Bryony Gordon

“My name is Bryony, and I’m an alcoholic.” What a way to launch a new column – aptly named ‘Sharing the things that make me feel bad about myself, so you’ll feel better.’ Gordon is also “a reformed drug addict, a recovering bulimic with a history of binge eating chorizo, a life-long depressive who frequently takes her iron and hair straighteners to work for fear of house fires, and a larger lady who likes to run long distances in only her bra and knickers.”

She proceeded to take readers on a trip around her troubled past, with warmth, honesty and self-deprecating humour. Though her journey has been ultimately redemptive – she married, had a daughter, came off drugs, got sober and became a mental health champion – life is “a series of messy ups and downs,” she pointed out.

She uses her own experience to call out harmful attitudes. For example, in the wake of singer Liam Payne’s death she cut through salacious headlines and character assassinations with a different point of view: “Addicts are only ever one drink from disaster – whoever we are.”

Judges praised her “compelling style” and “willingness to lay bare her vulnerabilities and invite her audience to connect with her”.