Advertising helps fund Big Issue’s mission to end poverty
News

I was a Big Issue vendor and now I'm a Gogglebox star

Sandra Martin believes she was able to turn her life around thanks to The Big Issue. She has since found fame on Gogglebox.

Only four years before Sandra Martin found fame on Gogglebox, she was selling The Big Issue. She lost her home after a stint in jail and struggled with alcohol abuse.

“One day, I saw someone with a copy of The Big Issue in the hostel,” she says. “I wanted an opportunity to get out there and do something positive instead of drinking, drinking, drinking.

“That was the start of my luck turning around. Suddenly lots of good things started happening. I think The Big Issue brought me good luck. Because of The Big Issue I was able to change my life around. It really feels like that.”

@sandragogglebox

Advertising helps fund Big Issue’s mission to end poverty

Do you know how Big Issue 'really' works?

Watch this simple explanation.

Recommended for you

View all
Leicester Riders: The basketball team taking on knife crime
Sport

Leicester Riders: The basketball team taking on knife crime

'It feels like, as a country, we've shot ourselves in the foot with Brexit'
Maxïmo Park's Paul Smith
Brexit

'It feels like, as a country, we've shot ourselves in the foot with Brexit'

Boston is the most pro-Brexit town in the UK. What has leaving the EU changed? 'They got nothing'
A street in Boston in Lincolnshire
Brexit

Boston is the most pro-Brexit town in the UK. What has leaving the EU changed? 'They got nothing'

Keir Starmer has resigned. What is his legacy on the biggest issues in Britain?
Keir Starmer
Politics

Keir Starmer has resigned. What is his legacy on the biggest issues in Britain?