Persephonica land first BBC Sounds podcast commission as new raft launch

BBC Sounds has commissioned Persephonica for the first time to create a brand new podcast with Lily Allen and Miquita Oliver.

Friends from birth, Lily Allen and Miquita Oliver are launching their first podcast on BBC Sounds, Miss Me?. The two lifelong friends will get together twice a week for transatlantic catch-ups, picking apart the complex world around them, going deep on pop culture, politics, music, family, love, life and death. 

Lily and Miquita will be discussing the big topics of the week and sharing their recommendations with a new community of listeners – what they’re watching, wearing, listening to and eating. They will also throw the show open to the audience and invite questions on themes from intimacy to interiors.

Lily Allen says: “I think listeners will enjoy our dialogue because they will be able to tell from the way that we talk to each other, that we are such close friends.

“I hope people will recognise their own friendships in the conversations they’ll hear on Miss Me?, and that it brings them a sense of nostalgia, familiarity, and trust. The truth just sounds different; the way you talk to your proper, old friends, is different to how you speak to anyone else in your life.”

Miquita Oliver adds: “Lily and I have been friends since she was born 38 years ago – I am one year older. Our mothers have been best friends our whole lives. We grew up together and have experienced all of our life alongside each other.

“Miss Me? is the embodiment of that friendship; having a cry, making each other laugh and everything in between… A moment to check in with the friend you love, to find out where life finds you both each week.”

Dino Sofos, Founder and CEO of Persephonica says: “Lily and Miquita have defined pop culture. Our listeners have grown up with them – on their screens and soundtracking their lives. Now we’re letting listeners eavesdrop on their hilariously honest conversations.

“Persephonica has produced chart-topping, genre-defining podcasts with the world’s biggest talent, including Dua Lipa and Emily Maitlis. So we’re excited to launch THE new, must-listen to podcast with Lily, Miquita and BBC Sounds.”

Dylan Haskins, Commissioning Editor, Podcasts for BBC Radio 5 Live and BBC Sounds says: “Lily Allen and Miquita Oliver have the kind of rare chemistry that can only come from a friendship that has endured through real life’s ups and downs.

“They’re open, funny, smart, curious, never afraid to disagree and, most importantly, really good fun to listen to. This is their first podcast together and will also be the first BBC commission for Sheffield-based Persephonica – an independent production company founded three years ago and who have really impressed in that time.”

In addition to Miss Me?, BBC Sounds is also launching a raft of other new podcasts with Natalie Cassidy, Joanna Page, Nicola Coughlan and Joanne McNally, plus the return of Rylan.

Off The Telly launches today, 28 February, a weekly podcast hosted by a new double act – Natalie Cassidy and Joanna Page discussing what they, and everyone else, are really watching on TV.

Nicola Coughlan narrates a new spin off podcast to Helen Bonham Carter’s History’s Secret Heroes, called History’s Youngest Heroes. It includes jaw dropping tales of heroism, deception, and acts of bravery and resistance.

In Who Replaced Avril Lavigne?, which also launches today, comedian Joanne McNally searches far and wide, from Avril’s hometown to the underbelly of the internet, to find out if the rumours are true about a curious theory which claims Avril was replaced by a look-alike at the height of her fame.

Along the way, she immerses herself in a mind-bending world of fake celebrity deaths, doppelgangers, conspiracy theories, and downright absurdity.

Following the success of How to Be a Man, Rylan is back with a new podcast with a working title, How To Be In The Spotlight, coming to BBC Sounds this summer. Rylan sets out to explore what it means to be famous in a series of one-on-one interviews with a host of well-known faces who reveal the true cost of living life under a lens.

Heidi Dawson, Controller for BBC Radio 5 Live says: “We’re thrilled to announce this exciting range of new commissions on BBC Sounds with a star-studded line up of talent. These fantastic new voices will welcome listeners with funny, fresh and insightful perspectives.

“These new titles will provide even more choice for our new audiences and we can’t wait for you to discover your new favourite podcast.”