Comedians Ian Smith and Amy Gledhill are set to launch series five of their award-nominated podcast Northern News.
The first episode will be released on Thursday featuring Taskmaster creator Alex Horne as a special guest.
Produced by Plosive and hosted by Acast, the podcast has become one of the UK’s most popular comedy listens since launching in 2023.
It has now surpassed 1.1 million downloads and recently celebrated its 100th episode. Known for its surreal take on quirky local newspaper stories from across the North of England, Northern News has built a loyal audience with tales of aggressive blackbirds named Derek, ghostly bath mats and crisp packet mysteries.
The podcast has also attracted some of the country’s top comedy talent as guests, including Ross Noble, Nish Kumar, Lucy Beaumont, Jessica Knappett, Stevie Martin, David O’Doherty and Rosie Jones.
Looking ahead to the new series, Ian Smith said: “A series break means there’s been enough time for more news to have happened in my hometown of Goole, and they’ve not disappointed! There’s been a plumbing upgrade at the train station!! I can’t wait to tell people about it.”
Amy Gledhill added: “Very thankful the North is still providing brilliantly weird and absurdly daft news.
“It’s a well that never runs dry – much like my love for gravy. And of course, it’s a pleasure to be back in the studio with Ian. Nothing makes me hoot quite like that boy. Do NOT tell him that.”
Northern News series five launches 25 September and will be available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and all major podcast platforms.
