From the latest season of Bridgerton to London’s Savoy Hotel, this week’s podcast picks have something for everyone.
1. Bridgerton: The Official Podcast
Streaming platform: All streaming platforms and YouTube
Genre: TV and relationships
Bridgerton: The Official Podcast is back as the TV show itself enters its fourth season.
Across six episodes, the podcast draws viewers in as host Alison Hammond speaks with cast and crew members, while taking a deep dive into the show and exploring behind-the-scenes insights.
The first episode features the leading actors of season four: Luke Thompson (Benedict Bridgerton) and Yerin Ha (Sophie Baek) as they discuss their love story.
Throughout the interview, the two speak of what it was like when Ha joined the Bridgerton team, as she says it was “like slotting into a family.”
They also dive deeper into Benedict’s character, his patterns and behaviours and the staircase scene where he asks Sophie to be his mistress. The pair reveal that they built trust and comfort with each other quite organically and they got to know each other through the scenes.
The second part of the episode sees Hammond speak with showrunner Jess Brownell as she explains a little bit more about the writing process for the show, where they get their inspiration from and how closely they stick to the books when it comes to the screenplay.
Brownell explains “this book was very adaptable for the screen,” as well as some surprises that may pop up when the second half of the show is released on February 26.
The next episodes will include conversations with Hannah Dodd and Claudia Jessie as well as Ruth Gemmell, Daniel Francis and Katie Leung.
(By Sara Keenan)
2. You, Me And The Big C
Streaming platform: BBC Sounds
Genre: Health
This week, BBC Radio 5 Live released a very special nostalgic episode of You, Me And The Big C to mark World Cancer Day, celebrating the profound impact and enduring legacy of the podcast and its late, much-loved original hosts, Rachael Bland and Dame Deborah James.
Original presenter Lauren Mahon is joined by Steve Bland, Rachael Bland’s husband, and 5 Live presenter Tony Livesey to reignite the podcast, which has not aired a new episode since April 2024.
Together, they reflect on the early days of You, Me And The Big C and how it helped raise awareness and permanently change the way we talk about cancer.
The trio share their own personal experiences with cancer, reminisce about the wider team behind the podcast, and welcome special guests – including Trisha Goddard – back into the You, Me And The Big C family.
This tribute episode tackles long-standing taboos surrounding cancer, while celebrating the countless lives the podcast has touched and supported.
Whether you are facing a diagnosis yourself, supporting a loved one, or simply want to learn more, this tribute episode – along with the wealth of previous episodes – offers insight, honesty and practical advice across a wide range of cancer-related topics to help people through an incredibly challenging time.
(By Camilla Foster)
3. The Savoy Originals
Streaming platform: All streaming platforms and YouTube
Genre: Life and culture
Set within a luxurious suite of London’s The Savoy Hotel, journalist Alex Zane dives into a conversation with Dame Maggie Aderin-Pocock, which is surprisingly intimate.
Over champagne, the astrophysicist and broadcaster gives listeners small, luminous memories – such as walking across Hampstead Heath before school and peering at winter stars, building her first telescope and other small beginnings of a life in science.
Aderin-Pocock returns often to the Japanese idea of ikigai – the overlap between what you love, what you’re good at, what the world needs and what you can be paid for – describing it as a compass she tries to pass on to children when discussing her own career in science.
She also shares her recent dyslexia diagnosis; rather than framing it as a setback, she credits it for shaping her clarity as a communicator, forcing her to think from the listener’s perspective.
Zane’s unobtrusive style lets the interview flow, resulting in an insightful and easy listen.
(By Lara Owen)
4. Leave A Message With Ally & G
Streaming platform: All streaming platforms and YouTube
Genre: Culture and comedy
Podcasters Ally and G have relaunched their popular Leave A Message, where the self-proclaimed ‘professional yappers’ aim to “help the girls in need”.
Each week, the podcast begins with dilemmas and stories that listeners email, DM or voice note in, which the presenters – who are also best friends – then discuss.
From messy situationships, to mortifying moments and friendship breakups, Ally and G have succeeded at creating a safe and judgement‑free space for their community, which welcomes honesty and fresh perspectives.
In the third episode, Ally and G discuss the difference between people who are always late and those who turn up early, the lack of squat racks in gyms, the recent report linking menopause and Alzheimer’s-like brain changes, and what they love about the Beckhams.
They also speak about tattoos, posh friends, their stint on radio – and why they’ve crossed radio off their vision board – the pursuit of happiness, and the wellbeing of child stars, namely Amanda Bynes.
Leave A Message With Ally & G gets to the heart of the matter.
(By Yolanthe Fawehinmi)
Spotlight on…
4. What’s The Tea, Amy?
Streaming platform: All streaming platforms and YouTube
Genre: Life and culture
Amy Jackson is one of the world’s most well-known actresses that you might not have heard about.
The Liverpool-born star, who started her career in Bollywood as a teenager, has now pivoted to interviewing with her podcast What’s The Tea, Amy?
Set in a tea shop, this visualised podcast includes a cosy chat with a celebrity each week, as well as a second, solo natter episode, where Jackson offers advice to listeners.
Jackson has a knack of encouraging her guests to be as honest as she is about the tricky sides of relationships, motherhood and career, as well as the pressures women have to be people-pleasers.
The first visitors to her tea shop include documentary maker Stacey Dooley, former Little Mix singer Leigh-Anne Pinnock and Gossip Girl actor Ed Westwick – also known as Jackson’s husband.
Despite the sometimes heavy subject matter, the conversations are often full of laughter and always come with a generous slice of Scouse sensibility.
Settle in for a cuppa and watch out for when Jackson finally cracks open the rather enticing jar of biscuits in the background.
(By Amy Crowther)
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