Eleri Siôn (; born Eleri Jones on 18 January 1971) is a Welsh radio and television presenter.

Early life

Born and raised on a farm in Neuaddlwyd,

Aberaeron Aberaeron, previously anglicised as Aberayron, is a town, community, and electoral ward between Aberystwyth and Cardigan, in Ceredigion, Wales. Ceredigion County Council offices are in Aberaeron. The name of the town is Welsh for ''mouth of the ...

, she was educated at

Ysgol Gyfun Aberaeron Ysgol Gyfun Aberaeron is a bilingual comprehensive school for pupils aged between 11 and 18 years. The school is situated in the town of Aberaeron in Ceredigion, Wales. The school had 581 pupils on roll in 2022. 34% of pupils are from homes in ...

. Her brother is the actor and author Meilyr Siôn. Their father was a farmer and their mother died at the age of 46 when Eleri was 18 years old.

Career

After training and working as a singer and part-time presenter of children's television programmes, she started reading Welsh at

Cardiff University , latin_name = , image_name = Shield of the University of Cardiff.svg , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms of Cardiff University , motto = cy, Gwirionedd, Undod a Chytgord , mottoeng = Truth, Unity and Concord , established = 1 ...

. She then took a two-year break in order to present children's sports programme ''Cracabant'' before finishing her degree at

. Having played

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

at university, and captained Cardiff Ladies for a year, she joined the sports department of

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 ...

in 1995, becoming the first woman to report on rugby for the station. After graduation she worked as a television producer with production company Apollo, on programmes such as ''Noc Noc'', ''

Cân i Gymru ''Cân i Gymru'' (English: ''A Song for Wales'', ) is a Welsh television show broadcast on S4C annually. It was first introduced in 1969 when BBC Cymru wanted to enter the Eurovision Song Contest. It has taken place every year since, except in ...

'' (Song for Wales) and ''Dudley.'' She returned to sports in 1997 as a sub-producer and presenter on '' Y Clwb Rygbi'' (The Rugby Club). She then introduced various series, including Seven a Side Rugby World Games, Irish Rugby, World Championship netball and roller-hockey World Championships. During this period she also presented Saturday afternoon sports programme ''Camp Lawn'' (Grand Slam) with Dylan Ebenezer on

. This led to production and presentation work on

Sky Sports Sky Sports is a group of British subscription sports channels operated by the satellite pay television company Sky Group (a division of Comcast), and is the dominant subscription television sports brand in the United Kingdom and Ireland. It ...

on its darts and pool coverage. Siôn then presented a number of non-sports programmes on S4C, including talent programme ''

Wawffactor ''Wawffactor'' (sometimes styled as ''WawFfactor'', English: ''Wow Factor'') is a Welsh television music talent show contested by aspiring pop singers drawn from public auditions. It was broadcast on S4C between 2003 and 2006 and was produced ...

'', S4C's coverage of ''

Eisteddfod yr Urdd The Urdd National Eisteddfod ( cy, Eisteddfod Genedlaethol Urdd Gobaith Cymru or ''Eisteddfod Genedlaethol yr Urdd'') is an annual Welsh-language youth festival of literature, music and performing arts organised by Urdd Gobaith Cymru. Arguably Eur ...

'' and presented ''Y Briodas Fawr'' (The Big Wedding) with

Rhodri Owen Rhodri Owen (born 20 September 1972) is a Welsh speaking radio and television presenter. Biography Owen was born in Three Crosses, Gower, Swansea, and was brought up in Gowerton

. After becoming part of the posse on Jonathan Davies S4C Friday evening show ''Jonathan,'' she presented her own chat-show ''Cadair Fawr Eleri Sion (Eleri Sion's Big Chair)''. She also presented quiz show ''100 o Blant'' (A Hundred Children) produced by

Tinopolis The Tinopolis Group is an international TV production and distribution group with businesses based in the UK and US. It produces over 4,500 hours of television annually for more than 200 UK and foreign broadcasters. History Llanelli, Wales, b ...

in 2013 and was a presenter on nightly magazine show ''

Heno () is a Welsh television magazine and chat show programme. Broadcast live on S4C weeknights at 7:00 pm, it features topical stories and studio guests. Various reporters also assist with subject-specific presenting, both in the studio and ...

'' (Tonight) for the same production company for a period in 2012/13. Between October 2013 and December 2020, Siôn presented the daily afternoon radio show on BBC Radio Wales, replacing

Louise Elliott Louise Elliott (born 1969, in Ashington) is a Welsh people, Welsh broadcaster and journalist. Biography Born in Ashington, Northumberland, her father Dave Elliott (footballer, born 1945), Dave Elliott was a professional soccer, football player ...

. In January 2021, Siôn replaced

Mal Pope Maldwyn "Mal" Pope (born 18 May 1960) is a Welsh musician and composer, who is notable for his contribution to music theatre portraying Welsh national identities and themes. He lives in the village of Mumbles, Swansea. He is best known for singi ...

as the presenter of the BBC Radio Wales Late Show from Monday-Thursday (22:00-00:30), while she continued to present the afternoon show on Fridays (14:00-17:00).

References

External links

''The Late Show with Eleri Siôn''
(BBC Radio Wales)
''Eleri Siôn''
(BBC Radio Wales) 1971 births Living people Welsh-language television presenters People from Ceredigion Welsh radio presenters Welsh television presenters People from Aberaeron British women radio presenters BBC Radio Wales presenters {{Wales-bio-stub