Your compère: Gamal Fahnbulleh
Gamal Fahnbulleh is an experienced anchor with ITV Granada Reports – ITV’s regional award-winning news programme for the Northwest of England. He also regularly presents ITV Network bulletins, including News at Ten.
Born in West Africa, Gamal moved to London with his family in 1986. After graduating from Manchester University with a BA in Politics and History, he went on to earn a Master’s Degree in International Politics before enrolling on a postgraduate diploma course in Broadcast Journalism at City University. While at City, he was one of only ten candidates nationally to be selected for the ITV News Group Bursary Scheme in 2005.
Gamal began his career at ITN as a general reporter and presenter for Granda Reports. Here he worked closely with the British Army while two Northwest regiments trained and prepared for a six-month tour of Afghanistan. In the summer of 2010, he was embedded in Nad-e Ali, Afghanistan, with the First Battalion, the Duke of Lancaster’s Regiment. That year, ITV Granada received the award for Best Regional Story, ‘Our Troops in Afghanistan’ at the RTS Northwest Awards. In November 2010 Gamal joined Sky News as a reporter.
At Sky News he held both solo and co-anchor positions across the day’s output, including flagship programmes like Sky News Breakfast, Sky News Tonight and Sky News at Ten. When Gamal was not conducting interviews with high-profile politicians and celebrities or carrying out the morning and evening newspaper review, he was delivering breaking stories, handling rolling news and live updates.
Gamal has also worked for ITV Breakfast as the Northern based Correspondent for Good Morning Britain and worked extensively on the Hillsborough enquiry.
In January 2021, Gamal returned to Granada Reports as the main co-presenter of the programme. From 2022, he has appeared as relief presenter across all primary ITV News bulletins.
When not working, Gamal has a love of all things history and spends his free time reading fact-based novels from the classical and medieval period. He is also a self-confessed film buff and will happily lose an evening to some classic cinema or the latest blockbuster.
Andy Rhodes OBE QPM
Andy Rhodes OBE QPM served 30 years as a police officer and is the former Chief Constable of Lancashire Police, up until retirement in 2021 he was National Police Chiefs Council lead for wellbeing and organisational development.
In 2015 he established the first National Police Wellbeing Service - Oscar Kilo which he continues to support part time as Service Director.
He was awarded the Queens Police Medal in 2017 and an OBE in the 2022 birthday honours for services to emergency service workers mental health.
Gavin Stephens QPM
Chief Constable Gavin Stephens was appointed as Chair of the National Police Chiefs' Council in April 2023.
He has worked for over 30 years in policing, first joining Cambridgeshire Constabulary in 1993 and then Surrey Police in 1996, where he worked for over 20 years, serving in every rank up to the role of Chief Constable.
He was initially based in East Surrey on neighbourhood policing, and went onto roles in serious and organised crime, professional standards, and local policing.
On a national level, CC Stephens played a major role in developing and modernising neighbourhood policing, and led the implementation of the Neighbourhood Policing Guidelines in 2016. Before his appointment, he served as Chair of the NPCC Finance Coordination Committee, as well as the national Communications Advisory Group.
Geoff Cheshire
Geoff Cheshire is one of the UK’s leading voices on trauma-informed leadership, workforce wellbeing and resilience in modern policing. As Chief Executive Officer of Police Care UK, the national charity supporting police officers, staff, volunteers, veterans and their families, Geoff leads a transformational agenda focused on early intervention, psychological recovery, and long-term workforce sustainability.
With more than 25 years of senior leadership experience spanning policing, emergency services and the charitable sector, Geoff has built a reputation for driving meaningful change in high-pressure environments. Prior to joining Police Care UK, he held national leadership roles with the British Red Cross and served in a distinguished operational and command career with Merseyside Police. Recognised for his collaborative and values-led leadership style, Geoff is a passionate advocate for protecting those who protect the public. He brings deep expertise in trauma, crisis response, organisational resilience and frontline wellbeing, alongside extensive experience supporting vulnerable communities and leading through complexity and change.
Professor John Harrison
Professor Harrison is the National Police Chief Medical Officer based in the College of Policing.
Between 2014 and 2021 he was Chief Medical Officer for Devon and Cornwall Police and Strategic Health and Wellbeing Lead for the Alliance with Dorset Police. He was Clinical Director of Organisational Health and Wellbeing at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust (2003 – 2014) and Senior Lecturer in Occupational Medicine / Consultant Occupational Physician at the University of Newcastle-Upon-Tyne (1990 – 2003).
He has held positions as Director NHS Plus/advisor to the Health and Work team of the Department of Health and Head of the National School for Occupational Health of England and Wales. He is an Associate Professor at Brunel University in clinical organisational development. Previously he was Academic Dean of the Faculty of Occupational Medicine, a board member of ICOH and a past Chairman of EASOM.
Paul Fotheringham
Paul Fotheringham is Strategic Advisor to the National Police Wellbeing Service, leading national delivery of the Workforce Prioritisation Guidance and Trauma Support Model. With a distinguished career in policing and as former President of the Police Superintendents’ Association, Paul has helped embed wellbeing, leadership and governance across the service, working closely with the College of Policing, HMICFRS, the APCC and forces nationwide to drive system-wide improvement.
Tina Cook
Tina Cook is a highly experienced Occupational Health and Human Resources professional who has dedicated over 38 years of service to Merseyside Police. A qualified HR professional, Tina has spent the last 25 years specialising in Occupational Health. Her long-standing commitment, professional knowledge, and passion for helping others have made her a respected leader in workplace wellbeing and occupational health practice.
Vicki Sawyer
Vicki Sawyer is an HR Business Partner for Warwickshire Police, where she leads on organisational development initiatives including health and wellbeing, talent, and retention. Working closely with senior leaders and stakeholders, she helps shape strategies that support workforce wellbeing, organisational culture, and colleague engagement. Vicki is passionate about creating environments where people can thrive and about turning evidence-based approaches into practical solutions that make a meaningful difference to frontline colleagues and the wider workforce.
Paul, Tina and Vicki will be joined by:
Caroline Russell
Cumbria Constabulary
Zoe Davenport
Zoe has worked as a trauma therapist since 2011. Primarily working with victims of domestic abuse before running a service for high-risk teenage girls within the south Asian community, she went on to lead the counselling team for the Metropolitan Police Service. During this time she became the SPOC for specialist groups such as armed policing and hostage crisis negotiators.
After implementing a national psychological screening programme for the Hostage Crisis Negotiation group, she moved to the National Police Wellbeing Service to continue to improve mental health services for officers and staff.
Zoe is currently undertaking a PhD to better understand the impact of various police roles on mental health.
Zoe will be joined by:
Kathryn Evans
and some of the Counselling Team from Dyfed Powys Police.
Professor Carole Cox-Forshaw
Carol began her career working for Merseyside Police (1994-2008), then moved into lecturing. In the summer of 2020 she returned to her roots of Liverpool and became the Head of LCAPS, the Liverpool Centre for Advanced Policing Studies. Over the last six years she has developed new programmes for policing and won tenders around Diversity in Firearms Teams, Policing Education and Police Now; her main research focus being with OSCAR KILO in police well-being. Nationally, Carol continues to promote policing, education and wellbeing across the UK. She is a trained trauma therapist, counsellor and Family Court Magistrate, which she does voluntarily in her spare time.
Jason Pye
Detective Superintendent Jason Pye KPM is a senior leader with over 20 years' experience investigating serious and organised crime, major incidents and complex homicide investigations. Recently appointed to the North West Regional Organised Crime Unit, Jason has led intelligence, covert policing and operational activity at local, regional and national levels. He was the Senior Investigating Officer for the Southport murders and later provided evidence to the public inquiry. Since then, Jason has developed a particular interest in helping others understand and manage the impact of trauma through evidence-based approaches to wellbeing, resilience and recovery. Drawing on his own recovery, and work with academic and wellbeing partners, he now shares his learning nationally to help improve psychological resilience in policing.
Emma Woods-Bolger
Emma Woods-Bolger is Chief Executive Officer of the Blue Light Card Foundation, leading the charity’s work to improve the mental and physical wellbeing and resilience of the UK’s emergency services, NHS staff and wider blue light community. Under her leadership, the Foundation has expanded its national portfolio of wellbeing programmes, supporting thousands of frontline workers through innovative, evidence-informed initiatives focused on prevention, recovery and long-term resilience. With extensive experience in the charitable and community foundation sector, Emma has successfully led organisations in securing significant funding, developing strategic partnerships and delivering sustainable social impact. Her career has been dedicated to strengthening communities, building collaborative networks and creating opportunities that improve lives.
Emma is a passionate advocate for the people behind the uniform and has helped position the Blue Light Card Foundation at the forefront of conversations around workplace wellbeing, trauma recovery and the role of nature-based and community-led support alongside traditional services. Drawing on both professional expertise and a personal connection to emergency service roles through her family, she is committed to ensuring those who dedicate their lives to helping others have access to the support they need to thrive.
Hannah Bailey
Hannah is a Mental Health and Wellbeing Subject Matter Expert, Psychotherapist, Trauma Therapist and Wellbeing Coach at Blue Light Wellbeing. She delivers therapy, coaching, training and educational workshops internationally, specialising in issues including PTSD, burnout, compassion fatigue, moral injury, anxiety, depression, bereavement and organisational change.
Before retraining, Hannah spent 15 years in frontline policing, working in uniform response, CID and Major Crime. Following her own experiences of burnout, PTSD and breast cancer, she established Blue Light Wellbeing to support emergency service and military personnel through therapy, coaching, training and education.
Combining professional expertise with lived experience, Hannah offers a unique understanding of the mental health challenges faced by frontline workers. Her practical, relatable approach helps individuals and organisations build resilience, improve wellbeing and provide effective support to those who need it most.
Claire Long
Claire is the managing director of her own consultancy and has worked in and around policing for the past 20 years.
In her current role for the NPWS, she is responsible for leading on the suicide pre and postvention programme including delivery of the mental health crisis line, the police families workstream and the police leavers workstream. Claire also provides support to the Occupational Health community.
Prior to NPWS, Claire worked at West Midlands police project managing the security planning for the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games.
Annie Haswell
Annie is a senior consultant at Leapwise, specialising in policy, evaluation, organisational development and behavioural science across UK policing and public services. She has led the engagement for the NPWS survey and is currently leading deep dive analyses for the NPWS, with recent work examining psychological safety within policing. Annie holds a master’s in behavioural science from Durham University and has led projects focused on leadership and culture.
Peter Spratt
Peter Spratt is a Superintendent within the Operational Support Unit in South Yorkshire Police with 20 years service. He has been the force lead for Operation Hampshire since June 2024, just before an extremely challenging summer of disorder for policing nationally. As a public order commander, Peter was one of at least 64 officers physically injured in one of the riots in South Yorkshire and experienced first hand the need for Operation Hampshire and the 9-point-plan. Since then, he has worked closely with Dave Brewster and Lee Taylor to enhance the support available to victims of physical assault and hate abuse in South Yorkshire, implementing a network of Op Hampshire Peer Support Champions. Peter highlights that the implementation of this scheme was only possible with the support of a small number of co-ordinators who were instrumental in delivering this scheme.
Helena Clarke
Helena Clarke is a Sheffield Response Sergeant with nine years of frontline policing. After sustaining an on-duty assault in 2021 that resulted in permanent left-eye ptosis, her firsthand experience with substandard victim care motivated her to focus on improving service support systems. Since 2024, she has assisted Pete SPRATT as a Coordinator for the Operation Hampshire Champion Support Project, working to deliver practical, effective welfare and peer support for officers who have experienced assaults and hate abuse.
Helena and Peter will be joined by:
Jordan Coates
Jordan joined South Yorkshire Police in January 2021 aged 28 after 11 years working in sport and leisure. He has been based in Rotherham as a response PC since joining and is currently performing the role of Acting Sergeant as part of a young and enthusiastic team.
Dave Brewster
Dave is a former (retired) Metropolitan Police Chief Inspector now working with Oscar Kilo, the National Police Wellbeing Service as the National Operation Hampshire Co-ordinator.
Dave joined the Met in 1992 and has served operationally in north and east London. As a Chief Inspector he has held roles in operations, firearms command and finally as the dedicated Op Hampshire lead for the Met focussing on improving the response to police assaults. This is a subject that Dave is passionate about and genuinely believes that as the people who protect the public, our colleagues deserve the very best levels of wellbeing support and victim care.
His Op Hampshire work includes the development of a national police assaults dataset and has helped shape the NPWS data analytics capability for the wider wellbeing picture.
Jenna Flanagan
Jenna Flanagan is Strategic Communications Lead for the National Police Wellbeing Service (Oscar Kilo), with more than 20 years’ experience in communications and engagement across policing, local government and higher education. For around the last decade, much of her work has focused specifically on police workforce wellbeing.
Jenna was part of the small team that established the National Police Wellbeing Service and now works across its national portfolio, advising senior leaders across policing and government on communications, engagement, wellbeing strategy and the development of practical, accessible wellbeing interventions. Her work focuses particularly on turning national strategy, evidence and resources into support that makes sense to officers and staff and can be effectively adopted within forces.
She is also a published contributor to Wellbeing in Policing, writing on staff engagement, and has extensive experience of stakeholder engagement, organisational change and communicating with policing workforces in complex and high-pressure environments.
Amelie Wolf
Amelie is a Senior Account Manager at Jack & Grace, the long-term communications partner of the National Police Wellbeing Service, Oscar Kilo. As part of her work, Amelie helps engage audiences via Oscar Kilo’s social media channels and has worked on a variety of campaigns such as the Thank you campaign, to reach police families, and the Mental Health Crisis Launch and extension.