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This August, Frank Stedman will walk 200 miles from our HMP Styal HQ in Cheshire, to our HMP Brixton HQ in South London to raise funds for our charity and awareness of how National Prison Radio supports prisoners across England and Wales.
Frank was recently interviewed on our Life After Prison podcast. After the interview, he was amazed by how passionate everyone in that room was and felt he wanted to do more to help.
Feeling inspired, Frank reached out to us proposing his plan – to walk 200 miles in support of National Prison Radio. And so, starting the 27th August, he’ll be walking roughly 25 miles a day, sleeping wherever he can, and aiming to complete the journey in 10 days.
Frank shares how he once underestimated the power of a simple conversation – until he began speaking about his own journey.
Having spent time in prison listening to National Prison Radio, he knows firsthand how deeply it touches lives in ways most people can’t truly understand unless they’ve been inside.
Frank hopes that by taking on such a huge challenge, he can shine a light on the powerful impact of our work – and inspire others to donate in support of it.
“National Prison Radio aims to help people in prison return to their communities as active citizens who can contribute positively to society. We are there to support our audience throughout their imprisonment, encouraging listeners to engage with the harm they may have caused, but also to rebuild their lives. Frank is a shining example of a National Prison Radio listener who has transformed his outlook and is determined to give something back. We are incredibly grateful to him for choosing to support our charity.” Andrew Wilkie, Deputy Chief Executive
Frank Stedman was born in Essex in 1983. He was arrested in 2009 and got sentenced to 9 years for conspiracy to supply class A drugs. A month into his sentence, Frank’s brother tragically took his own life, and Frank was put into segregation for 10 days after he applied to attend the funeral.
But in that isolation, something shifted for Frank, he found strength – both mentally and physically – but above all acceptance, and has carried that with him ever since.
Now, he wants to turn that difficult experience into something positive and he wants to honour those 10 days by walking 10 days for National Prison Radio.
As Frank says, “Those 10 days ended up being a turning point in my life.”
Since his release from prison, Frank has put his all his energy into helping others by giving talks in schools and sharing his story where he can.
Now, Frank lives a quiet life in the Essex countryside with his family. He enjoys walking his dog, gardening and coming up with crazy plans for intrepid sponsored walks!
He runs his own scaffolding business, and has written a book about his life, titled ‘To Be Frank,’ to try and prevent young people going down the same path that he did.
In 2009 we founded the world’s first national radio station for people in prison – National Prison Radio.
National Prison Radio is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week in prison cells. Our target audience is the 80,000 + people behind bars across England and Wales. We can communicate with prisoners directly in their cells in a way that no other intervention can.
From our studios in HMP Styal and HMP Brixton, we broadcast audio content that’s produced and presented by serving prisoners, working alongside our team of professional radio producers. This makes National Prison Radio a by prisoner, for prisoner service.
We aim to reduce reoffending by supporting people through their sentences and preparing them for life after release.
We equip people in prison with skills and confidence, increasing people’s chances of accessing employment and education after release.
We have diverse programming which aims to promote a culture of positive change in prison, while acknowledging and addressing the challenges of life behind bars.
Our programmes target the key factors linked to reducing people’s likelihood of reoffending. They support the strategic priorities of HM Prison and Probation Service, with whom we work in close partnership. Nearly all programmes are presented by people in prison, or those who have left. This is the key to its success.
By amplifying the voices of those with prison experience, we produce life-changing media that offers solutions, reshapes perspectives and reduces crime.
Each day on his walk, Frank will be putting updates and videos on his social media. His Instagram page will also be inviting people to walk with him along the way, or to just come and say hi.
He will be showing his route and the amount of miles walked each day on Instagram, whilst videoing his reflection on that day’s journey.
To support Frank and National Prison Radio, you can head to Frank’s JustGiving page here.
Frank will be taking off in the early hours of Wednesday 27th August 2025. You can join his journey by following his Instagram here. And we will be covering and reposting Frank’s journey on our social media too.
If you would like to stay up to speed with Frank’s 200 mile walk for National Prison Radio follow us on:
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