Liverpool Businesswoman Kate Stewart Launches Sisterhood HQ Podcast With Celebrity Guests

Liverpool businesswoman, who owns The Sandon Complex in Anfield and supported living accommodation Vitality Homes, as well as a property development company, launched female empowerment community Sisterhood HQ in March to support business owners and budding entrepreneurs.

An integral aspect of Sisterhood HQ is her engaging, informative and very honest podcast also named Sisterhood HQ and to begin her first series, Kate has landed candid interviews with incredibly talented celebrities including Liverpool songstress Rebecca Ferguson, actress Danniella Westbrook, Real Housewives of Cheshire star Tanya Bardsley and reality TV personality Sallie Axl.

Kate, who prides herself on giving interviewees a platform to talk openly and honestly about their journeys, struggles and life experience, listened to the celebrities and other guests including local businesswomen and a 'Money Mentor'. 

Discussing her time at the X Factor, as well as being thrust into the spotlight after her success on the show, Rebecca Ferguson revealed how after taking her children to her audition, her biggest fear was “failing in front of the kids”. 

She also told Kate how she almost walked off the show the week she was performing “Make You Feel My Love” by Adele. 

Rebecca revealed: “I was missing my kids that much that I said I’m done. I can’t do it. I need to see my kids. I was so drained that week because you’re working from 5am to 1am but I stayed and I went on stage and sung that song to my kids and dedicated it to them.”

The successful singer also talked about the challenges she’s faced within the music industry and having to stand up for herself when it comes to being in control of what she sung and the music she released.

Meanwhile, EastEnders’ Danniella Westbrook talked all about her recovery journey, a sexual abuse incident and becoming a child star at just nine years old.

She said: “I worked with The Who, Whitney Houston, Queen, I’ve done loads of stuff. I wanted to go to Sylvia Young and go to stage school from a very young age.”

Danniella discussed taking drugs at just 15 when she was cast as Sam Mitchell in EastEnders, which had devastating effects on the rest of her life.

She said: “Suddenly I was out at red carpets and my local friends were just going to college so they weren’t able to come out. I respected they couldn’t go out all of the time but then I gained a lot of freeloaders and leeches in the club scene and that’s where most of my problems started for me. I was earning a lot of money at such a young age and really I had too much too soon.”

Danniella further detailed: “There was no telling me at times; especially the time that I got into being an addict. I was 15 or 16 years old when I first started going to clubs and cocaine was a big deal. Everybody was doing it. It was killing me. By the time I was 19 or 20 years old it was having a huge effect on work. It took me over.”

On her recovery journey, Danniella explained that the likes of Russell Brand and others in recovery have propelled her recovery journey with their “nuggets of wisdom”. She also hailed Liverpool-based Recovery Walks who she says is “phenomenal”.

Tanya Bardsley, who is known as one of the original stars of The Real Housewives of Cheshire, as well as being wife to footballer Phil Bardsley and businesswoman in her own right, talked about her life before meeting Phil and being an immature first-time mother 20 years old.

The now mum-of-four revealed: “I was working in a call centre and struggling for money and discovered the power of positive thinking and I started visualising and using vision boards. I remember making a vision board and my mum and dad thought I was going through some serial-killer thing! So I had to hide it. But everything on that vision board has come true; from the mansion to becoming a model.

“I wanted to be a model on the front cover of the likes of FHM and I remember seeing in the News of the World that they were advertising for a non celebrity to be on the cover and I went for it and won it out of 6,000 girls.”

Tanya also revealed that her father is from Huyton and she’s “half Wigan, half Scouse”.

On being asked to join the Real Housewives of Cheshire, she added: “My friend Leanne Brown was asked if she knew anyone else before they casted the final six, and she said Tanya and Phil Bardsley are moving to Cheshire next week, and I auditioned and was in straight away.”

And reality TV personality Sallie Axl discussed her life with Kate, revealing she was actually born in Newcastle but moved to the Wirral when she was just nine years old.

“I’m constantly in the media for the wrong things!” Sallie says.

Revealing how she came to appear on Big Brother in 2013, she added: “I was asked if I’d be interested in going on Big Brother and was invited to an audition which was during the later stages of the auditions so I was in a room with about 12 people. We had to sit and go around the group and tell each person what we thought about them! I think that’s why I probably got in; everyone was being so nice and I was just truthful. I think someone cried!”

Sallie also discussed her current situation with her ex partner and her book on domestic abuse.

“I really do believe that women should know the signs of a domestic abuser from the early stages. A narcissist or abuser can live a fake life for the first three months but after that, the cracks start to show. With my ex partner, it started to show quite early on and I was always on egg shells with him. Control and isolation is a really big key to narcissistic behaviour and domestic abuse.

“Something in your mind needs to change to leave a domestic abuser and I think it has to come from the inside out. I’ve had amazing support from IDVA (Independent Domestic Violence Advisors) in Liverpool and they really work on the inside.”

All of Kate’s Sisterhood HQ episodes can be listened to in full on Apple podcasts, Spotify and Google podcasts.