JCIP #355 - A Pod For Claire

In episode 355 of The Just Checking In Podcast our Founder Freddie flew solo to remember a very special woman who sadly died last year.

We interviewed a woman called Claire Johnson on JCIP #66 all the way back in October 2021, where we discussed her incredible life, from dating the lead singer of 1970s rock band Deep Purple, to working in the Police service during the Yorkshire Moor murders, to the London 2012 Olympics and finally, becoming a mental health advocate.

Prior to that, in JCIP #45 in July 2022, we checked in with Sam Thomas, a mental health advocate who has been working in this space for even longer than me!

In Sam's pod we discussed his very severe mental health crisis as a result of an alcohol addiction in 2018, where he was admitted to hospital as an in-patient for the second time and an incredible, kind and supportive person called Claire Johnson supported Sam through that crisis.

Claire was very well known on Twitter in the mental health space for her tireless support of mental health advocates, and was always on hand to send a supportive message or reply to a tweet when anyone disclosed publicly they were struggling.

Fast forward four years and tragically, last year we were informed by Sam that Claire was very seriously ill and implied she didn’t have long left to live.

Then, on 12th June 2025, Claire very sadly died. Initially we had planned to have a conversation with Sam about Claire’s life and death on the podcast but unfortunately, he wasn’t ready to do that, which is absolutely fine. 

However, we still wished to celebrate Claire’s life in this podcast, and we obtained permission from Claire’s son to tell you the listeners about it. 

In a world today where the inter-generational divide in the UK is bigger than ever, young men and women are becoming more and more politically polarised and people have increasingly little empathy online, we need more Claire’s in this world who will approach everyone with kindness, empathy and love, whatever their situation is. 

If there were more people like Claire in this world, I am 100% sure it would be an infinitely better place.

As always, #itsokaytovent

You can listen to Claire's JCIP below:

• JCIP #66 - Claire Johnson: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2595459/episodes/18686157

You can also listen to Sam's episode below:

• JCIP #45 - Sam Thomas: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2595459/episodes/18686194

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Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:13

Hi Venters, welcome back to another episode of the Just Checking In Podcast. I'm your host, Freddie Cocker, and this podcast is brought to you by Vent, a place where everyone, but especially men and boys, can open up about their mental health issues, break down stigmas, and start conversations. In each episode, I check in with a special guest. We have a Natter and a chat about all things mental health, as well as anything and everything else they are passionate about. If it helps that person with their mental health, we discuss it. In this special episode, I am flying solo to remember a very special woman who sadly died last year. I interviewed a woman called Claire Johnson on JCIP 66 all the way back in October 2021, where we discussed her incredible life. From dating the lead singer of 1970s rock band Deep Purple to working in the police during the Yorkshire Moor child murders of Myra Hindley and Ian Brady, right through to the London 2012 Olympics, and finally becoming a mental health advocate. Prior to that, in JCIP 45 in July 2022, I checked in with Sam Thomas, a mental health advocate who has been working in this space for even longer than me. In his pod, we discussed his experiences of bulimia, an eating disorder, depression and alcohol addiction. We also discussed his very severe mental health crisis as a result of that alcohol addiction in 2018, where he was admitted to hospital as an inpatient for the second time and an incredible, kind and supportive person called Claire Johnson supported Sam through that crisis. So naturally I had to have her on the podcast afterwards. Claire became Sam's legal advocate during that crisis, his confidant, and provided the support pillar for him to get through those incredibly difficult first weeks and months of alcohol withdrawals, and back to a healthy place where he could leave hospital and live independently again. Claire was very well known on Twitter in the mental health space for her tireless support of mental health advocates, including Sam and I, and she was always on hand to send a supportive message or reply to a tweet when anyone disclosed publicly they were struggling, including me on several occasions. I was always struck by her kindness, her empathy, and her ability to read what was going on in my head, do it in a better way than I even could at the time, and giving me just the right response in words to help me feel better. Fast forward four years and tragically, last year I was informed by Sam that Claire was very seriously ill, and he implied she didn't have too much long left to live. I sent her a very heartfelt Twitter DM thanking her for coming on the podcast, the support she gave me during the early days event, and how loved she was by so many people, and I felt very privileged that she was able to read it and physically able to respond to me. During this period, Sam was also supporting Claire during her final days and repaying that support she gave him all those years ago. Then, sadly, on the 12th of June 2025, Claire died. Initially, I planned to have a conversation with Sam about Claire's life and death on the podcast, but unfortunately he wasn't quite ready to do that, which is absolutely fine. However, I still wished to celebrate Claire's life in this podcast as someone who meant so much to so many people, and I obtained permission from Claire's son to tell you, the listeners, about her. In a world today where the intergenerational divide in the UK is bigger than ever, young men and women are becoming more and more politically polarised, and people have increasingly little empathy online. We need more Claire's in this world, who approach everyone with kindness, empathy, and love, whatever their situation or their background is. If there were more people like Claire in this world, I'm a hundred percent sure it would be an infinitely better place. Vent and this podcast is built on the values of building bridges, non-judgment, love, and listening to and supporting all voices, no matter their background, social class or political belief. And Claire was the absolute embodiment of that. So rest in peace, Claire. Your legacy will live on in men like me, Sam, your son, and the no doubt hundreds of people you helped online, and the families of those victims of the Yorkshire Moore's murders too. Thank you, Venters, for listening to this pod about Claire's life. And if you have someone in your life who is close to death, make sure you have that final conversation with them before it's too late. Well that's all we've got time for in this episode of the Just Checking In pod. A big thank you to you, the listener, for listening to me talk all about Claire Johnson, her incredible life, and her death. I'll put some links to where you can listen to Sam's episode, and more importantly, of course, Claire's episode, where you can hear her voice and learn more about the incredible person she was. As always, thank you to all the vendors who've tuned into this episode. Remember, if you've liked what you've heard, give it a share on social media. Tell your friends, family, or work colleagues about us. If you're feeling generous, write us a review and give us a five-star rating on Apple Podcasts or Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. You can support us further by going to patreon.com slash venthelpuk or make a one-off donation to our PayPal. All of those links are also on our Linktree. That's linktr.ee slash vent helpuk. We hope to check in with you again very soon. And remember, guys, it is always okay to vent.