Jonny first came to the public’s attention in 2014 when he launched a campaign to find the stranger, who six years previously had talked him down from the edge of Waterloo Bridge, as he was about to take his own life. The campaign to find the good samartian soon went viral and a few weeks later Jonny was reunited with the man who saved his life, Neil Laybourn. A documentary which followed Jonny’s search and reunion with Neil was aired on Channel Four the following year.  

Jonny is now a mental health campaigner, public speaker, documentary maker and vlogger. He was awarded an MBE in the Queen’s New Year’s Honours List in 2017 and has set up his own charity Beyond Shame, Beyond Stigma. He is also an author and his incredible first book The Stranger on the Bridge was released last year and included a foreword from none other than the Duke of Cambridge himself Prince William (link below).

When I met up with Jonny we chatted about;

• what it felt like growing up gay and Jewish,
• how he feels about the on-going opposition to LGBTQ education in primary schools
• the shame he felt over his sexuality and how this struggle really impacted on his mental health  
• how he came out to his parents and family
• the worrying mental health statistics for the community 
• why we need more LGBTQ+ allies
• and our shared admiration for the Queen of Pop herself, Madonna. 

**some audio glitches with me on this interview because we only had one microphone. Will have second mic for season 2-apologies **

Links

To buy Jonny’s book ‘Stranger on the Bridge’- https://amzn.to/3336rrK

Twitter & Facebook @mrjonnybenjamin

Jonny’s charity 

https://beyondshamebeyondstigma.co.uk