Keep It Grief, the podcast created to encourage more open and honest conversations about loss, has been shortlisted for a major national podcast award just six months after launching.
The weekly podcast, hosted by broadcaster Jonny Meah and his close friend Neil Collins, has been named as one of 10 finalists in the personal stories category at the 2026 Independent Podcast Awards.
More than 500 entries were submitted across this year’s awards, with winners due to be announced at a ceremony at Kings Place in London on 4th November.
Keep It Grief launched in February 2026 with a simple ambition: to talk about grief as people actually experience it, without sugar-coating the difficult moments, but also recognising the warmth, humour and life that continue alongside loss. Meah created the podcast following the death of his mother Betty from breast cancer in 2023, while Collins brings his own experience of losing his fiancée Lottie suddenly in the same year.
Since then, the pair have spoken to listeners and high-profile guests about everything from sudden death and dementia to suicide, losing parents and grandparents, caring for loved ones and the way grief can fundamentally redirect a person’s life. Guests have included Atomic Kitten singer Natasha Hamilton, RuPaul’s Drag Race star Kitty Scott-Claus, X Factor winner Matt Terry and US country music star Alana Springsteen.
Next week’s episode (Sept 23rd) also sees Ben Kennedy, known online as His Grief UK, join as guest co-host.
Kennedy suddenly lost his wife and their unborn baby boy five-and-a-half years ago, aged just 32, leaving him to navigate his own grief while becoming a solo dad to their four-year-old son. He has since used his experience to support others living with loss and is now an ambassador for The Good Grief Trust.
Meah said: “Six months ago, Neil and I sat down in our podcast pub for the first time and started talking about a loss neither of us ever wanted to experience but through talking about hoped we might better understand.
“We also hoped people might listen. What we didn’t expect was the number of people who would get in touch and tell us they recognised their own grief in the conversations we were having.
“That’s probably the thing I’m proudest of. We’ve cried on this podcast, we’ve laughed a lot more than people might expect, and we’ve had conversations that sometimes aren’t easy. But they’ve always been real.
“To be shortlisted for an Independent Podcast Award after just six months is pretty incredible. Whatever happens on the night, it feels like recognition that there is a real appetite for talking about grief differently, and hopefully we’re creating somewhere people feel able to do that.”
The Personal Stories category recognises podcasts which explore experiences that change people’s lives or outlooks, including conversations with others who have lived through similar experiences.
The Estate Registry has supported Keep It Grief as headline partner since its launch, reflecting the organisation’s work supporting bereaved families through the practical realities that follow a death.
Howard Enders, chief operating officer at The Estate Registry, who has appeared as a guest on the podcast, said: “We backed Keep It Grief because we recognised from the beginning that there was something important in what Jonny and Neil wanted to do.
“We work with bereaved families every day and know that grief isn’t neat, predictable or confined to the period immediately after somebody dies. It affects families emotionally and practically, often in ways they could never have anticipated.
“Keep It Grief has created a space where those experiences can be discussed honestly, sensitively and sometimes with humour. To see it shortlisted for such a significant award only six months after launch is a wonderful endorsement of what Jonny, Neil and the production team have created, and we’re incredibly proud to be part of it.”
The Independent Podcast Awards received well over 500 entries for its 2026 awards, with judges selecting ten programmes for the Personal Stories shortlist. The winners will be announced at the Independent Podcast Awards ceremony at Kings Place, London, on 4th November.
Keep It Grief is available weekly on all major podcast platforms, including Apple Podcasts and Spotify, and on YouTube.
