Award-winning writer, YouTuber, and podcaster Robbie Knox is taking over as the new host for Audio Always’ hit comedy podcast The Moon Under Water, the production company has announced.
Knox will be replacing award-winning comedian and original creator of the podcast John Robins, who hosts a number of other podcasts with longtime collaborator Elis James. Robins made the decision to step down from his hosting duties earlier this year, over two years since the podcast launched.
Earlier this year, Robins revealed his troubled relationship with alcohol. He said in a social post announcing the change in host that he had given up drinking for around 20 of the podcast's episodes, saying "I hope we have shown that a pub is so much more than a place to drink".
Knox previously appeared as a guest on the podcast in 2021, and also co-hosts Spotify Studios’ comedy podcast JaackMaate's Happy Hour.
“Since I appeared on the show as a guest, The Moon Under Water has been one of my favourite podcasts, so I’m delighted to be taking over,” said Knox. “I can’t wait to start releasing episodes and I look forward to the deluge of social media posts from people telling me how much they preferred John.”
“The ethereal magic of The Moon Under Water has brought dedicated pub-lovers to the podcast for over two years, so we're delighted to be able to open its doors once more with the brilliant Robbie Knox taking the reins as landlord,” Audio Always head of content Dave Masterman told PodPod. “Robbie loves pubs, and was one of our favourite guests when he dreamed up his own fantasy drinking hole back in 2021, so to have his name now firmly above the door is fantastic.”
The new weekly series is launching 11 September and will be available across all major podcast platforms. The new season will feature Knox, alongside Taskmaster producer Dan Trelfer, speaking to a range of guests across comedy, music, food, television, and so on. Guests this season include satirist and podcaster Rosie Holt, comedians Lloyd Griffiths and Robin Ince, and television presenter Tim Lovejoy.
Since the launch of The Moon Under Water, Robins has hosted over 100 episodes of the podcast, which has received over four million listens. Prior to the launch of the new season, the podcast released a new episode featuring a discussion between Robins and Knox to discuss the new format and say goodbye to fans.
“The most important point here is just to say that I retain the IP,” said Robins. “The Moon Under Water is not a franchise; you can’t just open one up next to your local subway or local McDonald’s, it’s not that kind of thing. It's always been a part of the constant revealing, re-revealing, the changing of the guards, the previous landlord does retain the IP, just to make that clear.”
“I must string this out no longer - the time has come for me to say a fond farewell, a difficult goodbye, but one in which I find myself completely at peace.”
The Moon Under Water is produced by creative audio production company Audio Always, which is behind a number of hit podcasts including Elis and John’s Isolation Tapes, Help I Sexted My Boss, Secret Mum Club, The Gossip Gays, and more. The podcast is also represented by Acast for commercial opportunities and has its own Patreon page, which provides subscribers with access to bonus podcasts, extended episodes, early access and ad-free episodes, and more.
