You, Me and the Big C podcast presenters are set to step down

The presenters of You, Me and the Big C are set to stand down from the podcast following the deaths of Rachael Bland and Dame Deborah James from cancer.

Lauren Mahon and Steve Bland said they were ready to "hang up their headphones,” seven months after the death of Dame Deborah, the BBC reported.

Mahon launched the podcast in 2018, presenting with BBC Radio 5 Live newsreader Rachael Bland and Dame Deborah.

Bland died six months later. Following her death, her husband Steven assumed presenting duties.

However, Mahon told BBC North West Tonight that she had “struggled over the last year getting back in that studio without their seats being filled”.

“In what other job than the army would you go into work thinking you may lose colleagues, and so it’s very hard because there’s not many people who get it. It’s challenging,” she said.

"How do we get back into that studio without these two remarkable women that began this podcast?

"People are getting diagnosed every day — that’s not going to change. The world of cancer changes. So I think it would be more appropriate and probably more poignant and relevant to get people that are going through it now."

Meanwhile, Bland told BBC Breakfast: "We’d like the podcast to carry on because it’s a really important thing for so many people.

Deborah James aka the Bowel Babe

"It just takes a toll and it’s heavy and it’s hard to kind of keep talking about this stuff — particularly when we’ve had to deal with obviously Rachael and Deborah over the last few years.

"There aren’t many people doing podcasts where two people have died from the subject matter. It’s a tough thing to keep talking about."

Until the podcast’s likely end, fans enter a ballot to win a place in the audience for a live recording.

Tickets will be randomly allocated, and the draw is open until 10pm on Wednesday, January 18.

Mahon and Bland will be joined by special guests as they celebrate the life of the late Dame Deborah.