Be like Bridget Jones. Always take your Big Issue

In this weeks issue…Bridget Jones likes The Big Issue. Naturally. She likes it so much she buys it, takes it home and reads it. Terri White, Empire magazine chief and all round great egg, assesses the development of Jones, what that says about Britain now and why The Big Issue is the perfect magazine of choice.

It so happens that Bridget’s interest is very timely. We’re launching a new campaign next week. In association with Saatchi and Saatchi we have a brief film coming, starring comedian Seann Walsh, that busts a load of myths around The Big Issue and explains why you should always ALWAYS take the copy when you pay for it. I know YOU do. But you’d be surprised how many people don’t. They must. Tell them. Spread the word. And keep an eye on this website and our social media channels to see the film.

Our Letter To My Younger Self is with adored national treasure Julie Walters. Open about her early days in Liverpool, she talks with raw honesty about missing her friend Victoria Wood. “I just can’t get my heart around her death,” she says.

John Bird this week looks at the reported rise in domestic violence. What is driving this terrible culture of abuse, and what can be done?

Actress and writer Sarah Quintrell was struck by how little young, tough, female, working class voices are heard on TV. So she decided to do something about it. She explains how her drama Ellen was created – and why these voices need to be heard.

With the huge success of Narcos and Aquarius we look at the rise and rise of the dramatisation of real life crime. Why is it gripping us so?

Our featured vendor in My Pitch this week is Earl John Charlton who sells on the Quayside in Newcastle. Originally from the Geordie republic of South Shields, Earl travelled around, fell in with the wrong crowd in London, and has now made his way back home. Things are looking up, he says.

Have a look at the Top 5 books this week. Oscar-winning scriptwriter Graham Moore chooses five books on creativity he thinks everybody should read. And in Pause, Duncan Alexander celebrates the joy of football stats.

And remember – we have the toughest Suduko in Britain in The Big Issue. The ninth best player in Britain assures us only a few really brainy sorts could crack it. Could you?