'I run my true crime podcast from my spare bedroom - now it's the most popular in the UK'

A Stockport podcaster has seen her true crime show become the most popular in the UK – and she runs it all from her spare bedroom.

Chyaz Samuel, who runs Things Are About To Get Weird, is celebrating after taking the number one spot on the Spotify UK True Crime chart and number eight on the overall Top Podcasts chart.

The 33-year-old launched the show, which covers true crime, strange stories and unsolved mysteries, in September 2022 and continues to broadcast right from her spare bedroom in Cheshire.

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Chyaz, who is originally from Heald Green, first found a passion for storytelling while studying broadcast journalism at university.

Keen to combine her talents with her interest in the strange and mysterious, she got the idea for her show and put her plan into action.

Chyaz’s first episode saw her tell the story of identical Swedish twins Sabina and Ursula Eriksson, who miraculously escaped death when they ran into oncoming traffic on the M6 after getting off their bus at a service station.

The sisters, who were said to be suffering from a form of 'shared psychosis’, were captured diving into the busy motorway by a BBC documentary crew who were coincidently filming for Motorway Cops at the time.

Just days later, in a heartbreaking twist of events, one of the twins murdered an innocent man who had taken pity on her and offered her a place to say.

Chyaz says the tale that intrigues her most was the Angel of the Meadow - the name given to an unidentified murder victim whose remains were found in Angel Meadow in Manchester in 2010.

Within a week of the episode premiering, Things Are About To Get Weird featured on Spotify’s Top 50 True Crime charts and peaked at number 27.

“I thought, oh wow,” Chyaz told the Manchester Evening News. “When I launched it, I truly had no idea it would do well.

“In my head I thought, if you ask most people if they want to hear something weird, they’re going to say yes – I know I would.

“I hoped other people would too and they did immediately. I launched it with no expectation, that I’d give it a go and see what happened.”

Chyaz was working as a freelance presenter in social media when she first launched the podcast.

But as it grew in popularity, she made the decision to focus on the show and make it her full-time career.

A one-woman band, Chyaz researchers, produces, presents and edits her show by herself. “It’s truly been incredible,” she said.

“Because I’m an indie podcaster, and I know I’ve done it all on my own, it’s been incredible.

“My listeners are incredible. A lot of them have been with me since day one. I find that side of things the most touching; it makes me quite emotional.

“They download every episode instantly. I feel like I’ve got the best listeners in the world. They’re a great bunch of people; it makes me very happy.”

On her topping Spotify’s chart, Chyaz added: “It’s an achievement I'm extremely proud of as an indie podcaster. I'm a one-woman band, handling every aspect of the podcast creation on my own.”