Caryl Parry Jones (born 16 April 1958) is a Welsh singer, actress and presenter. She was born in the

Flintshire , settlement_type = County , image_skyline = , image_alt = , image_caption = , image_flag = , image_shield = Arms of Flint ...

village of

Ffynnongroyw Ffynnongroyw (sometimes spelled Ffynnongroew) is a village in Flintshire, north Wales. It is situated on the A548 road, near the Dee Estuary coast, near Prestatyn. Etymology The name Ffynnongroyw is from the Welsh word "Ffynnon" meaning well an ...

and attended

Ysgol Glan Clwyd Ysgol Glan Clwyd (or Ysgol Uwchradd Glan Clwyd) is a Welsh-language, Welsh Medium of instruction, medium secondary school, and was the first of its kind. It opened in 1956, initially at Rhyl on the coast before moving inland to St Asaph in 1969. ...

St. Asaph St Asaph (; cy, Llanelwy "church on the Elwy") is a city and community on the River Elwy in Denbighshire, Wales. In the 2011 Census it had a population of 3,355, making it the second-smallest city in Britain in terms of population and urban ...

, but now lives in

Cowbridge Cowbridge ( cy, Y Bont-faen) is a market town in the Vale of Glamorgan, Wales, approximately west of the centre of Cardiff. The Cowbridge with Llanblethian community and civil parish elect a town council. A Cowbridge electoral ward exists for e ...

, in the Vale of Glamorgan.

Career

Parry Jones started her career as a singer in the vocal group Sidan (Silk) and was an accomplished pianist, playing for artists such as Dafydd Iwan, the founder of the Welsh music label Sain. In 1976, she became a singer with the short-lived Injaroc, an eight-piece rock band which included Geraint Griffiths, Endaf Emlyn, Sioned Mair and Cleif Harpwood. The group split after just nine months and one album, ''Halen y Ddaear'' (''Salt of the Earth''). In 1979, she formed Bando with musicians Rhys Ifans, Gareth Thomas, Huw Owen, Martin Sage and Steve Sardar. Bando went onto produce two albums ''Yr Hwyl Ar Y Mastiau'' (''Fun on the Masts'') and ''Shampw'' (''Shampoo'') – both with a disco theme – before separating in 1982. The making of ''Shampw'' was the subject of an award-winning S4C special, which was later screened across the rest of the UK on

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...

. Parry Jones launched a solo musical career in 1983, producing an album called ''Caryl a'r Band'' alongside Myfyr Issac, as well as performing in another band, ''Y Milioners'' (''The Millionaires''). Later album releases included ''Eiliad'' in 1996, ''Adre'' in 2004 and a greatest hits compilation, ''Goreuon Caryl'' in 2006. While performing with Bando, she moved into broadcasting, presenting children's programmes in Welsh such as ''Bilidowcar'' (BBC Cymru) and HTV's pop magazine show ''Sêr'' (later ''Sêren 2''). As an actress, she appeared in TV films such as ''Gaucho'' (1983), ''The Mimosa Boys'' (1983), '' Ibiza, Ibiza'' (1986) and ''Steddfod, Steddfod'' (1989) – the latter two inspired a number of comedy and variety series for S4C and HTV Wales, including ''Caryl'' (1983–87), ''TV Teifi'' (1991) and ''Caryl a'r Lleill'' (2014–15). From 2010 to 2014, Parry Jones co-presented a daily morning show on

BBC Radio Cymru BBC Radio Cymru is a Welsh language radio network owned and operated by BBC Cymru Wales, a division of the BBC. It broadcasts on two stations across Wales on FM, DAB, digital TV and online. The main network broadcasts for hours a day from ...

with Dafydd Meredydd (alias Dafydd Du). ''Dafydd a Caryl'' was revived in February 2018 as the breakfast show for the BBC's new Welsh language radio network, ''Radio Cymru 2'' on Monday – Thursday mornings. As of 2016, she is also a regular cover presenter for

BBC Radio Wales BBC Radio Wales is a Welsh radio station owned and operated by BBC Cymru Wales, a division of the BBC. It began broadcasting on 13 November 1978, replacing the 'Radio 4 Wales' opt-out service (previously the Welsh Home Service). Radio Wales br ...

, generally for daytime programming. In 2016 and 2017, Parry Jones co-wrote and starred in two series of the S4C comedy drama ''Anita'' with her cousin, Non Parry (Williams). The cast also included

Bryn Fôn Bryn Fôn (born 27 August 1954) is a Welsh actor and singer-songwriter. He also became the first ever artist to play live on BBC Radio Cymru in 1977. Biography Bryn Fôn was born in Llanllyfni, Caernarfonshire. He attended Ysgol Gynradd Lla ...

Rhodri Meilir Rhodri Meilir (born 18 November 1978) is a Welsh actor. In 2018, he began portraying the role of Dilwyn in the BBC Three series '' In My Skin''. Early life Meilir was born in Pontypool. He was educated at Ysgol Maes Garmon in Mold, and Aberys ...

and her daughter Miriam Isaac. It was not commissioned for a third series due to low ratings. In August 2018 an episode of the series '' Adre'' was spent at Parry Jones' house. In October 2022, she replaced Geraint Lloyd as the presenter of

's late show on Monday - Thursday nights from 9pm - midnight.

Personal life

Parry Jones has four children with her husband, musician Myfyr Isaac: Elan, Miriam, Moc and Greta, all of whom also work in the arts. Myfyr also has an older son, Gideon (who was the partner of actress Bethan Ellis Owen). Her father was musician Rhys Jones.

References

External links

*
''Caryl''
(BBC Radio Cymru) {{DEFAULTSORT:Parry Jones, Caryl 20th-century Welsh women singers Welsh-language singers Welsh radio DJs 1958 births Living people Welsh-speaking actors Welsh television actresses People educated at Ysgol Glan Clwyd Welsh radio presenters Welsh women radio presenters