to call her Mum mid take), the backlash against the show's sex scenes and how discrimination has affected her own life. Standing up for others and using your platform - however small or big - is key to making it reign and Lydia's chat is a powerful example of how allyship and true friendship can help others whilst reducing shame and stigma. As Lydia and Jill both show kindness is the greatest currency of all. You can follow Josh on social media across @joshsmithhosts and don't forget to subscribe, follow, rate and comment if you loved the episode as we love to hear from you, queens. Josh will be back to Make it Reign with another Queen next time! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Om Podcasten

Hi babes! I’m Josh Smith and welcome to Reign! I am a journalist and presenter, and in each episode of my podcast, you’ll hear me sit down with some favourite familiar faces to talk about the ways they have learnt to reign over their own lives.    I’m so lucky to have chatted to stars from the big and small screens, from sport to music and beyond, and in every conversation there’s one thing that is apparent: we will ALL have to deal with challenges at some point in our lives. The conversations we have on Reign show that we're all more similar than we are different, and what I love most is finding out how different people get through tough times, go on to turn negatives into positives, and share the lessons that we can all learn from! I also love a good giggle, and this podcast is full of them!    So thanks so much for being here, I am so happy to have you, and I hope you’re ready to feel uplifted, inspired, and you’re ready to make it Reign!    Love, Josh xx