Hywel Gwynfryn (born 13 July 1942 at Llangefni, Anglesey) is a

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...

TV, and radio personality and lyricist. He started working for the BBC in 1964 and joined Radio Cymru at its inception.

Career

Gwynfryn joined the BBC as a presenter in 1964 and in October 1968, he fronted ''Helo Sut Dach Chi?'', the first dedicated

Welsh language Welsh ( or ) is a Celtic language family, Celtic language of the Brittonic languages, Brittonic subgroup that is native to the Welsh people. Welsh is spoken natively in Wales, by some in England, and in Y Wladfa (the Welsh colony in Chubut P ...

pop programme on the radio. It was a daring innovation because there was little vocal pop music in Welsh at the time and the show sometimes needed to be padded out with Anglo-American instrumentals. Soon however, Gwynfryn was receiving demo tapes from across Wales, and introduced a "patter" of Welsh language pop slang in the show which appealed to younger listeners. In 1970 he joined Children's Programming and worked on documentaries from different parts of the world. He has been with the Welsh-language radio station

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 ...

since its inception in 1977, fronting the flagship morning programme, and presenting shows such as ''Hywel a Nia'' and ''Helo Bobol'', and reporting annually from the Eisteddfod. Alongside his radio career, Gwynfryn has also presented TV shows such as ''Heddiw'' and ''Rhaglen Hywel Gwynfryn'', and in 1972, with

Huw Ceredig Huw Ceredig Jones (22 June 1942 – 16 August 2011) was a Welsh actor, best known for portraying Reg Harries in the Welsh-language soap opera ''Pobol y Cwm''. Early life Huw Ceredig was born in Brynamman, Carmarthenshire, in 1942, the son of ...

, started a weekly Welsh disco called ''Noson Barbarella'' in Cardiff. In 1990 he fronted ''On your bike'', a TV programme, following the fortunes of Welsh families who had gone to live in other countries. Gwynfryn has also written four pantomimes, including ''Jiw Jiw Jeifin Jenkins'', as well as writing a film for the Welsh-language TV station S4C.

Personal life

Gwynfryn was born in

Llangefni Llangefni (meaning "church on the River Cefni", ) is the county town of Anglesey in Wales and contains the principal offices of the Isle of Anglesey County Council. United Kingdom Census 2011 recorded Llangefni's population as 5,116 people, maki ...

Anglesey Anglesey (; cy, (Ynys) Môn ) is an island off the north-west coast of Wales. It forms a principal area known as the Isle of Anglesey, that includes Holy Island across the narrow Cymyran Strait and some islets and skerries. Anglesey island ...

. He was educated at

Ysgol Gyfun Llangefni Ysgol Gyfun Llangefni is a bilingual community comprehensive school for pupils aged 11 to 18 years old located in Llangefni, Anglesey. Pupils come from the town of Llangefni and the surrounding villages and rural areas. The school opened aroun ...

and the

Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama , image_name = Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama.jpg , image_size = , motto = , established = 1949 , type = Public , staff = , vice_chancellor = , students = 779 (2017/18) , undergrad ...

. Gwynfryn and his wife Anja had five children, one of whom is musician and broadcaster

H. Hawkline Huw Evans (born 15 March 1985), also known as H. Hawkline, is a Welsh singer-songwriter and radio and television presenter based in Cardiff. He also lived and worked in Los Angeles for several years. He performs in both English and Welsh. His s ...

; Anja died on 6 October 2018 from cancer. He also has two children from his first marriage. As a student he was a roommate of

Lynn Davies Lynn Davies CBE (born 20 May 1942) is a Welsh former track and field athlete who specialised in the long jump. He was the 1964 Olympic champion in the event. He was born in Nantymoel near Bridgend and was a member of the Cardiff Amateur Athlet ...

References

External links

BBC Radio Cymru - Hywel Gwynfryn
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gwynfryn, Hywel 1942 births Welsh radio presenters Welsh-language television presenters Welsh television presenters Living people People from Anglesey Alumni of the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama People educated at Ysgol Gyfun Llangefni