Big Issue Group Ambassadors

Chris Packham CBE is an English naturalist, documentarian, campaigner and author. He has presented numerous TV documentaries on the natural world, most notably BBC Two’s Springwatch, Winterwatch and Autumnwatch, which he has fronted since 2009. His documentary Asperger’s and Me, a personal account of his life with Asperger’s, received the 2018 Broadcasting Press Guild Award for Best Documentary.

As Big Issue’s Environment & Community Ambassador, Chris will highlight the impact of the climate crisis on people in poverty and the need for grassroots community organisations to unite and drive change.

“I’m an enormous fan of the Big Issue and have been for a long time,” Chris said. “We’re in a fight. And one of the things that’s not being joined up at the moment is how poverty is intrinsically entwined with climate breakdown. The impacts are being felt more severely in countries where there is more widespread poverty.”

“I want to bring that conversation to the Big Issue. At the moment, we tend to partition and silo these things. But they are all related. And until we address inequality we’re not going to deal with the other issues.”

Photo credit: Louise Haywood-Schiefer

Michelle De Swarte is a comedian, actor and model. She received critical acclaim for creating and starring in her BBC Two comedy Spent, an autobiographical series which explored her own experiences of homelessness and mental health issues.

As Big Issue’s Health and Wellbeing Ambassador, Michelle will champion our work providing health and wellbeing support for vulnerable people.

Michelle said: “It’s a privilege and an honour to be able to represent Big Issue, which is something I feel so passionately about. I have a strong belief that being a Big Issue buyer is something passed down from generation to generation.

“My mum always bought the Big Issue. And because of that, I have always bought it. Not only is it a great publication but it does something for the economy of people that don’t have homes.”

Photo credit: Louise Haywood-Schiefer

Rotimi Merriman-Johnson is a financial educator and influencer. Via his persona ‘Mr MoneyJar’, Rotimi is a qualified financial advisor and has won awards for his content creation. Through his financial education company, he offers accessible, practical financial education, through digital content, events and one-to-one coaching.

As Big Issue’s Financial & Digital Inclusion Ambassador, Rotimi will champion our initiatives to bridge digital and economic divides.

Rotimi said: “I felt hugely honoured and excited to be asked to be a Big Issue ambassador. I would like to help to tell the Big Issue story because lots of people don’t realise the breadth and depth of the organisation – most are familiar with the media business and vendors, but there is also Big Issue Recruit, Big Issue Invest, all these different arms to the company.

“The next five years are super-important, and we’ve got a lot of work to do around the cost of living, around digital inclusion, around Net Zero, around housing. Just in this past week bills have gone up for everyone. All these issues need solving. Let’s get to work.” Photo credit: Louise Haywood-Schiefer

Mike Soutar is an entrepreneur, advisor and portfolio director, with a career spanning decades in technology, media and the arts. He is well known for supporting Lord Alan Sugar with candidate interviews on the BBC show The Apprentice, which he has appeared on since 2013.

As Big Issue’s Learning & Employment Ambassador, Mike will help raise awareness of the work we’re doing to provide earning and learning opportunities for people in poverty.

Mike said: “I was honoured to be asked to be a Big Issue ambassador. The work Big Issue does is extraordinary. And what’s important is the tangibility of that work. It’s about helping people help themselves – and that spirit and ethos runs right through the magazine, which is a phenomenal award-winning piece of work and has been for years and years.”

Photo credit: Louise Haywood-Schiefer

Kwajo Tweneboa is a social issues campaigner and author. Kwajo came to prominence after protesting about the dire conditions in his family’s flat on Clarion’s Eastfields Estate in south London. He became a superhero for social housing tenants – someone who uses social media to pressure officials to face up to their tenants, in cases when reporting a problem through official channels has not worked.

As Big Issue’s Housing Ambassador, Kwajo will drive action around the need for secure housing as a foundation to escape poverty. He said: “I felt really pleased when I was asked to become an ambassador because I’ve done a lot of work with Big Issue over the last couple years of campaigning.

“The work I’ve done directly interlinks with the work they are doing – especially around homelessness and housing. This is an issue that hasn’t been taken seriously for too long.”

Photo credit: Louise Haywood-Schiefer

Renowned actor Christopher Eccleston is a long term supporter of The Big Issue and first appeared on the cover of The Big Issue in 1996 – before his role in Our Friends In The North. He’s been interviewed countless times since for the magazine, has also featured in our showpiece Letter To My Younger Self feature and even invited The Big Issue to his house to talk about our 25th birthday in 2016. On becoming an Ambassador, Eccleston said: “I remember when it was launched. And to see something like The Big Issue born makes you proud. Because you feel like the social conscience of the nation is active…So the first thing I’d like to say as an Ambassador is that if you’ve always supported your vendor, in almost 30 years of The Big Issue’s existence, please continue to do so. Because it’s even worse now. And if it’s worse for you, you can only imagine how much worse it is for people living on the streets. We’ve got to get that message out there… I’ve been very moved and very touched to join The Big Issue. When I start thinking about this great creation that I’m becoming a small part of, it’s an honour.”

Photographer Credit: Johnny Ring

Dr Sabrina Cohen-Hatton is one of the most senior firefighters in the UK. She is also a prize-winning academic and author of a book on life-and-death decision-making. Sabrina was named as one of Marie Claire’s Future Shapers, featured on Cosmopolitan’s Millenial Power List and was names as one a Big Issue Changemaker. Cohen-Hatton joined The Big Issue as an ambassador in 2019 – 21 years after selling the magazine after school in Newport town centre as a homeless teenager. As a Big Issue ambassador, she tells her remarkable journey from the street to becoming one of the most senior firefighters in the UK to inspire other people. Sabrina said: “I am super excited about being a Big Issue ambassador, I want to tell people who are in the same position as I was that it doesn’t have to define you. Your circumstance doesn’t determine where you end up, just where you start your journey. If I can help give someone that spark they may need to change things, it will be a really worthwhile endeavour.”

Photographer Credit: Louise Haywood-Schiefer

The architect, TV presenter and social housing champion is an active supporter of The Big Issue. On television, shows like Restoration Man, Amazing Spaces and Old House, New Home have made him a national treasure. Clarke first appeared on the front cover of The Big Issue in July 2019. More recently, he has written an exclusive piece about rebuilding Britain with affordable and environmentally friendly homes – an initiative supported by The Big Issue. On becoming an Ambassador, he said: “I accept it wholeheartedly. I’m so honoured to be a Big Issue Brand Ambassador. I wish we did not have the problem with homelessness in this country. I wish The Big Issue was not needed. But we have it. And it is. So I’m all in. And I’ll do it for the rest of my days, if they want me. It’s a lifetime commitment for me. Because the Big Issue very, very directly and very powerfully makes a difference.”

Photographer Credit: Channel 4

Sherrie Silver, globally recognised Dancer and Choreographer, is responsible for Childish Gambino’s ‘This Is America’ and won her the MTV VMA for Best Choreography in 2018. She travels the globe choreographing for some the biggest names in music, including Rihanna, French Montana, Rita Ora, Burnaboy and Mr. Eazi. Alongside this, Sherrie has choreographed for the likes of Apple, Amazon, Google, Adobe and YouTube. She has worked with US Vogue in a movement direction role for multiple projects, including the 2019 The Met Gala video shot by Bardia Zeinali. Her most recent project, was choreographing for acclaimed animated film, ‘Sing 2.’

Alongside her choreography, Sherrie is a United Nations IFAD Advocate for Rural Youth and runs two charities in Rwanda, an orphanage, Children of Destiny and Destiny Rebuilders, a charity providing health insurance to underprivileged citizens. Sherrie is on a mission to bring African culture to the world and uses every resource possible to uplift her community and other African creatives.
Sherrie said: “I have chosen to support Big Issue because it provides people with it’s the skills and training they need to work their way out of poverty. As someone who works with underprivileged and homeless people around Africa through my charity, Children of Destiny, I know that the best way to help someone living in poverty is by giving them a means to help themselves, in order to avoid dependency, because as we know, helpers come and go. It is an honour to be able to support such an amazing brand that changes lives for good.”

Photographer Credit: Sherrie Silver

Bafta nominated actor, Daniel Mays, is one of the finest British actors working today. For almost two decades, since his early work for Mike Leigh in All Or Nothing and Vera Drake, Mays has been a mainstay of the big and small screen – with major roles in Red Riding, Ashes To Ashes, Des and Line of Duty. He’s also been a supporter of The Big Issue. He has been interviewed for the magazine and advocated support of The Big Issue’s Covid-19 Appeal to his followers on social media. For The Big Raffle, he even offered one lucky winner the chance to win an Acting workshop. On becoming an Ambassador, he said: “I’m incredibly humbled to be asked to become an Ambassador for The Big Issue and help raise awareness for the incredible work the organisation does for homeless and vulnerable people in the UK. I’ve long been a huge admirer of the whole concept of supporting and championing people to run their own small business, but also the work the whole team at The Big Issue do behind the scenes, helping people with the fundamental issues that have brought them there in the first place.”

Sophie Winkleman, also known as Lady Frederick Windsor, is an actor. She started acting with the National Youth Theatre and continued at Cambridge University where she joined the Cambridge Footlights. She wrote and performed in the Perrier Award nominated show Far Too Happy and has worked on stage (notably with the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Peter Hall Company), television and film ever since. She won many fans for her role as Big Suze in ‘Peep Show’ before going on to appear as Ashton Kutcher’s longterm girlfriend Zoe in ‘Two and a Half Men’ and, most recently as Kinvara in ‘Strike: Lethal White’.

Sophie is passionate about The Big Issue’s mission, saying: “I am honoured to come on board as a Big Issue Brand Ambassador. A helping hand should be available to everyone who finds themselves in the horrific predicament of being homeless. Having a certain number of The Big Issues to sell every week gives a person a sense of purpose, hope and self-esteem, all three essential foundations for recovering from the abyss.

There is nothing like The Big Issue and I believe it to be vital to the heart and soul of our country.”

Photographer Credit: Andrew Crowley

Rose Williams is an English actor, who’s starred in a number of leading roles across both film and TV. Born in Ealing, London, Rose became a household name for her roles in historical dramas Sanditon and Reign, as well as a supporting roles in the Golden Globe-nominated Mrs Harris Goes To Paris and the Netflix thriller Locked In.

After several years of supporting the Big Issue, including volunteering to deliver magazines to vendors during the busy Christmas period, Rose came on board as a Big Issue Ambassador in 2025.

She said: “I’m so happy to be on board as a Big Issue Group Ambassador. My mum introduced me to the Big Issue’s content and mission at a young age, and I’ve been a fan for as long as I can remember. The magazine’s pieces always inspire and friendships developed with vendors over the years have had a hugely positive impact on my life.”

Photographer Credit: Joseph Seresin

Jack Parsons is the CEO of Superhand, an organisation he started in order to enable millions of young people to access jobs, skills and mentors. He is also the UK’s Chief Youth Officer, working with the Government to champion the interests of young people across the country.

Jack grew up in a single parent household with a mother who was an alcoholic. He faced a lot of setbacks and a lot of no’s entering the world of work and it made him determined to do something to enable young people to thrive.
Superhand do exactly this through a series of youth-first programmes focusing on youth employment, mental health and diversity, which are enabled through successful collaboration between business, Government and education.

Jack has won numerous awards for the work he has done to support young people.

On becoming an Ambassador, Jack said: “We have to do more to help young people through such tough times and support them to feel like they can ‘win’ at work, in their communities and in society. When I was asked to become an Ambassador of Big Issue Group and the mission they are embarking on to help more into work, I knew I had to get involved and support. It’s going to be an amazing period of impact and everyone can play their part to support the new vision over the next five years.”

Lorna Tucker became homeless at 14 and spent two years living on the streets where she slept under Waterloo Bridge, in and out of sheltered accommodation. Lorna has since made her name as an award-winning film director of feature documentary films.
In 2018, Lorna’s first feature documentary Westwood: Punk, Icon, Activist, debuted at Sundance, where the film was chosen for competition. Her second feature documentary Amá, is a powerful film about the sterilisation abuse of Native American women across the United States over the past 60 years.
In 2022, Lorna completed two feature documentaries; Call me Kate, a docu-drama about Katharine Hepburn for Salon Pictures, which was released in 2023 and Someone’s Daughter, Someone’s Son, based on Lorna’s experiences of being homeless, was released this year.
Lorna said: “If it wasn’t for The Big Issue, I would never have escaped a life that was leading me towards only one ending that I can think of. Not only were they responsible for saving my life, but for helping me to see that there was a life for me outside of addiction and homelessness.
She continued: “I am really pleased to be joining Big Issue Group as an official Ambassador. The work the organisation does in order to support those locked in poverty is invaluable, especially now, with people facing the worst set of circumstances you can possibly imagine.”