Last month we had Local Radio Day – a day to celebrate the power and connection of radio in the community.

I work for Edge Disability, a consultancy based in St Johns village. Its work supports young people with education employment and community engagement.

One way we engage with the community is through the power of radio.

We partnered with Surrey Hills Community Radio in Leatherhead and Radio Woking, based at Winston Churchill School, to air our monthly radio show “Life on the Edge” on both stations.

We made history a couple of weeks ago during the half term break by giving youngsters Jacob and Veeral the chance to present the first-ever live edition of this show.

Normally these shows are pre-recorded, giving us a chance to edit, but this time that safety net had been removed.

We had loads of paper scripts on hand for them to introduce the various things we had on the show, which included a live interview with Natasha from Woking Theatre.

The hour flew by and I was so proud of both Jacob and Veeral and how they handled the pressures of live radio.

We had some heartwarming messages during the show as members of Jacob’s family were listening around the world.

Inclusive radio has been a long term passion of mine ever since I was involved in hospital radio where I was asked to work with an autistic young man called Mark.

This was the first time I had met somebody with a learning disability or autism. Mark and I worked together to overcome the barriers he faced so he could become a broadcaster.

This experience led me to assess my own career path.

I changed direction from retail to become a support worker for learning disability charity Mencap, which was incredibly rewarding. I did this for eight years, often involving radio projects.

In lockdown I worked with people I was supporting to create the Supported Living Radio Show which aired on Radio Woking. The shows were recorded in their homes and gave families a chance to connect with loved ones.

One man I worked with (also called Mark) took the concept and developed it into a show called “It's that Friday Feeling”.

It is independently produced and presented by a team of people with learning disabilities who now travel from Woking to Leatherhead every week to present the programme on Surrey Hills Community Radio.

I then spent five years working for an Epsom charity producing inclusive radio which led to a take over of the BBC Radio Surrey Breakfast show last year.

I have worked with Edge since September 2025. You can listen back to Life on the Edge shows at www.mixcloud.com/lifeontheedgerdio

Listen to my radio shows on Radio Woking from 9am to midday on Sunday and from 7pm to 9pm on Wednesday.

You can hear Emma and I on Surrey Hills Community Radio every second Monday at 9pm, and Life on the Edge with Edge Disability Consultancy airs every first Monday at 10am