Grief affects us all, it’s a sad inevitability in life and two Northwich-based podcast hosts want to get people speaking about it.

The Dead Parent Club podcast is on a mission this June to get men talking openly and honestly about grief.

To mark International Men’s Health Week and Father’s Day, presenters Kat Hooker and Emma Jones will be joined by a host of special guests, sharing their personal experiences of grief.

They'll be speaking to pundit and former footballer Robbie Savage, singer Jake Quickenden, producer and presenter of the You, Me and the Big C podcast Steve Bland and rapper, author and broadcaster Guvna B, who are all open and honest about how it feels to lose a parent or family member and how it changes your life.

Robbie Savage opens up about losing his father at just 63 years-old after a five year battle with Pick’s disease, a form of Alzheimer’s, in 2012.

Northwich Guardian: Singer Jake Quickenden is one of the guests on the podcast

Singer Jake Quickenden is one of the guests on the podcast

Singer and new dad Jake Quickenden will be talking fatherhood and losing both his father and brother within four years of each other to bone cancer.

Producer and presenter Steve Bland, the late husband of The Big C podcast presenter Rachael Bland, who died from Breast cancer, tells us what it’s been like to raise a son through grief.

Guvna B is urging men to not let toxic masculinity hide their grief away after he noticed his own coming into play after losing his father unexpectedly in 2017.

Emma Jones, who is a radio and TV presenter, presenting on 5 Live, LUTV and various local breakfast shows for Bauer and the Wireless Group for the last five years. She lost her Mum in 2008 and wants us all to normalise talking honestly about grief and get men saying how they really feel.

She said: "It’s great to see more and more men speaking openly about their feelings.

"We want to continue to encourage and empower men to vocalise their hurt and pain, and understand that it’s valid.

"With Father’s Day happening in June, it seems the perfect opportunity to remind men how important it is for them to talk."

Kat Hooker, who started the podcast in 2019 to help young people and normalise speaking openly and honestly about grief after losing her own mother when she was in her early twenties.

She added: "The podcast was created to provide all young adults that are grieving the loss of a parent with a safe space to start processing their grief and a community where they don’t feel alone in their experiences."

She believes in focusing on men after noticing that women seemed to be more open about their experience.

"There are strong links between grief and mental health, and we want to do all we can to show men that it’s ok to talk about loss, and to reach out for help if they’re struggling," she went on to say.

The next episode of the podcast features Robbie Savage and will be available from Friday (June 18).

You can find the show on all the usual podcast platforms or you can also watch every episode on YouTube here.