It’s a heartwarming tale straight out of Hollywood: how Professor Jason Arday forged a path from south London council estate to the ivory towers of Cambridge University. Pictured with the Olympic torch for the London Olympics in 2012Joseph worked as a chef while Gifty was, in various versions of Arday’s life story, a social worker, mental health nurse, charity boss and bereavement counsellor. On a podcast in 2023, Arday recalled: ‘I spent thousands of hours in speech therapy, seven days, six days a week, three hours a day.’ Cambridge University has denied paying the legal company’s bill. Weirdly, the butchers named by Professor Arday as being involved denied any visit by police or knowledge of the affair.