{"podcast":{"title":"Begin Again with Davina McCall","slug":"begin-again-with-davina-mccall-7046397","podcast_index_feed_id":7046397,"rss_url":"https://feeds.megaphone.fm/beginagain","website_url":null,"image_url":"https://megaphone.imgix.net/podcasts/a68950da-8231-11ef-a3ad-378608465ad7/image/d69c9b415369f2b59504ae308cd2a5ec.jpg?ixlib=rails-4.3.1&max-w=3000&max-h=3000&fit=crop&auto=format,compress","author":"FlightStory","episode_count":132,"summary":"Begin Again with Davina McCall is your reminder to live a life that you love! We’re all guilty of staying inside our comfort zone. We’ve convinced ourselves to settle, to accept our lot in life, that it’s too late, too scary, too much. But what if you could approach change in your life differently? What if you could be excited about stepping outside of your comfort zone? What if you gave yourself permission to reinvent yourself? Every week, Davina grabs you by the hands and sits you down on the big green sofa for honest, personal conversations with the people who chose change. These are national treasures, everyday heroes, and leading experts, who help you step outside of your comfort zone, embrace reinvention, and get excited about what comes next. Begin Again is a space where both big changes and small shifts are celebrated as a chance to grow, rediscover yourself, and start again. So come on in, get comfortable, and join Davina in Britain’s living room where you get to begin again and again and again! Instagram: @beginagain LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/davina-mccall-82204a19b/","last_synced_at":"2026-09-03T14:18:52.906077+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/begin-again-with-davina-mccall-7046397"},"episode":{"title":"Alexandra Burke: Becoming Chaka Khan & Finding Her Purpose After Grief","slug":"alexandra-burke-becoming-chaka-khan-finding-her-purpose-after-grief","published_at":"2026-08-20T05:00:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/begin-again-with-davina-mccall-7046397/alexandra-burke-becoming-chaka-khan-finding-her-purpose-after-grief","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/begin-again-with-davina-mccall-7046397","url":"https://pdst.fm/e/pscrb.fm/rss/p/mgln.ai/e/1651/traffic.megaphone.fm/FLIGHTSTUDIOGROUPLTD3394922422.mp3","audio_url":"https://pdst.fm/e/pscrb.fm/rss/p/mgln.ai/e/1651/traffic.megaphone.fm/FLIGHTSTUDIOGROUPLTD3394922422.mp3","summary":"What does it take to keep going when life keeps testing how badly you want the dream? In this episode of Begin Again, Alexandra Burke joins Davina for an emotional and deeply personal conversation about X Factor, grief, motherhood, love, faith and the determination that has carried her through every chapter of her life. Alexandra looks back on the extraordinary road to becoming a star: singing alongside her mum as a child, Stevie Wonder wanting to sign her at just 12 years old, being sent home from X Factor at 16, and the mother who eventually pushed her to go back and try again. She opens up about what was really happening in her life during that first rejection, why she now knows she wasn’t ready, and the remarkable full-circle journey that followed. She also speaks movingly about losing her mum, the grief she still carries and how becoming a mother herself has changed the way she understands the sacrifices her own mum made. Alexandra shares why she has fiercely protected her two boys, how she met her partner Darren after years of choosing the wrong relationships, and the moment she realised the family life she has now is everything she once prayed for. Now, playing Chaka Khan on stage in I’m Every Woman, Alexandra reveals why the most challenging role of her career is bringing parts of her own past back to the surface, why she has had to learn to leave Chaka at the theatre, and why she plans to return to therapy when the show ends. This is a conversation about rejection, grief, resilience, faith and refusing to give up on the life you know you’re meant to have. Follow us here: 📸 www.instagram.com/beginagain 🎥 https://www.tiktok.com/@beginagainpod ✨ Sign up for the Begin Again newsletter for behind-the-scenes access, recommendations and much more: https://linkly.link…","meta_description":"What does it take to keep going when life keeps testing how badly you want the dream? In this episode of Begin Again, Alexandra Burke joins Davina for an…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":4307,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/begin-again-with-davina-mccall-7046397/episodes/alexandra-burke-becoming-chaka-khan-finding-her-purpose-after-grief/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/begin-again-with-davina-mccall-7046397/alexandra-burke-becoming-chaka-khan-finding-her-purpose-after-grief.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}