Podcasts tackling grief and cancer take top awards at the UK Aria Awards

Last night saw podcasts You, Me and the Big C and Griefcast, winning gold awards at the Audio and Radio Industry Awards (Arias).

The awards are said to be 'the Oscars of UK radio and audio' and recognise talented individuals across the sector in the UK. The Arias offer 20 awards, acknowledging podcasts, presenters, community programming, storytelling and sound.

You, Me and The Big C, the Radio 5 Live podcast, took the gold award for the Best New Show. The show, which started earlier this year, was founded by Rachael Bland and presented by Rachael, Deborah James and Lauren Mahon - all of whom have personal experince of cancer.

Rachael died in September, but not before the podcast had reached number one in the iTunes charts and helped thousands of people. The podcast has opened up the conversation around living - and dying - with cancer and is currently in it's second season, with Deborah James and Lauren Mahon promising to take the show forward, at Rachael's insistence.

Griefcast, a podcast created by comedian Cariad Lloyd, scooped Best Podcast. Griefcast, now in its third series, features conversations between Caraid and others in the comedy industry, speaking about lost loved ones, death and grief. Conversations are often as funny as they are heartbreaking and the podcast has recieved wide acclaim including at the British Podcast Awards. Guests include Sarah Pascoe, Jayde Adams, Eshaan Akbar and Emily Dean.

View this post on Instagram

Tonight I was on stage @finboroughtheatre doing A Funny Thing... so I couldn’t be at the #ARIAS so my amazing editor @katekateholland went just in case @thegriefcast won Best Podcast. And bloody hell it did, 🏆 I am so overwhelmed, happy + a bit tipsy in an Uber home. Thank you to every guest for being brave + vulnerable enough to share their stories, when it can feel like the world is telling you not too. Thank you to Whistledown Studios, @acastuk @applepodcasts for supporting podcasting. And thank you, huge thank you to the dead. The mums, dads, sisters, brothers, friends, grandads, nans, daughters, wives, babies and dogs that make griefcast possible. It can seem like their deaths make their stories possible but I have learnt it is their lives and the love they shared while they lived that allows them to be remembered ❤️

A post shared by Cariad (@cariadlloyd) on

Listen to You, Me and The Big C and Griefcast

If you need support with grief or bereavement, visit Counselling Directory to find therapist near you.