James Acaster becomes UK's top podcaster

Sayonara, Joe Rogan... Springleaf's the new No1

James Acaster has toppled Joe Rogan to become the UK’s top podcaster.

The comedian’s new Springleaf podcast – based on his undercover cop alter-ego – is now the No1 show on Spotify in the UK and Ireland.

It features an all-star comedy cast including Romesh Ranganathan, Katherine Ryan, Tom Allen, Sara Pascoe, Joe Lycett, Lolly Adefope, Nish Kumar, Rosie Jone, Guz Khan, Phil Wang, Ed Gamble, Josh Widdicombe and Sindhu Vee.

Acaster first introduced Springleaf in his 2014 stand-up show Recognise, later released as part of his four-part Netflix special. In that show he ‘revealed’ that he was really an undercover cop who had adopted the guise of a stand-up to infiltrate the comedy circuit.

The podcasts are based on the wire Springleaf wore 24-7-365 (or 366 if it was a leap year). Ten episodes have been made with the second weekly instalment dropping yesterday.

It was made after fans contributed £135,500 to a crowdfunding campaign – a pittance compared to the reported $200million three-and-a-half year deal Rogan has to host his podcast exclusively on Spotify.

Podcast top 2

The Joe Rogan Experience is currently No2 in the UK, followed by The Diary Of A CEO with Steven Bartlett and three of the Rest Is… podcasts on entertainment, politics and football. However, Rogan retains the No1 slot in all other English-speaking territories.

Acaster’s other podcast – Off Menu, which he co-hosts with Ed Gamble – is at No 18.

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Published: 29 Nov 2023