British Podcast Awards

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British Podcast Awards
Official logo
Awarded for	The best in British podcasting
Country	United Kingdom
Presented by	Haymarket Media Group
First award	29 April 2017; 9 years ago (2017-04-29)
Website	www.britishpodcastawards.com

The British Podcast Awards is an annual awards ceremony honouring British podcast production. The event is owned and operated by Haymarket Media Group, whose media portfolio includes Campaign and PRWeek.

History

The British Podcast Awards was co-founded in 2017 by Matt Hill, managing director of production company Rethink Audio, and Matt Deegan, creative director of audio firm Folder Media. Deegan and Hill assumed control of^{[clarification needed]} the Australian Podcast Awards in 2020 and launched the Irish Podcasts Awards in 2021.^{[failed verification]}

In 2022, Podcast Awards Ltd, the operating company behind the awards, was acquired by Haymarket Media Group. The event was integrated into Haymarket Business Media's marketing communications portfolio, with plans to expand podcast events internationally.

PodPod, an industry publication covering the business and production of podcasting that launched in 2022, became the official media partner of the awards in 2023, before management of the ceremony was transferred to Campaign.

2017

Chaired by Helen Zaltzman, the judging panel contained more than 50 independent members representing podcast creators, publishers, the press, listeners and audio industry executives. The awards received over 400 entries, spanning genres including TV, film, sport, comedy, true crime, and current affairs. The award ceremony, hosted by Olly Mann, took place in London on 29 April 2017 with presenters including Edith Bowman, Grace Dent, and James Cooper from My Dad Wrote a Porno.

2018

The second British Podcast Awards saw the 50-strong judging panel, chaired by Nish Kumar, listening to over 1,000 hours of entries, with new categories created to recognise comedy, family and innovation. The 2018 awards were supported by acast, Radioplayer, Twitter, Muddy Knees Media, Podiant, Whistledown, IPDTL, Hindenburg Systems, Create Productions and Audible and Sony Music’s 4th Floor Creative. The British Podcast Awards also partnered with The Guardian to create a five-part podcast series to showcase the nominees.

The ceremony, hosted again by Olly Mann, took place in London on 19 May 2018 and was attended by some of the biggest names in audio, including Simon Mayo, Mark Kermode, Jake Wood, Fi Glover, Josh Widdicombe and Fearne Cotton. The Listeners' Choice Award, won by Kermode and Mayo's Film Review, saw over 110,000 votes cast by the public.

2019

Entering its third year, the 2019 British Podcast Awards saw brand new categories, including acast Moment of the Year, Best Sex and Relationships podcast and the Bullseye Award supported by Podiant, alongside returning categories true crime, entertainment, interview, fiction and current affairs. The Bullseye Award honoured the podcasts that produce exceptional listening experiences for niche audiences and those under-represented in other British media.

On 8 April 2019, the nominations for the British Podcast Awards powered by DAX were streamed live on Twitter, with the podcasting stars of No Such Thing as a Fish revealing the top six podcasts nominated in each of the 15 categories.

The ceremony, hosted by Cariad Lloyd, took place at Kings Place in London on 18 May 2019, with guests and presenters including Michael Sheen, Fearne Cotton, Julia Davis, Vicki Pepperdine, Elizabeth Day, Giovanna Fletcher, Alice Levine, Jane Garvey, Hussain Manawer, Katie Piper and Anna Whitehouse. The ceremony was recorded and available to watch on YouTube 48 hours after the event.

George the Poet, who entered his Have You Heard George's Podcast? declaring under 5,000 listeners per episode, was the stand-out winner of the night, walking away with five awards, including Smartest, Best Arts & Culture, Best Fiction, Best New Podcast, and was named Audioboom's Podcast of the Year. Brexitcast, presented by Laura Kuenssberg, Chris Mason, Katya Adler and Adam Fleming, won the Listeners' Choice award with 190,000 public votes cast.

2020

The 2020 British Podcast Awards, in association with Acast, took place digitally due to COVID-19 restrictions in the UK, with awards taken to winners' doorsteps and a hamper of confetti cannons and treats for all nominees.

The 2020 nominees were chosen from over 1,000 entries by over 50 judges, including the likes of Annie Mac, Katie Piper and Dustin Lance Black, with 2019 big winner George the Poet overseeing the process as chair of the judges. New award categories for 2020 included Best Daily Podcast, Best Live Episode, Best Publisher or Network, Best Wellbeing Podcast and Best Podcast in the Welsh Language.

The ceremony, hosted by Clara Amfo and Rhianna Dhillon, included presenters such as Claudia Winkleman, Louis Theroux, Ian Wright and Mel Giedroyc, and was livestreamed on YouTube on 11 July 2020 and watched by 12,000 viewers at home. The Listeners' Choice Award received over 230,000 votes and was won by Shagged Married Annoyed, presented by Chris and Rosie Ramsey.

The 2020 awards were the first edition to use gold, silver and bronze awards rather than a singular winner for most awards, except for Podcast of the Year and Podcast Champion.

2021

In 2021, the British Podcast Awards, now in its fifth year and powered by Amazon Music, announced new categories including Best Lockdown Podcast, Best Documentary Podcast and The International Award for overseas podcasts, suggested by the readers of the Great British Podcasts email newsletter.

The awards took place at the open-air London venue Brockwell Park on 10 July 2021 to reflect the COVID-19 restrictions on large indoor gatherings. Hosted by Jordan North, William Hanson and Poppy Jay, the ceremony also included guest presenters such as Fearne Cotton, Jessie Ware, Oti Mabuse, the hosts of My Dad Wrote A Porno, Vick Hope, Dr Rangan Chatterjee, the hosts of No Such Thing As A Fish and Deborah Frances-White.

Stolen Goodbyes won Best Lockdown Podcast, which tells the stories of those who died from COVID-19 without having the chance to say goodbye. Best New Podcast went to Field Recordings, a podcast transporting listeners to the great outdoors whilst being confined to their own homes.

The only award voted for by the public, the Listeners’ Choice Award saw over 140,000 votes cast. The top spot this year was won by true crime podcast RedHanded, with Podcast Champion awarded to Fearne Cotton to recognise her work in the mental health and wellbeing space. VENT Documentaries, a podcast that shares the formative experiences of young people in the London borough of Brent picked up three awards – Smartest Podcast, Best Documentary and Podcast of the Year.

2022

More than 250 nominees in over 30 categories made the shortlist for the 2022 British Podcast Awards. The judging panel, chaired by Emily Maitlis and Jon Sopel, listened to 319 hours of podcasts from over 1,200 entries. The ceremony, held on 23 July 2022 at Kennington Park in London, was hosted by Elis James and John Robins, alongside Pandora Sykes, Jamie Laing, the hosts of My Dad Wrote a Porno, Idris and Sabrina Elba, Poppy Jay, Jon Sopel, the hosts of RedHanded and Tolani Shoneye and Dr Rupy of The Receipts.

The Podcast Champion award was awarded to the BBC podcast You, Me and the Big C. The award honoured the work of the late Dame Deborah James who had died a month prior, her colleague Rachael Bland who had died in 2018, Bland's husband Steve who had taken her place on the podcast and their colleague Lauren Mahon, whose podcast has contributed to public awareness and perception of cancer and cancer treatment.

BBC World Service podcast Dear Daughter won Best Family Podcast and the prestigious Podcast of the Year award. Dear Daughter hears letters written to daughters from around the world, which are often described by listeners as inspiring, poignant and funny.

The only award voted for by the public, the Listeners’ Choice Award, was won by the true-crime podcast RedHanded for the second year in a row.

2023

Entries opened in January 2023 for the seventh British Podcast Awards which returned in September that year, in partnership with PodPod.

The ceremony took place on 28 September 2023 at Outernet London and was attended by around 500 figures from the podcasting industry. The event was hosted by Zoe Lyons and Stephen Bailey, comedians and co-hosts of the Let's Talk About the Husband podcast. Partners for the event included BBC Sounds, Global, Audible, Amazon Music, Wondery and Nomono, with each sponsoring a different category.

Judges from 2023's British Podcast Awards received over 1,000 submissions across 22 categories. The Podcast of the Year award was chosen by the judges from the Gold winners and went to A Positive Life: HIV from Terrence Higgins to Today produced by Overcoat Media for BBC Sounds and narrated by Sam Smith on the stories of people in the UK with HIV over the last 40 years. The podcast also won Best Factual Podcast.

The Listener's Choice Award, which received over 232,000 votes from podcast fans, went to true crime podcast RedHanded for the third consecutive year. Podcast Champion – which honours a podcast that has changed the landscape of the medium and made a real impact – went to Vogue Williams and Joanne McNally for their hit podcast My Therapist Ghosted Me.

2024

The ceremony, hosted by Marcus Brigstocke, took place on 26 September 2024 at Outernet London. Category presenters included Rylan Clark and Scott Mills, Annie Mac, Olivia Atwood, Emily Maitlis, Jon Sopel and Lewis Goodall of The News Agents, Joanne McNally, William Hanson and Jordan North of Help I Sexted My Boss, and Hilary and Michael Whitehall.

Dr. Clare Bailey Mosley accepted the Hall of Fame award on behalf of her late husband, Dr. Michael Mosley, host of the BBC Radio 4 podcast Just One Thing.

2025

The nominees for the 2025 British Podcast Awards were announced on 24 July 2025. That same day, voting for the Listeners' Choice Award opened, which ran until 29 August. The ceremony took place on 2 October 2025 in the Indigo at The O2 in London, hosted by comedian Maisie Adam.

The Podcast of the Year award, selected from a pool of all other Gold winners, went to Audible original podcast Kill List, hosted by tech journalist and author Carl Miller. The Listeners' Choice Award, as voted by the public, went to Betwixt The Sheets: The History of Sex, Scandal & Society, hosted by Dr. Kate Lister and produced by Dan Snow's History Hit.

2026

The longlist for the 2026 British Podcast Awards was revealed on 6 July 2026, with the shortlist of nominees revealed later that month on 23 July. The Listeners' Choice Award voting was split into two rounds: a nomination round held on the British Podcast Awards website for two weeks in July, and the final voting round held via Spotify which ran from 30 July to 28 August 2026. In September 2026, the host was announced as comedian Jake Bhardwaj, co-host of the podcasts Joe Marler Will See You Now and Pub Quiz Pod.

The ceremony took place on 1 October 2026 in the Indigo at The O2 in London. The Podcast of the Year award went to Hold or Fold, hosted by Ben Jones and Steve Girling for National Prison Radio. The Listeners' Choice Award was won by Hard Launch with Dan and Phil, hosted by YouTubers Daniel Howell and Phil Lester.

Notes

References

External links

• Official website