Crisis’ Baby, It’s Cold Outside podcast will launch on 17 December

Baby, It's Cold Outside, a new three-part podcast drama starring actors Chris O'Dowd and Anne-Marie Duff will premiere on Monday 17 December, with further episodes on 18 and 19 December.

Written by award winning screenwriter Regina Moriarty and directed by Virginia Gilbert, the podcast seeks to highlight homelessness through the story of Ed, played by Chris O’Dowd. The series follows Ed’s journey as he struggles with homelessness over the Christmas period, while striving to spend time with his son and keeping the tragedy of his circumstances a secret from his loved ones.

Produced in association with Crisis, the charity that seeks to support people out of homelessness for good, Baby, It’s Cold Outside explores the real impact of homelessness in the UK while taking listeners on an entertaining, humorous and thought-provoking journey, through the eyes of Ed, Sam (Anne-Marie Duff) and their son George (Billy Jenkins).

When asked how he hopes the podcast might change people’s perception of homelessness, Chris said:

“I would hope that the podcast informs people that becoming homeless is happening to people all the time and its ok to approach someone and be helpful. We want to educate listeners as how easily homelessness can happen.

“It’s not so otherworldly, they (people who are homeless) are not aliens - they’re just one of us who have had something sh*tty happen.”

Anne-Marie Duff echoes Chris’ sentiment:

"Baby, It’s Cold Outside tells the tale of someone who could be any one of us. It could be me, it could be my brother or my uncle, it could be anyone. It feels like that’s the objective of this story, to say here we all are together."

News of the podcasts release coincides with reports that the number of rough sleepers on the streets of the UK have escalated by 20% in the past twelve months, and there are calls for the government to stop ‘ignoring an ongoing crisis’.

If you would like to know how you can support people who are homeless at Christmas, find out more information visit Crisis.

Baby, It’s Cold Outside podcast has been developed by Duck Soup Films, in association with Crisis. You can listen to the trailer now.