Bill Nighy has won the award for best host at the British Podcast Awards, beating the names of Louis Theroux, Katherine Ryan and Lily Allen. The 76-year-old actor, known for Love Actually, Living and the Underworld films, took the gold for what award organisers called his “irresistibly endearing series”, Ill-Advised.
An agony uncle in a studio
Ill-Advised is billed as “a podcast for people who don’t get out much and can’t handle it when they do”, in which Nighy hands out wry advice to listeners and muses on life, music and books. The show represents a genuine second career in audio for an actor who had been a household name from films for four decades.
The awards came just months after Nighy also took podcast of the year at the Broadcasting Press Guild Awards in March, a rare double recognition for the same period of work.
Winners across the board
Other names taking gold at the 10th annual ceremony included Pete Wicks, Sophie and Jamie Laing, Peter Crouch and Alan Carr. Pete Wicks’ Man Made won twice, picking up best interview podcast and best health and wellbeing podcast for a series in which he tries to “unpack modern masculinity”.
Sean Bean’s birdwatching series Get Birding also collected two prizes, best lifestyle podcast and best video innovation. The Prison Radio Association’s Hold or Fold, a series about problem gambling, took the overall top prize for best podcast as well as best factual podcast. Fans voted Hard Launch with Dan & Phil, hosted by the YouTube veterans, as the listeners’ choice winner.
A broad field of winners
The list shows just how crowded British audio has become. Alan Carr and Lee Peart took best food and drink podcast for Bottoms Up!, their comedy and wine series. The Intelligence from The Economist won best daily podcast, while The Birth Keepers from The Guardian took best documentary. BBC World Service was named best network or publisher.
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The full gold list also recognised Legend: The Bruce Springsteen Story for arts and culture, The Wargame, from Sky News and Tortoise, for news, politics and current affairs, Hanes Mawr Cymru for Welsh language podcasting, and SEND in the Spotlight for impact. Rising star went to Georgie Styles, while the specialist award was taken by The Dementia Perspective.
Why it matters
The best host category is arguably the clearest signal of how the medium has matured. Nighy is a screen performer who has become genuinely good at an entirely different craft, and beating three of the most recognisable podcasters in Britain is not a token win for a familiar name. It reflects an audience willing to treat a host’s voice and tone as the draw, independent of what they are known for.
The awards themselves have also broadened. Alongside the established shows, the winners include a prison radio charity, a Welsh language series and a podcast from a two-person independent outfit, which is a reasonably healthy picture of a medium that is no longer dominated by a small London clique.
What happens next
All of the winners will be honoured at a live ceremony later in the year. Nighy’s next task is to keep Ill-Advised running, having established that a 76-year-old film actor can front a chart-topping podcast with no visual aid at all.
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