Ready To Be Real by Síle Seoige24 Okt 2025

Denise Gough: Part 2 — Speaking from the scar

Topics covered : Grooming, childhood sexual abuse, shame, addiction, survival, recovery, therapy, healing, acting, Palestine, censorship, collective care, Andor.

This is the second part of my conversation with multi award-winning Irish actor — and all-round gorgeous human — Denise Gough.

In this episode, Denise speaks openly about the painful experiences of grooming and abuse in her childhood — experiences that led to her being homeless in London as a teenager, addicted to drugs and alcohol.

Since getting sober at 27, she’s gone on to thrive — both in her acting career and in life.

She's an incredibly strong, open-hearted woman, and her story is one of survival, strength, and deep healing.

If you haven’t yet listened to Part 1, I really encourage you to go back and do so.

You might also want to hear my conversations with Gabor and Daniel Maté, Róisín El Cherif, Farah Nabulsi, and Hala Sourani, as well as the episode I released in May with Jack Fitzgerald, where he speaks so bravely about surviving childhood sexual abuse.

These stories aren’t easy to hear, but they are necessary and they remind us of the strength of the human spirit.

Book mentions:

'Perfect Victims' (and the Politics of Appeal) by Mohammed El-Kurd

'The Message' and 'Between the World and Me' by Ta-Nehisi Coates

If you need support, please reach out — you are not alone, and help is available:

One In Four

Support – Mental Health Ireland

And if you’re a fan of what I do, please follow, rate, and review Ready to Be Real wherever you listen.

Míle buíochas, as always, for your support.

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