World First Podcast-on-Prescription at Parliament: 'Simon Says, Let's Talk' with Dr Simon Opher MP, Tom Findlay, Tom Walker, and Dr Zubir Ahmed MP
Craic is a proud partner of: Simon Says, Let’s Talk is a groundbreaking men’s mental health podcast series where audiences are prescribed a ticket to attend
PRESS RELEASE
WORLD FIRST: FIRST PRESCRIBED LIVE PODCAST RECORDING TO TAKE PLACE AT UK PARLIAMENT
Simon Says, Let’s Talk brings leading men together for an honest conversation on men’s mental health, connection and prevention
A world first in creative health will take place at UK Parliament on Wednesday 22 April 2026, as Simon Says, Let’s Talk: In Conversation With becomes the first prescribed live podcast recording to be held in Parliament. Hosted by Dr Simon Opher MP MBE, the special one-off event brings together Tom Findlay (Groove Armada), Tom Walker (Jonathan Pie), and Dr Zubir Ahmed MP (Minister for Health Innovation and Safety) for an honest conversation about men’s mental health, sharing personal stories, hard-won insight and practical tools for navigating pressure, managing their mental fitness and supporting other men.
Created for men and those who support them, the event is designed to help men speak earlier, feel less alone and engage with support in ways that feel more human and accessible. Blending humour, music, personal storytelling and audience Q&A, the podcast opens up conversation around pressure, identity, vulnerability and mental fitness.
Financial stress is a leading driver of loneliness, exclusion, and isolation: people need connection, not just treatment. A proportion of tickets are being offered through NHS social prescribing referrals (GPs and link workers)—event sponsor Mental Health Matters is supporting access for veterans and other men who might otherwise be unable to attend. The event will be introduced by Lu Jackson, Tech Founder of Craic Health: Comedy-on-Prescription, who has secured a variety of free tickets to London comedy clubs and brands, so that prescribed attendees have community comedy to look forward to afterwards.
Evidence shows social prescribing can save the NHS up to £8.56 for every £1 invested, through reductions in GP appointments, hospital admissions and A&E visits — highlighting the potential of creative health to help reduce the £300 billion annual cost of mental ill-health to English society. The series is co-executive produced by Dr Simon Opher MP, Brimscombe Mill and Craic Health, and supports the Government’s Men's Health Strategy and 10-Year Health Plan to move the NHS from 'Sickness to Prevention' and from 'Hospital to Community'. By linking men to conversation, creativity and connection, the podcast event and series highlights the role community-based support can play in prevention, mental fitness and wellbeing.
QUOTES
Dr Simon Opher MP MBE, Chair of the Creative Health APPG, said
"As a GP of over 30 years, I've seen firsthand the damaging impact of rising inequality on our health, both physical and mental. Poor mental health in England now costs society around £300 billion a year, the equivalent cost of a pandemic annually. Men die by suicide at three times the rate of women, yet they are far less likely to seek help. My hope with Simon Says, Let's Talk is to help men realise they're not alone. Through arts, culture and sport, we can support men’s mental health as well as overall wellbeing — and remind people that connection itself is medicine. When leading men speak honestly about their own struggles and how they manage their mental fitness, it gives other men permission to do the same. Connection itself is medicine."
Dr Zubir Ahmed MP (Minister for Health Innovation and Safety), said
"Men's mental health is a national priority. If we are going from sickness to prevention, we must deliver approaches that reach people earlier and more effectively. Health innovation is not just about what happens in clinics or hospitals. It is also about how we can support community partnerships and platforms to help people stay well and access support in ways that feel relevant to their lives."
Tom Findlay — DJ, Musician, Producer (Groove Armada) and CBT Psychotherapist (Student Counsellor at King’s College London), said
“I’ve spent 25 years working as a touring DJ, musician and producer. It’s been a largely joyful experience but along the way I’ve witnessed others' and experienced my own struggles with mental health. 10 years ago, in response to these challenges, I trained as a psychotherapist in CBT. I’m looking forward to sharing some of the knowledge, techniques and ways of thinking that have helped me—and those I have worked with—to better manage mental health.”
Critically-acclaimed Comedian, Actor and Writer Tom Walker (Jonathan Pie), said
“I genuinely believe men are getting better at talking. When I was growing up, the idea of going to therapy was almost comically un-British. Now I know plenty of men who do it, and that feels like real progress — you get to say ‘the thing’ out loud to someone, and sometimes that's everything. Comedy helps because it gives people permission to feel things they can't quite name. There's a catharsis to it — you watch someone articulate exactly how angry, lost or bewildered you feel, and something in you releases. And doing that together, in a room, is completely different to watching it alone on a device. That communal laughter is medicine in a way that's hard to explain, but impossible to argue with."
Louisa Jackson, Series Co-Producer, Founder of Craic and Craic Health, Founder and Chair CRAFT, said
"We've never been more digitally connected, yet lonelier and more isolated — and if you're male, the data tells a stark story: men account for 75% of suicides, are twice as likely to die from drug or alcohol-related causes, and their sexual intimacy has radically declined to a point where, for the first time in history, 63% under 30 are single, 35% aged 20-34 live with parents, and rising porn-linked dysfunction is driving lower satisfaction with real human connection. This disconnection doesn't stay private. It ripples outward into unemployment, financial hardship, and at the extreme end, violence and incarceration, where 96% of the UK prison population is male.
We don’t need to be defeated by the current narrative. When men do well, everyone does better and that is exactly what Simon Says, Let's Talk is all about. Our creative health podcast series provides an accessible platform for well-known men to be vulnerable, share real stories and practical tools to help men reflect, reframe, and build better mental fitness. Craic Health is pioneering Comedy-on-Prescription® as a creative healthcare solution so the comedy artform is safely and widely accessible. With Dr Simon Opher and NHS support, we're building evidence-based pathways to make comedy a measurable health intervention — our podcast series champions comedy talent—is an extension of this work—and the live audience feedback has been heartening."
Jess Herbert, Series Co-Producer, Brimscombe Mill, said
“At Brimscombe Mill, we’ve learned how to bring people together to tackle the challenges that affect us all, from food insecurity to loneliness and isolation. Simon Says, Let’s Talk is an exciting opportunity to build on that experience, working with Dr Simon Opher, Craic Health and the NHS to explore men’s mental health in a more creative, human way. Our series shows how collaboration can turn conversation into healthcare.”
Hannah Gorf, Senior Programme Manager for Healthy Communities and Individuals at NHS Gloucestershire, said
“Social prescribing is about connecting people to what matters to them and recognising that creativity, laughter and community are powerful medicines in their own right. We’re proud to support this collaboration between Dr Opher, Brimscombe Mill, and Craic Health, which brings the principles of creative health directly into local spaces where people can feel seen, supported and inspired. Anyone curious about social prescribing can speak to their GP practice and ask to be referred to their local Link Worker, who can help them find activities and connections that improve wellbeing.”
Jane Hughes, Chief Executive Officer at Mental Health Matters, said
"Mental Health Matters is proud to sponsor this landmark event. We know from our decades of expertise in mental health service delivery about the importance of reaching men before they reach a crisis point. Our NHS Talking Therapies services have led the way on engagement with sports clubs and gyms to meet men where they are. As our contribution to the Men’s Health Strategy stated, meeting men where they are means mental health services going out into our communities and encouraging open conversations, including in the workplace. Simon Says, Let's Talk helps start those conversations and we're honoured to be a part of it."
WHY DOES MEN’S HEALTH MATTER: RELATED STATS
| Issue | Stat (concise) | Region | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|
| Suicide |
75% of suicides in the UK are male (≈3× the rate of women). Northern Ireland: 28.5% most deprived vs 13.1% least deprived. Scotland: 2.4× higher in most deprived areas. Young people (13–24, 2024): Trans men 72% considered; 30% attempted. Trans women 68% considered; 23% attempted. |
UK | NSPA • NISRA • NRS • Trevor Project |
| Drug-related deaths | 2023: 3,645 male vs 1,803 female — over double in men. | England & Wales | ONS bulletin |
| Alcohol-specific deaths | 2023: 10,473 deaths — 21.9/million men vs 10.3/million women. | England & Wales | ONS bulletin |
| Living alone | Increase in men living alone: +415k vs women +204k (2023). | UK | ONS 2023 |
| Living with parents | 20–34 year-olds: 33% men vs 22% women (2023). | UK | ONS 2023 |
| Single / intimacy |
63% of men under 30 single vs 34% of women (US). 30% of men 18–24 reported no sex in past year (up from 19%). Rising porn-linked ED & delayed ejaculation under 40. |
US | Pew Research • Lei & South (2021) • Dwulit & Rzymski (2019) |
| Higher education | By age 19: 54% women vs 40% men in higher education. | UK | House of Commons Library (2024) |
| NEET (16–24) | 946k total — 58% male vs 42% female (men ~35% higher risk) (2024). | UK | ONS (2024) |
| Prison population | 96% men, 4% women in prison (2025). | UK | MoJ Data |
| Domestic violence | ~75% victims are women; ~90% perpetrators are men. | England & Wales | ONS (2024) |
| Mental health crisis | By 2030, depression projected to be leading global cause of illness. | Global | WHO (EB130/9) |
| Cost to society | Mental ill health costs England ~£300bn per year. | England | Centre for Mental Health (2024) |
| Antidepressant use |
~10.7m adults (~1/5). England: 8.9m; Scotland: 1m; NI: 391k; Wales: 520k (2024/25). |
UK | NHSBSA • BSO (NI) • Gov Scot • Gov Wales |
| Prevention (social prescribing) | £2.14–£8.56 return per £1 invested (reduced GP, A&E, hospital visits). | England | NASP/NHS review |
Media note: If covering suicide-related issues, please consider Samaritans’ media guidelines on reporting.
PROJECT PARTNERS
ABOUT SIMON SAYS, LET'S TALK
Simon Says, Let's Talk is a creative-health podcast series breaking the silence around men's mental health. Hosted by Dr Simon Opher MBE (GP of 30+ years and MP for Stroud), each episode invites leading voices from comedy, music, arts, and sport to share real stories and practical tools for better mental fitness — by men, for men, with men, and those who support them. Through the NHS social prescribing network, GPs and link workers can prescribe tickets directly to patients. The series is co-produced free of charge by Craic Health and Brimscombe Mill and is not-for-profit.
The series launches online from 22 April 2026 and will be available across streaming platforms and partner websites. Previous recorded episodes feature Tom Walker (Jonathan Pie), Robbie Savage, Dale Vince (Forest Green Rovers), and Dr Phil Hammond.
ABOUT DR SIMON OPHER MP, MBE
Dr Simon Opher has been a GP in Dursley for over 30 years. He was awarded an MBE for being a pioneer of social prescribing. Renowned for revolutionising healthcare through the integration of artists and creative arts into patient care—an approach now embedded in national NHS policy—his ARTlift programme in Gloucestershire provided arts-based interventions that significantly improved mental health, social connection, and long-term condition management. His work has spurred widespread adoption of creativity in healthcare, shaping the future of social prescribing and demonstrating that the arts are a powerful tool for recovery, resilience, and wellbeing.
ABOUT CRAIC HEALTH
Craic is the operating system for the comedy industry — including Craic Health, the Comedy-on-Prescription® hub. We connect and support the comedy industry, healthcare teams, and communities to use comedy as both a health intervention and a conduit for social connection. Through Craic technologies, we are working towards digitally equipping comedy providers, so GPs and Link Workers can safely refer patients to verified, laughter-led programmes and events. Craic is already working with NHS partners to build this pathway, with full integration in progress. Our mission: to make comedy human, data-informed, fun and accessible within social prescribing.
ABOUT BRIMSCOMBE MILL
Brimscombe Mill is a social enterprise hub recognised as an innovative business for doing things differently, with experience working alongside supporters such as The NHS to tackle challenges like mental health, obesity and isolation. Brimscombe Mill was invited to host Simon Says, Let’s Talk because it exemplifies how community and creativity can work hand in hand to improve wellbeing on the ground.
When the Mill faced eviction from its home in 2024, it was the community that stepped in with support that was covered nationally, influential allies and a surprise pledge from Daniel Craig that helped to secure its future. Following this support a local philanthropist bought the buildings for the community, ensuring the work could continue. Brimscombe Mill is built on mutual care where the community looks after The Mill as The Mill looks after the community. We are building a local “doughnut economy” where people and planet can flourish one creative idea at a time.
Brimscombe Mill is a social enterprise hub in Gloucestershire employing local people, connecting thousands through shared meals, reuse projects, creativity and community events. Our businesses here, The Long Table, Kids Stuff, The Home Remedy and The Bike Drop are working to build a fairer, more connected local economy.
ABOUT MENTAL HEALTH MATTERS
Mental Health Matters is a nationwide charity who operate mental health services from Devon to Northumberland, ranging from NHS Talking Therapies to early intervention crisis provisions. The charity has several decades of experience of providing quality mental health care to diverse and varied communities.
Their vision is that everyone can access life changing mental health support free from stigma, including men. They have been a substantive contributor to mental health policy design in recent years utilising their expertise in delivering services to help shape the future of mental health support.
SUPPORTERS & SPONSORS
Supported by: Craic Health • Brimscombe Mill • NHS Gloucestershire
Parliament Event Sponsor: Mental Health Matters (mhm.org.uk)
Previous episode sponsors: (Ep.1,3,5) The Laura Kinsella Foundation • (Ep.2) Ecotricity / Forest Green Rovers
