Independent Podcast Awards 2026: winners announced

The winners of the fourth edition of the Independent Podcast Awards were announced this week during a sold-out ceremony at Kings Place in London. ‘Great Days Out on the Bus from Buxton’ was named the overall Independent Podcast of the Year, after also winning the Best Travel & Adventure and Best Artwork categories and being Highly Commended in the Best Regional category.

The awards were co-founded by Verbal Diorama and whynow in 2023 to celebrate those podcasts made in backrooms, in their creator’s spare time and without the pressures of upsetting sponsors along the way. In August, YouTube were announced as Headline Partners for this year’s awards and as part of the partnership, Head of MediaCo and Responsibility Partnerships for YouTube UK, Mairi Brewis, announced the overall winner.

With a total of 28 categories, including three new ones for 2026 (Best Regional Podcast, Best Personal Stories Podcast, and Best Limited Series), the awards celebrated a huge range of talented indie creators, added the organisers. More than 400 people from the indie podcasting community gathered in a sold-out ceremony in London to find out who had won one of the coveted trophies.

‘Great Days Out on the Bus From Buxton’ took home two category awards and the overall Independent Podcast of the Year title. The show is solo produced by Maria Passingham, with award-winning artwork from Savannah Storm.

‘War Hall: A Theatre of the Mind’ was also announced as the Runner-Up, after winning the Best Arts & Culture and Best Music categories. It is the first podcast to receive the accolade, showing the continued quality of independent podcasting in the UK and Ireland.

The judges said of ‘Great Days Out on the Bus From Buxton’: “This is a remarkable podcast. It is so hyper local and yet so completely immersive. The host is instantly charming, open and natural. Great Days Out is also a massive argument for the audio format. The soundscapes created felt truly authentic, the audio paints the picture in your head - you feel like you're on the bus, in the field, in the pub alongside Maria. Many people underestimate the work required to create a podcast of this quality, and of this nature. This is exceptionally pure and so very well done. Congratulations!”

The show will see its name up in lights on billboards in Leicester Square from yesterday thanks to the team at Spotify.

St Ermin’s Hotel have also given the winner a recording session in their new podcast studio in Westminster, including an overnight stay and dinner at the hotel.

Apple, Spotify and Pocket Casts have created playlists for the winners on their platforms so you can listen to them all wherever you get your podcasts.

A full list of winners is as follows:

Winner: Great Days Out on the Bus from Buxton

Winner: War Hall: A Theatre of the Mind

Winner: The Failing Writers Podcast

Winner: The Creative Life Story Work Podcast

Winner: The Factory Next Door

Winner: Dexplorers

Winner: Leyline High Rewind

Winner: BatChat

Winner: Spooky Story Time

Winner: All The Right Movies

Winner: PastMaster: Reshaping History

Winner: Mag Hags

Winner: How Haunted?

Winner: A Dose of Wellbeing: The Pharmacist Support Podcast

Winner: The Secret Life of Songs

Winner: War Hall: A Theatre of the Mind

Winner: The Trawl

Winner: Neuroshambles

Winner: Still Life

Winner: Highlands Reimagined

Winner: Somewhere on Earth: The Global Tech Podcast

Winner: The Lighting Fires Podcast

Winner: Come Curious

Winner: Grand Pricks

Winner: Great Days Out On The Bus From Buxton

Winner: The Overturn

Winner: Prash’s Murder Map: True Crime Podcast

Winner: Great Days Out on the Bus From Buxton

Artist: Savannah Storm

Winner: Garlic & Pearls

Musicians: Joe Martin (violin) and Gareth Jones (trumpet)

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