Vogue Williams and Joanne McNally on podcast win: Ireland was key to our success

Vogue Williams and Joanne McNally have credited “supportive and very encouraging” Irish fans for the success of their podcast My Therapist Ghosted Me.

The Irish double act took home one of the biggest awards of the 2023 British Podcast Awards on Thursday, being name podcast champion, which honours a podcast that has changed the landscape of the medium and made a real impact.

Comedian McNally said the podcast “100%” took off after Ireland got behind it.

“The Irish have been very good to us, they’ve been very supportive and very encouraging,” the 40-year-old told the PA news agency.

“That’s why we’re bringing Ghosted to Australia because wherever there’s Irish people me and Vogue are going to turn up and do a show.

“No-one is safe and luckily for us they are absolutely everywhere.”

Model and media personality Williams, who is married to TV star Spencer Matthews, told PA: “We had a few UK followers probably coming off the back of Spenny (Matthews) and my podcast … but then it bled into Ireland and it just took off for us I would say.”

McNally said the pair were “thrilled” to win a British podcast award as they had not won an Irish one yet.

“We’re like Bob Geldof now we’re just busy getting knighted at the British Podcast Awards,” she continued.

“I guess because we are two Irish women, that’s what’s so interesting about it all, the podcast travels, which is lovely, it is not nationality specific, it is ultimately just friends talking nonsense.”

The pair have hosted the podcast since April 2021 and recently toured the weekly podcast around the UK, with upcoming dates in Australia and Ireland.

Speaking about the joy of being able to go back to Ireland, Williams said: “I live for my time at home.

“I love getting to go back home, I love to see my friends. I live in a place called Howth that I’m obsessed with and for me it’s real quiet, and it’s really relaxing, and it’s good for my head space to go home.

“I would say our pod listeners here and our pod listeners in Ireland are the same, we’re all like-minded.”

McNally said the first few of their UK and Ireland tour shows had a “mostly Irish” audience, but now she can feel it “stretching out”.

She added: “It was in Ireland first for sure and it’s actually really lovely when you start seeing the evolution of the audience, it’s quite cool.

“It’s nice to know that you can be listened to by people who didn’t grow up next door to.”

The pair follow in the footsteps of the late Dame Deborah James, who won the podcast champion award last year for You, Me And The Big C.

Williams added: “I think to come off the back of such a huge podcast like that made it even more special.

“She (Dame Deborah) helped endless amounts of people even in her last days … she was so selfless.”

The live show for My Therapist Ghosted Me continues in November in Australia, before heading to Belfast, Dublin, Co Mayo and Co Kerry.