Creative Moves: Left Career, Right Path – Details, episodes & analysis

From on‑air promos to handmade pots, Emma Puddick proves that creativity doesn’t vanish when you change direction, it just finds a new medium. After years crafting campaigns at Discovery and Fox, she swapped fast‑turnaround deadlines for slow‑turning clay, trading broadcast buzz for the calm rhythm of the potter’s wheel.

Emma talks through the highs and headaches of on‑air creative, a detour into teaching, redundancy and burnout, and how moving to Bristol helped her rediscover joy in making. It’s an honest look at identity, pace, and why the next chapter sometimes begins by slowing down.

** TRIGGER WARNING: This show contains discussion around mental health **

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A Soho runner turned bookings lead, then senior at The Farm (leading high-end TV facility), Karen Smith had a front‑row seat on the UK’s post‑production boom. When the adrenaline wore thin, she chose purpose over pace, taking her people skills into an inner‑city London school.

Karen unpacks 90s/00s post culture, client wrangling, and the switch to education, as her passion for all things TV waned, and she decided it was time to do something different. A refreshingly practical take on reinvention and values.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the run-up to starting Uni, Declan Cosgrove took a ‘practice’ interview and walked out with an insurance job, becoming the youngest qualified pro in his firm by the age of 21. Decades later, he blended that discipline with lifelong musicianship to launch a company that helps adults learn piano quickly.

Music has always been part of his life but it wasn’t until he sold his successful internet marketing company that he decided to pursue it full-time. His attitude of making things simpler led to the development of DecPlay, a technique that helps people play a song on the piano in 20 minutes.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

From SOAS to suites to scripts, Zuza Zak talks through her creative moves from Uni to post bookings, to promo producing. After which she rewired her storytelling as a food & culture author and broadcaster.

Zuza unpacks transferable creative skills, DIY learning (editing, design), and how culinary heritage can carry the same narrative charge as a 30‑second trailer. Learn how her passion for her homeland and it’s cooking inspired a journey which led to the publication of 4 cookbooks.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jack Milligan left school early, learned management the hard way at Waitrose, and rode that work ethic into radio ad sales and agency life. Then he pivoted, launching a roaming pop‑up that blends wine, dining and a soundtrack you actually want to talk about.

Jack explains hospitality lessons that transfer to brand‑building, why curation beats hype, and how to craft nights people remember. A spicy bouquet of graft, flavour and sound.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

After years in production across the BBC and in Manchester media circles, Joanna Yeldham shifted from producing stories to holding them, retraining as a psychotherapist.

Jo guides us through early detours (languages, shorthand, secretarial routes), on‑set coordination, and the emotional intelligence that bridges production and practice. A thoughtful conversation about care, boundaries and burnout recovery.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the final episode of Creative Moves, things come full circle as our host Kabir Malik steps into the guest chair. This time, it’s his old boss and friend, Joce Capper, asking the questions. From his early days working at the Passport Office to becoming the go-to sales guy for post-production houses across Soho, Kabir’s career has been anything but ordinary.

He shares stories from along the way, in a candid chat about resilience, self-retraining and how his love of music, and his gift for really listening, have led him into a whole new chapter where he’s finally following his true passions.

** TRIGGER WARNING: This episode contains discussion around mental health, addiction and childhood trauma **

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Manish Chauhan works as a Finance Lawyer specializing in Derivatives and always had a passion for writing. At 17, he was told by his creative writing teacher to go and live life before he should even think about writing a novel.

Now his first book is slated with Faber (Jan 2026), he talks community and critique circles. His is the story of someone who took the ‘sensible’ path, all the while making space for the work he truly loved, that wouldn’t let go.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

From sixth‑form fan to touring keys, Benjy Giddings lived the musical dream as a member of Morning Parade, who released two albums on major labels and toured all over the UK, Europe and the US supporting bands like The Smashing Pumpkins and The Wombats.

Benjy shares the truth about momentum, collaboration, and keeping the creative tap open, as we learn from the inside how harsh the music business can be and how Benjy rediscovered his love of music, and is now pursuing a career as a sound engineer.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.