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Issue 1281 - The A Team

We're delighted to welcome our old friend Christopher Eccleston back to the cover of The Big Issue. And this week, he's also joined by Leon Harrop, Eccleston's co-star in BBC One's game-changing drama The A Word – and now poster boy for actors with Down’s Syndrome. We caught up with the pair at the Charlotte Street Hotel last month. It's a fascinating interview, filled with warmth and wit. Not to be missed.

If you live outside the UK or can't reach a Big Issue vendor, this edition can be purchased online here.

Also this week...

Meanwhile, it's been argued that The A Word made autism diagnosis and treatment look much more straightforward than it is. We carry a piece by Connie, mother of Maisie who is ‘in the system’. She says the reality is even trickier. What’s needed is love, patience – and a lot more funding.

In Letter to My Younger Self, pop icon Nile Rodgers reflects on finding faith in Studio 54, and why he'll never apologise for trying to make people feel good.

"Ever since I’ve become a professional composer, ever since the ’70s, it’s just been a tragic episode after another that has befallen humanity," he says. "We do escapist music and I’m quite proud of that."

Brexit, Bono, Bowie and education reform. Two decades in and Stereophonics still have plenty to say. We speak with frontman Kelly Jones.

And lots more.

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