A St Albans podcaster has been named on a top 10 shortlist of the UK’s most popular podcasts.

Craig Fields, along with Hemel Hempstead-based David Long, host ‘Is it worth it?’, which has been ranked at number seven on podcasting platform Podiant’s top 10 most popular podcasts.

Craig and David go out of their way to watch the latest films in the cinema to let you know if they are worth seeing.

“David and I are both incredibly proud to be in Podiant’s top 10 UK hosted podcasts,” Craig said.

“It’s almost bitter sweet though,” he added. “The podcast is all about seeing all the latest cinematic releases, and most of our podcasting team also work for Cineworld.

“We create lots of different content and adapted during lockdown while the cinema chains were closed, and to great positive reactions. But as Cineworld close all their doors, we find the podcast thrown into a state of mourning for our friends and for the industry as a whole.

“We’d like to take this opportunity to thank Cineworld Hemel Hempstead and their staff on the ground for keeping the cinemas going so we could enjoy the latest releases and we’ll be back there once they open.”

He continued to say that the podcast will continue to make entertaining and engaging content, and willbring you the latest movie reviews from all the streaming platforms as “we navigate this new world together.”

The number of Brits creating a podcast in the last five months has increased by nearly 14 per cent, based on podcast-hosting site Podiant’s new trial data, suggesting that the COVID-19 pandemic has sparked an audio-related transformation.

The amount of UK listeners tuning into podcasts each week has more than doubled in the last five years, amassing around 7.1 million listeners.

Podiant Founder Mark Steadman says: “Despite the uncertainty and difficulties faced across the UK during lockdown, people have found alternative ways to connect with each other, channel their creativity and share their individual voices and experiences.

“We have seen a shift in more people launching a podcast, because it can be recorded from anywhere – the bedroom, garden or even the kitchen. It’s something for which you don’t need any technical experience – you just need a laptop, your voice and a story.”