Which podcast has the largest audience in the UK in 2026?
The 30 largest podcasts in the United Kingdom by estimated active audience, from anonymized search-behavior signals. The Rest Is Politics leads with approximately 5.4M people. Average age and female share per show are in the table.
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Top 30 podcasts by UK audience
| Rank | Name | UK audience | Avg age | Female share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | TThe Rest Is Politics | 5.4M | 45.4 | 54.0% |
| 2 | TThe Daily T | 4.7M | 45.4 | 54.0% |
| 3 | TThe Rest Is History | 3.2M | 45.7 | 53.7% |
| 4 | TThe Diary Of A CEO with Steven Bartlett | 2.3M | 44.4 | 53.6% |
| 5 | TThe Good, The Bad & The Football | 1.3M | 44.0 | 52.0% |
| 6 | CCrime Junkie | 1.3M | 45.1 | 57.6% |
| 7 | TThe Rest Is Politics: US | 1.3M | 45.4 | 54.0% |
| 8 | IIn Our Time | 1.2M | 45.7 | 53.7% |
| 9 | TThe Rest Is Football | 1M | 44.0 | 52.0% |
| 10 | BBreakdown | 1M | 41.5 | 53.7% |
| 11 | SStick to Football | 1M | 44.0 | 52.0% |
| 12 | FFin vs History | 932k | 44.6 | 51.1% |
| 13 | TThe Rest Is Entertainment | 924k | 44.0 | 52.8% |
| 14 | TThe News Agents | 865k | 45.4 | 54.0% |
| 15 | SSerial (podcast) | 846k | — | — |
| 16 | CCall Her Daddy | 783k | 41.1 | 61.7% |
| 17 | DDish | 775k | 44.0 | 52.8% |
| 18 | AAmericast | 774k | 45.4 | 54.0% |
| 19 | KKILL TONY | 715k | 44.6 | 51.1% |
| 20 | TThe Rest Is Science | 656k | 44.4 | 53.0% |
| 21 | RRosebud with Gyles Brandreth | 645k | 44.0 | 52.8% |
| 22 | WWe Need To Talk with Paul C. Brunson | 580k | 44.0 | 52.8% |
| 23 | WWorld War II with Tom Hanks | 574k | 45.7 | 53.7% |
| 24 | TThree Bean Salad | 550k | 44.6 | 51.1% |
| 25 | NNo Such Thing As A Fish | 527k | 44.6 | 51.1% |
| 26 | OOff Menu with Ed Gamble and James Acaster | 505k | 44.6 | 51.1% |
| 27 | UUncanny | 494k | 44.0 | 52.8% |
| 28 | BBad Friends | 487k | 44.6 | 51.1% |
| 29 | SStaying Relevant | 476k | 44.6 | 51.1% |
| 30 | TThe High Performance Podcast | 470k | 44.0 | 52.0% |
Explore the full audience profile
Click any entry to see demographics, top regions, peer affinities and psychographics for that audience.
Open audience directory →Frequently asked questions
Which podcast is the most popular in the UK in 2026?
The Rest Is Politics has the largest measured UK audience with approximately 5.4M people showing active interest over the trailing 12 months.
Why does the UK ranking differ so much from the US one?
Because podcast audiences are strongly national. British political and history shows dominate here and barely register in the US, and the reverse is equally true. Audience is computed per country for exactly this reason.
Is this the same as the Apple or Spotify charts?
No. Platform charts rank by activity within one platform over a short window. This measures interest across the whole market over twelve months, which is steadier and comparable between shows on different platforms.
Can I compare a podcast against a TV channel or newspaper?
Yes. Audience size is computed the same way for every media property, so a podcast, a channel and a title can be set side by side on one scale.
How often is this updated?
Quarterly, from the latest search-behavior data.
Using this ranking for sponsorship & media planning
Rankings like this are the starting point for commercial questions: Which audiences match a brand's target group? How does a rights holder's fanbase compare to its league peers? Where does a media plan reach the most engaged fans? Rascasse combines audience size with demographics, regional distribution and brand affinities — the full dataset behind this page is available in the Rascasse Solution, including exports and benchmarking.
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