Great Company: Jamie Laing is learning, laughing and crying in his new show

Once a Made In Chelsea stalwart, Jamie Laing is now a permanent fixture in the podcast charts. He spoke to us back in Issue #010 about his love of the medium and now he has a new show under his JamPot label. Great Company has already confirmed a host of guests including comedian Jo Brand, chart-topping singer-songwriters Paloma Faith and Zara Larsson and broadcaster and podcaster Elizabeth Day. We caught up with Jamie to find out more…

Congratulations on the new show! Can you tell us what you’re most excited about with this one?

I’m most excited about Great Company is the fact that I have always loved doing interviews. Ever since I was a kid, I always wanted to have a chat show and I had a previous podcast for many years and the fact that we get to launch Great Company under my production company JamPot is so exciting and for me, it’s just about connecting. I think in this world we have become disconnected. We have become so connected that we’ve become disconnected and this podcast Great Company is about just connecting again with people and this is what I’m most excited about – learning, laughing, crying whatever it is. It’s going to be amazing.

You seem to be one of the most prolific podcasters in the UK – where do you get your ideas?

That’s very kind I don’t think I am. I just think for me that podcasting is an amazing place where you can vomit creativity and I really sort of think fortune favours the brave if that’s a saying and I think that just trying stuff is just so fun and that’s why I just love doing podcasting. Just trying stuff which is amazing.

As our Podcast Disciple back in Issue 10 of the mag, you said “this is just the start of audio”. What do you think has changed since 2020?

I think podcasting is completely 360 now. Podcasting used to just be audio really and a little bit of visual and now it’s so much more than that. And I think people also realise that podcasting has changed where it used to be a conversation between two people but actually I think podcasting is going to go more to format based and people are going to focus on formats in podcasting rather than talent led so I am think there are lots of changes. I think that’s the main change.

What do you hope to see in the next 5 years of audio and podcasting?

What I hope to see in the next 5 years, is I think loads of people come into it which is a good thing and a bad thing. I think in the next 5 years, it’s going to become a really great space and it’s going to be really premium content, really good content, and really considered content and that’s what I’m really excited about that I think you have to make really great stuff and I think in the next 5 years, we’re going to see really amazing things being made in this audio space.

Lastly – there are lots of podcast events happening this year to keep you busy, any you think listeners should join you at?

Oh my god, well we’re doing a festival called Crossed Wires Festival which will be amazing. We are having a NewlyWeds tour which is very exciting. We’ve got The Podcast Show which will be incredible and I think listeners should definitely go to that if they want to learn about podcasting. And also, the British Podcast Awards happens every single year and if listeners can go to that, then go to that as well. That’s what I would say. Thank you so much.

Great Company with Jamie Laing is available now on all podcast providers. Tune into Going Home with Vick, Katie and Jamie on Radio 1, Monday to Thursday, 3.30pm – 6pm.