This episode includes discussion of sensitive topics, including addiction, that some listeners may find distressing. Please take care while listening, and feel free to pause or step away if you need to.

DJ Fat Tony has spent a lifetime turning chaos into charisma. Long before he became one of the most recognisable figures in British nightlife, he was a kid from Battersea learning, far too young, how to protect himself, how to perform, and how to survive. His childhood wasn’t without love or colour - he speaks warmly about his glamorous, indulgent mother, his complex but protective father, and the freedom and style that shaped him - but it was also marked by abuse, secrecy and the sense that he had to grow up far too quickly.

In this episode of Full Disclosure, James O’Brien sits down with DJ Fat Tony to trace the path from those early years to the centre of London’s club culture. Tony reflects on sneaking into nightlife as a teenager, finding his people on the King’s Road, and building a reputation not through technical brilliance but through instinct, energy and an unerring ear for what moved people.

He speaks candidly about trauma, addiction, identity and the masks he wore to stay in control, as well as the extraordinary highs of a life lived at full volume - from the golden age of clubbing to the friendships, fame and excess that came with it. Tony opens up about recovery, honesty and the hard work of building a life that no longer depends on performance or escape.

It’s a funny, moving and often startling conversation about survival, reinvention and what it means to finally feel at home in yourself.

Find out more about Recover Me by DJ Fat Tony here

Additional support:

If you've been affected by anything you've heard in this episode, please take a moment to read the resources listed: We Are With You, Change Grow Live, Turning Point

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Nina Conti has built a career out of saying the unsayable, turning ventriloquism, improvisation and audience interaction into something far stranger, deeper and more daring than anyone expected. From early struggles with shyness and self-doubt to creating a completely original form of performance, Nina’s work has always lived somewhere between chaos and control, invention and instinct.

In this episode of Full Disclosure, James O’Brien sits down with Nina to explore the unusual path that led her from an acting dynasty and an uneasy start in the profession to becoming one of the most distinctive live performers in Britain.

Nina reflects on growing up in the shadow of famous parents, her complicated relationship with acting, and the influence of the late Ken Campbell, whose mentorship helped unlock the ventriloquism that would ultimately become her artistic home. She explains how improvisation, risk and an appetite for the unexpected shaped her work, and why putting words into other people’s mouths became the key to finding her own voice.

They also discuss performance, shyness, subversion, film-making and the strange alchemy of making something feel alive in the moment. Along the way, Nina reveals how a career that could easily have taken a more conventional route was instead built on accidents, instincts and a willingness to follow the more interesting door.

Find out more about Nina Conti’s live shows here

Full Disclosure is a Global Production

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Russell T Davies has spent a career changing what British television can be, moving from children’s drama to fearless queer storytelling and one of the nation’s most enduring cultural institutions, Doctor Who. Whether reinventing Saturday night television, capturing the emotional truth of the AIDS crisis in It’s a Sin, or turning the anxieties of modern Britain into gripping drama in Years and Years and his new series Tip Toe, his work has consistently shaped the conversation as well as entertained millions.

In this episode of Full Disclosure, James O’Brien sits down with Russell to explore the childhood in Swansea that first formed him: a home full of books, teachers and respect for television, a huge comprehensive school where he learned to keep his head down, and the youth theatre that gave him both his tribe and his future.

Russell reflects on the early obsession with Doctor Who, the long road into writing, and the Manchester years that changed everything, professionally and personally. He talks about finding his voice through queer characters, the shock of Queer as Folk becoming a cultural flashpoint, and why television has always felt like the natural home for the stories he wants to tell.

They also discuss politics, backlash, imagination, gay identity and the darker mood shaping modern Britain. Along the way, Russell explains why storytelling is a form of witness, why no childhood is too happy to produce serious art, and how the obsessions of youth can become the work of a lifetime.

Watch Tip Toe on Channel 4 from May 31st here

Full Disclosure is a Global Production

Listen or watch every Friday on Global Player, YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts.

EXCLUSIVE NordVPN Deal -> https://nordvpn.com/fulldisclosure Try it risk-free now with a 30-day money-back guarantee