A Positive Life: HIV from Terrence Higgins to Today has won Podcast of the Year and Best Factual Podcast at the British Podcast Awards. The award was presented to the production team by our co-founder Martyn Butler and our Chief Executive Richard Angell.
Hosted by Sam Smith and created in collaboration with Terrence Higgins Trust and Overcoat Media, the podcast brings Terry's story to life and invite listeners to learn more about the man behind the name.
A Positive Life's contributors span over 40 years of the HIV epidemic – Terry’s loved ones, haemophiliacs affected by the Contaminated Blood Scandal, women and childbearing parents living with HIV, and a generation of young people born with the virus. They've all lived through the epidemic while fear and stigma continue to have a devastating impact on their lives. But they're also the grassroots activists and marginalised communities that came together to raise awareness and fight these stigmas.
As we work towards ending new HIV cases by 2030, we can’t do this without ending the stigma around it. So, storytelling and sharing experiences is not just a brave and moving act, but a lifesaving one too.
Speaking at the British Podcast Awards, our co-founder Martyn Butler said: 'My friend Terrence Higgins’ story became famous for how it ended – in 1982 he was one of the first people in the UK to die of an AIDS-related illness. But this podcast tells the story of how he lived. Friends from his small town in South Wales recount his "dancer’s walk" and "flapping trousers", one even sharing that she was late to her own wedding as Terry, true to form, had accosted her for "a quick pre-ceremony drink".
'The production takes listeners to London, where I met him, and where he found a partner and community and spent nights shimmying in the likes of BANG and Heaven in between jobbing in the Palace of Westminster... and even writing an astrology book.'
Richard Angell, our Chief Executive, said: 'All of us at Terrence Higgins Trust are deeply honoured that A Positive Life has won Best Factual Podcast and Podcast of the Year at the British Podcast Awards. It’s incredible that A Positive Life has invited listeners around the world to learn more about the man behind the name and stories of HIV in the UK today.'
'I dedicate this prestigious award to Terry and the millions sadly lost to HIV since the start of the epidemic and those who strived for 40 years of progress. Their fight for more research, more compassion and more funding during the darkest days of the epidemic means that today, if you test positive for HIV, thanks to effective treatment you can’t pass on the virus and can expect to live a normal lifespan.
'The UK is in a time of hope as we work to end new cases of HIV by 2030 and we will do everything we can to achieve this – because we owe it to Terry and those who shoulders we stand on.
'Their fight for more research, more compassion and more funding during the darkest days of the epidemic means that today, if you test positive for HIV, thanks to effective treatment you can’t pass on the virus and can expect to live a normal lifespan.'
