Amazing Starts Here

How can you reduce loneliness for older people?  

That was the question Trevor Lyttleton asked himself in 1965. His solution was to bring together young volunteers with elderly people who had fallen off the radar, and get them chatting over a cup of tea.

The monthly tea parties grew and grew. The charity started in London, with a small group of friends in Marylebone. By the time Trevor retired as chair in 2015 it was nationwide: 8000 volunteers were providing vital links to lonely pensioners at 600 tea parties every month.

And with a little help from The National Lottery, it’s now reaching a more diverse community than ever before.

Game Changers host, Aimee Fuller - two-time Olympian, author and broadcaster – meets Trevor to find out how Re-engage has changed people’s lives. On the way she discovers Trevor’s own remarkable career as a Grammy-nominated composer.

We also pay a visit to St James’s Park in London, where an inspiring new artwork is revealed.

Artist Luis Gomez de Teran has been commissioned to paint seven exceptional Community Game Changers - including Trevor. He describes how he was struck by Trevor’s incredible story, and how the Game Changers energized him to produce this uplifting artwork.

Broadcaster and DJ Adele Roberts also joins the Game Changers as their portraits are revealed, in a park which has a strong personal resonance in her own life.

Be inspired. Follow to catch every episode. 

Game Changers is brought to you by National Lottery players, who raise £30 million each week for good causes across the UK. For more information about projects that help ordinary people, visit: https://www.lotterygoodcauses.org.uk

How do you create a gym which is accessible to everyone?

Many years ago, Game Changer Javeno McLean sat down in his mum’s kitchen in front of a blank sheet of paper. He sketched out his vision – a gym where the whole community, including the elderly and people with disabilities, could work up a sweat, and get fit.

After an incredible amount of hard work, persistence, and a little help from The National Lottery, Javeno achieved his goal. J7 Health Centre in Manchester uses exercise as a tool to help communities find happiness, and improve quality of life. 

Game Changers host, Aimee Fuller - two-time Olympian, author and broadcaster – meets Javeno, to ask how he turned that pencil sketch into a reality, and discovers Javeno’s incredible optimism, empathy and good humour.

And we pay a visit to London, where an inspiring new artwork is being created.

In the serene oasis of St James Park, artist Luis Gomez de Teran has been commissioned to paint seven exceptional Game Changing individuals who have been transforming Communities over the last three decades including Javeno. 

Be inspired. Follow to catch every episode. 

Game Changers is brought to you by National Lottery players, who raise £30 million each week for good causes across the UK. For more information about projects that help ordinary people, visit: https://www.lotterygoodcauses.org.uk

TRIGGER WARNING: This episode contains a discussion of suicide. If you or someone you know has been affected by suicide or needs to talk to someone, please get in contact with the Samaritans online https://www.samaritans.org/ or call them for free on their 24-hour helpline 116 123.

How do you inspire people to believe in a sustainable future? 

When our Game Changer - Sir Tim Smit – came across a disused clay quarry in Cornwall in the 1990s, he knew he’d found the answer. 

Sir Tim is the visionary co-founder of the Eden Project, which transformed sterile soil into a lush green landscape, and turned a forgotten quarry into a global destination for nature, culture and sustainability. The National Lottery was an original funder of the Eden Project, and continues to fund projects there to this day.  

Game Changers host, Aimee Fuller - two-time Olympian, author and broadcaster – meets Sir Tim, to find out what it took to create this vision. She asks how he inspires people to believe in a better future, and encounters Sir Tim’s incredible drive and inspiring energy. 

And we pay a visit to historic Whitby Abbey, for the unveiling of a breathtaking new artwork. 

Sir Tony Robinson joins the Game Changers on the Yorkshire clifftops, to experience the work by David Popa, celebrating these exceptional Game Changing individuals who have been transforming different Heritage communities over the last three decades.  

Be inspired. Follow to catch every episode.

Game Changers is brought to you by National Lottery players, who raise £30 million each week for good causes across the UK. For more information about projects that help ordinary people, visit: https://www.lotterygoodcauses.org.uk  

What’s the best way to inspire the next generation of scientists?

That was the question facing our Game Changer Teresa Anderson MBE. She’s a physicist and the director of the Discovery Centre at Jodrell Bank. For the past 18 years, she has been driving the Observatory’s redevelopment, hoping to attract a new, diverse generation of people to gaze at the stars, and discover the wonders of space.

The stunning new exhibition spaces are the result, built with a little help from The National Lottery.

Game Changers host, Aimee Fuller - two-time Olympian, author and broadcaster – visits the Observatory – a UNESCO World Heritage Site - to meet Teresa, and see the vision for herself.

And we take a trip to historic Whitby Abbey, perched on the cliffs of the windswept Yorkshire coast. Here, a breathtaking new artwork has been created by David Popa, celebrating the Game Changers - exceptional individuals who have had an extraordinary impact on heritage and conservation over the last three decades.

Be inspired. Follow to catch every episode.

Game Changers is brought to you by National Lottery players, who raise £30 million each week for good causes across the UK. For more information about projects that help ordinary people, visit: https://www.lotterygoodcauses.org.uk

A Listen production for The National Lottery. 

What does it take for a person to make a big impact? What drives them? Where do they find inspiration?

In the brand-new revamped series of Game Changers, Aimee Fuller – two-time Olympian – meets ordinary people who do extraordinary things with a little help from The National Lottery.

This extra special series celebrates the 30th birthday of The National Lottery, and Aimee hears from people who have achieved remarkable things across the UK. From the person who has brought millions of people together through parkrun, to the Discovery Centre attracting a new, diverse, generation to Jodrell Bank. From a voluntary project helping isolated elderly people, to the visionary gym that went viral after helping people with disabilities work up a sweat and get fit.

Aimee discovers how the people who built these projects broke through, and how they continue to bring profound change, inspiration, and collective joy to millions. 

Joining us are the likes of Sir Tony Robinson and Adele Roberts, who champion Game Changers across the worlds of arts, heritage, community and sport. They introduce specially created artworks at major landmarks - at Whitby Abbey with its windswept cliffs, at the parkland oasis of St James Park, and the bustling V&A Museum in London.

Join Aimee Fuller on an extraordinary journey.