The Second Innings is the journey of Andrew Patterson, known to most as Patto, former Irish cricketer, father, and fine fellow, who was diagnosed with Hereditary Spastic Paraplegia, a rare neurological condition that gradually takes away your ability to walk.

He was told he’d need a wheelchair for life.

Instead, he raised £70,000, travelled to the US for pioneering surgery, and taught himself to walk again. Just months later, he completed a 5K.

This podcast is about what it really takes to come back. It’s about persistence, perspective, and the power of keeping going - one determined step at a time.

Because every step really does tell a story.

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In this episode, I’m joined by Dr. Liz Sparkes — a psychologist who has spent years working with pain management, mindfulness, and how we heal.

Liz’s story is a powerful one. After surviving a serious accident, one with haunting echoes of earlier childhood trauma and loss, she made a decision that would challenge most people: she reached out through restorative justice to the individual responsible.

The compassion she showed, and the forgiveness she offered, didn’t just shift something in her — it had a profound effect on the other person too.

Liz’s life hasn’t followed the straight line she once imagined. The ambition she started out with and the work she does now are worlds apart.

This conversation isn’t about easy answers. It asks something harder: when it really matters, are we truly able to forgive?

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In this special episode of Gobsmacked!, I’m joined by my second cousin, Damian Le Bas, author of the acclaimed The Stopping Places and now The Drowned Places, a haunting, lyrical exploration of grief, memory, and the worlds that lie beneath the surface.

Written in the wake of his father's death, the visionary artist Damian Le Bas, the book takes us on a journey through submerged landscapes and the emotional terrain of loss, drawing unexpected parallels with the myth of Atlantis.

We speak about his parents' creative brilliance, including his mother, Turner Prize nominee Delaine Le Bas, his experience of writing through grief, and the grounding arrival of fatherhood with the birth of his daughter, Nina.

My word—this is a profoundly articulate, bright, and thoughtful fellow. Sitting down with him for this conversation about legacy, identity, and resurfacing after loss was a true privilege.

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