Episode 162: Jo-Ann D’Costa-Manuel

Jo-Ann D’Costa-Manuel is a charity pioneer. She received an OBE for her years of voluntary work raising the profile of hidden disabilities. She persuaded airlines to recognise green lanyards with sunflowers, as a symbol of a family member flying with a hidden disability. She was also behind the ‘quiet hour’ in supermarkets to help children like her own son, who is autistic, and needs a quiet environment to be able to do a food shop. Jo-Ann now works for philanthropist John Caudwell to help raise money for children and youth projects, and she has just started her own podcast speaking to women over 40, called ‘It’s Your Time.’ Jo-Ann’s son is now 16, and her daughter is 19. And to Jo-Ann’s delight - and her daughter’s horror - they are often mistaken for sisters! Spinning Plates is presented by Sophie Ellis-Bextor, produced by Claire Jones and post-production by Richard Jones. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

You can listen to Episode 162: Jo-Ann D’Costa-Manuel online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

Episode 162: Jo-Ann D’Costa-Manuel is an episode from Spinning Plates with Sophie Ellis-Bextor.

This episode is 1:03:35 long.

This episode was published on Sep 22, 2025.

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