About

Background

My name is Steve Bland and I am the founder of VeeBee Media. And I’m a journalist……well, kind of. At least I was until I left the BBC in 2016 to work in PR. But then I came back to the BBC and got involved in podcasting. 

Journalism was always my passion and I was fortunate enough to have the chance to write and work for all the national newspapers in the UK before I moved into radio. I spent the best part of six years at BBC 5 Live and I now present and produce podcasts for the BBC. 

So I guess you could say I’m well placed to help you out with pretty much any and every area of PR or journalism. 

That is only part of the story. 

In 2016 my first wife Rachael Bland, who was a BBC journalist, newsreader and presenter at BBC 5 Live, was diagnosed with breast cancer.

At the time I had only just made the switch from the BBC to a fantastic PR and content marketing company called No Brainer. It’s fair to say the diagnosis didn’t help with the settling in period but I pushed on and was really enjoying life on the other side of the fence.

That is until September 2018, when Rachael died. Our son was almost three at the time so my priority became him. Only him. I left No Brainer in November or December of that year, determined to take time off to grieve and to give our boy the support he needed. 

But I was also determined to carry on the work that Rachael had started in sharing our story to help others and promoting awareness of the importance of early diagnosis when it came to all types of cancer. 

You, Me and the Big C

Rachael had started a blog and a podcast called You, Me and the Big C, and it had become quite a hit. She’d only recorded a series and a bit of it – about 15 episodes – but it was making waves and clearly helping an awful lot of people.

When Rachael died I stepped into her seat and continued the pod with its astonishing co-presenters Deborah James and Lauren Mahon. And I’ve been doing it ever since.

We won best podcast at the Television and Radio Industries Club (TRIC), we won best new radio show or podcast at the Radio Academy awards (ARIAS), plus moment of the year at the British Podcast Awards.

Why VeeBee?

In late 2019 I was lucky enough to meet a wonderful woman called Amy Vercell. She’s everything to Freddie and I, and together with our gorgeous new twins – Ruby and Luca – we call ourselves ‘Team V-B’!