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Owain Wyn Evans

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Owain Wyn Evans
Evans in 2019
Born (1984-03-09) 9 March 1984 (age 40)
Ammanford, Carmarthenshire, Wales
NationalityBritish
Occupation(s)Broadcaster (Radio and television)
Years active2003–present
EmployerBBC
Known for BBC Look North
BBC Radio 2
The One Show
BBC Breakfast
BBC North West Tonight
BBC Radio 5 Live
BBC Radio Wales
TelevisionBBC Look North
BBC North West Tonight
The One Show
BBC Breakfast
Spouse
Arran Rees
​
(m. 2017)​

Owain Wyn Evans (born 9 March 1984)[citation needed] is a Welsh broadcaster and drummer.[1] He hosts BBC Radio 2's early breakfast show and previously presented weather bulletins on BBC Look North, North West Tonight and BBC Breakfast. Evans is also a regular item presenter for The One Show.[2]

In addition to his television work, he is known for his drumming, social media and LGBTQ activism. He is patron of the charity LGBT Foundation.[3]

Career

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Television work

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Evans began his broadcasting career at the age of 18 when he became the presenter of Welsh language children's news programme Ffeil.[4]

He then worked as a reporter, presenter and video journalist for BBC Wales and in 2012 began presenting the weather on BBC Wales Today.[4] Evans presented weather forecasts across many BBC nations and regions between 2012 and 2019.[5] In September 2019, it was announced that Evans would be the new lead weather presenter for BBC North West Tonight following the death of long-serving weather presenter Dianne Oxberry, joining from BBC Look North.[6]

In April 2020 Evans joined Carol Vorderman on a tour across Wales where he taught her to speak the Welsh language for the S4C TV programme Iaith ar Daith.[7]

In August 2020, he made his debut as a reporter for the television magazine and chat show programme The One Show.[8]

In 2020, he appeared as a celebrity guest on Michael McIntyre's game show The Wheel and co-presented BBC's New Year's Eve The Big New Year's In alongside Maya Jama and Paddy McGuinness.[2]

In February 2021 he made his debut presenting the weather on BBC Breakfast.[9]

In April 2022, Evans participated in the reality competition series Freeze the Fear with Wim Hof.

Digital broadcasting

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Evans has been credited for introducing short-form video forecasts on social media, having first produced these on the video sharing platform Vine in 2013. He has developed these into GIF forecasts and stickers, which are available on most social media platforms.[10]

In 2017 Evans celebrated International Drag Day by giving a drag queen-themed forecast that pays tribute to drag queens and RuPaul's Drag Race.[11][12]

Radio presenting

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In 2012 Evans began presenting on BBC Radio Cymru[4] and has, since then presented a number of radio programmes for BBC Local Radio stations across England.[13][14]

Since December 2020, Evans has hosted a series of 'in conversation with...' shows for BBC Sounds and BBC Local Radio in which he interviews stars including Dolly Parton, Kylie Minogue and Little Mix.[15]

From September 2021 to February 2022, Evans regularly provided cover for OJ Borg on Radio 2.[16]

In April 2022, Evans returned to Radio 2 to become the main cover presenter for Vanessa Feltz.[17]

On 4 October 2022, It was announced that Evans would become the new permanent presenter of Radio 2's Early Breakfast Show, following Feltz's departure, the previous July. He began on 13 February 2023.[18]

Drumming

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Evans drums as a hobby, having started when he was 7 years old.[19] In April 2020, early in the COVID-19 lockdown in the UK, Evans produced a video of himself drumming the BBC News theme immediately after presenting a weather forecast. The video went viral, and was featured on news outlets across the world.[20][21]

The local radio and television project Owain's Big House Band saw Evans joined by hundreds of other musicians who played along to the original video from their own homes during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown.[22]

Children in Need drumathon

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On 13 November 2021, Evans completed a 24-hour drumathon in support of the charity Children in Need.[23][24] Starting and ending on BBC Breakfast, he spent 24 hours drumming continuously (with a five-minute break every hour) while presenting the Drumathon iPlayer channel, chatting with other drummers, urging people to donate, and describing the experience. By completion, at 08:35 a.m. that day, the event had raised £1,617,046, having doubled in its last 90 minutes.[25] The sum was expected to grow with further donations and had reached £2,621,750 by lunchtime that day.[26] On 15 November, 48 hours after the challenge, the project had raised £3,062,418,[27] making it the most successful 24-hour challenge in the 41-year history of BBC Children in Need.[28]

Awards and accolades

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Evans has featured on the WalesOnline 'Pinc List' of the most influential LGBTQ people from Wales on numerous occasions.[29][30][31][32]

In July 2019, Evans was awarded Best TV Presenter at the O2 Media Awards for Yorkshire and Humber.[33]

In November 2021, Evans was awarded the Best Regional Presenter and Best Breakthrough Talent awards at the Royal Television Society North West Awards.[34]

Evans received an honorary doctorate from the University of Bolton in July 2022 for outstanding contribution to broadcasting, becoming Doctor of Arts. He was asked to perform a drum solo during the ceremony, with the university donating £10 to the appeal for Ukraine for every drum beat, up to a maximum of £1,000.[35]

Personal life

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Evans was born in Ammanford, Carmarthenshire, Wales.[36] At the age of 17 Evans came out as gay to friends and family members.[37]

Evans has spoken out about homophobic abuse received on Twitter for his presenting style[38] and continues to be vocal in his support for the LGBTQ community.

On 11 March 2017, Evans married his long-term partner Arran Rees in London.[39]

References

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  1. ^ "Owain Wyn Evans (@owainwynevans) • Instagram photos and videos". instagram.com. Retrieved 22 March 2019.
  2. ^ a b "Owain Wyn Evans". Cloud9 Management.
  3. ^ "LGBT Foundation Announces New Patron Owain Wyn Evans". 28 August 2020. Retrieved 5 February 2021.
  4. ^ a b c "Owain Wyn Evans - Bilingual". WelshStars.co.uk. Elite Celebrity Management. 2011. Retrieved 6 September 2018.
  5. ^ Bourne, Dianne (2 September 2019). "BBC North West Tonight reveal new weather presenter is Owain Wyn Evans". ilovemanchester. Retrieved 8 May 2020.
  6. ^ "Owain Wyn Evans is BBC North West Tonight's new weather presenter". BBC News. 2 September 2019. Retrieved 5 September 2019.
  7. ^ Leaver, Joel (19 April 2020). "Carol Vorderman returns to her North Wales roots - and she's doing it all in Welsh". Daily Post. Retrieved 8 May 2020.
  8. ^ Robson, Graham (28 August 2020). "Owain Wyn Evans to share Polari crash course ahead of BBC Radio Manchester Pride show". Gscene. Retrieved 2 June 2021.
  9. ^ Marshall, Michelle (28 February 2021). "Louise Minchin reacts as Carol Vorderman's co-star makes his BBC Breakfast debut". The Express. Retrieved 6 April 2021.
  10. ^ Granger, Jacob (13 September 2019). "#GIForecast and selfie-style updates: reporting weather with mobile journalism". Journalism.co.uk. Retrieved 13 September 2019.
  11. ^ Morgan, Joe (17 July 2017). "WATCH: BBC weatherman gives drag queen-themed forecast to celebrate International Drag Day". Gay Star News. Archived from the original on 6 March 2019. Retrieved 6 September 2018.
  12. ^ Gray, Jasmin (17 July 2017). "BBC Weatherman Owain Wyn Evans Goes Viral With 'Amazing' Drag-Themed Forecast". HuffPost. Retrieved 6 September 2018.
  13. ^ "BBC Radio Humberside - James Piekos, Owain Wyn Evans sits in (10/04/2019)". BBC. Retrieved 12 August 2021.
  14. ^ "BBC Radio Sheffield - Toby Foster at Breakfast, 29/03/2018". BBC. Retrieved 12 August 2021.
  15. ^ "SBig name artists Sir Cliff Richard, Dolly Parton, Robbie Williams, Kylie Minogue and Gary Barlow will join Owain Wyn Evans". ontheradio. 1 December 2020. Retrieved 5 February 2021.
  16. ^ "BBC Radio 2 - OJ Borg, Owain Wyn Evans sits in". BBC. Retrieved 4 October 2022.
  17. ^ "BBC Radio 2 - Vanessa Feltz, Owain Wyn Evans sits in". BBC. Retrieved 4 October 2022.
  18. ^ "BBC Radio 2 announces presenter and programme highlights". www.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 4 October 2022.
  19. ^ "Steve Wright's Radio 2 theme gets drumming weatherman Owain's version". On The Radio. 18 April 2020. Retrieved 8 May 2020.
  20. ^ Hegedus, Eric (15 April 2020). "BBC weatherman rocks news show's theme on drums". New York Post. Retrieved 8 May 2020.
  21. ^ "Weather presenter goes viral drumming to BBC News theme". BBC News. 15 April 2020. Retrieved 8 May 2020.
  22. ^ Molina-Whyte, Lidia (23 April 2020). "Owain Wyn Evans is joined by hundreds to form Big House Band and play BBC News theme". Radio Times. Retrieved 8 May 2020.
  23. ^ Williams, Lauren (13 November 2021). "BBC Breakfast's Owain Wyn Evans in tears as he raises £1.8m in epic 24 hour challenge". Daily Express. Retrieved 13 November 2021.
  24. ^ "BBC weatherman Owain Wyn Evans' drumathon raises £2.5m". BBC News. 13 November 2021.
  25. ^ Warmington, Stu [@WARMY76] (13 November 2021). "£1,617,046! What an amazing achievement. So glad to be involved in this amazing event. @OwainWynEvans @BBCCiN #drumathon https://t.co/9fWoP7si2F" (Tweet). Archived from the original on 16 November 2021. Retrieved 16 November 2021 – via Twitter.
  26. ^ BBC Breakfast [@BBCBreakfast] (13 November 2021). "We've just had an update on the @OwainWynEvans @BBCCiN #BBCBreakfast #Drumathon and the total now stands at an incredible.. £2,621,750 🥁🥁🥁 Thank you for your unbelievable generosity it will change lives.. https://t.co/pNO6lcOO2t" (Tweet). Archived from the original on 15 November 2021. Retrieved 16 November 2021 – via Twitter.
  27. ^ Hesno, Rachael (15 November 2021). "BBC weatherman drums up more than £3m in funding for Children In Need". ProlificNorth.co.uk. Retrieved 11 December 2021.
  28. ^ "Children in Need: Weatherman's 24hr Drumathon smashes record". BBC News. 15 November 2021. Retrieved 11 December 2021.
  29. ^ Williams, Kathryn (22 April 2020). "Who is BBC weatherman Owain Wyn Evans?". WalesOnline. Retrieved 8 May 2020.
  30. ^ Jones, Hannah (15 August 2015). "The Pinc List 2015: The 40 most influential LGBT people in Wales". Wales Online. Retrieved 11 January 2019.
  31. ^ "The Pinc List 2017: The 40 most influential LGBT people in Wales". Wales Online. 19 August 2017. Retrieved 11 January 2019.
  32. ^ Mosalski, Ruth (18 August 2018). "The Pinc List 2018: The 40 most influential LGBT+ people in Wales". Wales Online. Retrieved 11 January 2019.
  33. ^ "'Inspirational' reporter wins O2 special award". O2 The Blue. 3 July 2019. Retrieved 5 July 2019.
  34. ^ "RTS North West Awards 2021". Royal Television Society. 5 August 2021. Retrieved 18 February 2022.
  35. ^ "Owain Wyn Evans gets honorary doctorate at University of Bolton". The Bolton News. 16 July 2022. Retrieved 3 August 2022.
  36. ^ Williams, Kathryn (27 March 2021). "Drumming weatherman Owain Wyn Evans on growing up in Ammanford". WalesOnline.
  37. ^ Maidment, Adam (6 March 2021). "BBC's 'drumming weatherman' Owain Wyn Evans on how he overcame 'gay shame'". Manchester Evening News.
  38. ^ Eleftheriou-Smith, Loulla-Mae (29 December 2014). "BBC Wales weatherman Owain Wyn Evans says he receives homophobic online abuse for his presenting style". The Independent. Archived from the original on 24 May 2022. Retrieved 6 September 2018.
  39. ^ Williams, Kathryn (13 March 2017). "Popular weatherman Owain Wyn Evans ties the knot with long-term partner". Wales Online. Retrieved 6 September 2018.


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