Story of One Direction told by Maddie Grace Jepson in new podcast

The impact boy-band sensation One Direction and their millions of fans had on cultural history is told in a new BBC Radio 1 podcast.

Influencer and comedy content creator, Maddie Grace Jepson who rose to fame on TikTok and now boasts an audience of over 1.7million followers, hosts the eight-part series, One Direction: A Fan Story.

Maddie speaks to the people who witnessed the obsession in real time: the songwriters, superfans, music journalists, friends of the band, and industry insiders themselves.

Music, archive and interviews, reveal the story of the world’s biggest fan movement since Beatlemania.

Maddie Grace Jepson says: “I was so excited when I was asked by BBC Radio 1 to host a podcast on One Direction. My very first twitter handle was literally ‘maddietomlinson’ with my whole account dedicated to the band, so being able to do this has literally been a dream come true.

“It’s been so fun reflecting on the amazing journey from X Factor to their first ever single, ‘What Makes You Beautiful’ through to selling out albums and tours. The One Direction hype was real and I was very much and still am a Directioner at heart.”

All eight episodes of One Direction: A Fan Story are available on BBC Sounds from today, Friday 17 November.

BBC Sounds is also launching more One Direction programming as part of One Direction Artist Icons.

‘One Direction Artist Icons’ will include ‘One Direction at the BBC’ hosted by Radio 1’s Matt Edmondson as he tells the story of the bands career through exclusive BBC Archives, ‘One Direction and Me’ which will see 1D mega-fan Tyler Oakley select his favourite 1D tracks, while ‘Fans of One Direction’ is a 1-hour playlist of artists who influenced One Direction curated by Radio 1’s Matt Edmondson.