Gareth Gwynn

January 2012 Update

2012-01-12T14:49:00.000-08:00

It's been a while since I've updated this website, but it looks like it's going to be a busy start to 2012, so it made sense to put some links to the shows I'll be working on over the next few months.

Pantheon Of Heroes

This Friday (and indeed, the five Fridays that follow it) at 7pm on BBC Radio Wales, you'll be able to hear "Elis James' Pantheon of Heroes" - A brand new series starring Elis, Benjamin Partridge and Nadia Kamil and written by Elis, Ben and I. As well as the episodes appearing on iPlayer, there are also going to be some online extras too, where you'll be able to see me talking about Welsh adventurer Perce Blackborow.

Elis James' Pantheon of Heroes on the BBC Radio Wales Website

Social Club FM

Last summer, I produced a pilot for BBC Radio Wales written by and starring Chris Corcoran and Elis James called "Social Club FM". I'm pleased to say it's got a full series, and this time round, I'll actually be helping out with the writing of the episodes. The series starts on the 24th February with a repeat of the pilot, and there will be four more episodes after that. If you think the writing tails off and the production quality improves, I can only apologise.

Social Club FM on the BBC Radio Wales Website

Newsjack

I'll be script editing two episodes of the sixth series of Newsjack for BBC Radio 4 Extra. The series starts on 23rd February. As always, you can submit material to newsjack@bbc.co.uk but please check out the writer's guide first.

On the subject of writing opportunities, I've been doing some bits and bobs for the BBC College of Production. There’s an interview with me as part of the "I didn't get where I am today" series and I also took part in the podcast on writing Comedy and Drama. Later in the month there will also be another podcast on sketch writing featuring John-Luke Roberts.

Early Morning Sunday Show

I'm still presenting my Sunday morning show on BBC Radio Wales, which you can listen to on the BBC Radio Wales website.

In fact, this Sunday, being the Sunday closest to "Blue Monday", we’ll be doing our best to counteract the influence of the so-called "most depressing day of the year" by playing nothing but summer records. So if you've got any ideas, drop me an email to gareth@bbc.co.uk or get in touch with me on twitter.

May/June 2011 Update

2011-05-29T05:28:00.000-07:00

A couple of iPlayer links to shows I've been working on recently.

Reception is a pilot sketch show for BBC Radio 2 which I have been script editing. This impressions show went out on 28 May, and will be on iPlayer for a week.

"What's The Story?" - BBC Radio Wales' topical panel game hosted by Justin Waite, is back for its fourth series and once again, I'll be producing the show. It is recorded in the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama on Thursday nights and goes out on Friday at 7pm (repeated at 4.30pm on Sundays). Tickets for the recordings are available from tickets@tidyproductions.co.uk.

And this link should take you to the latest edition of my BBC Radio Wales Sunday morning show.

The Rule Book

2011-03-17T02:23:00.000-07:00

(If you listen regularly to my BBC Radio Wales morning show, you can probably skip the first few paragraphs of this. The opening is just filling people in on all the fun they've been missing out on!)

So I don’t know what I did, I don’t know who I worried or offended, but earlier this year a copy of the BBC Rule Book arrived on my desk.

It's a big green book comprising 368 pages of editorial guidelines and, unsurprisingly, when given a book of rules, the first thing that flashes through your mind is, "I wonder how many I can break"?

So that’s what I've been doing at 5.45am every Sunday this year as part of my BBC Radio Wales show (because if you break a rule before 6am it just doesn't seem as serious).

Lines crossed and conventions smashed so far include paying a contributor to talk about a criminal offence (I gave £10 to someone willing to admit they'd had a speeding ticket), endangering members of BBC Staff (I left a CD on a high shelf), the use of strobe lighting (the book never specifies it's a TV only rule) and several regulations surrounding covert recordings - In fact, I hit 5 in one fell swoop by not just playing a clip of a friend talking about a small piece of plastic, but then repeating it without filling in the appropriate form.

However, next week, I'm going to need some help as the rule I want to break is 19.4.1:

"Our commitment to our audiences is to ensure that complaints and enquiries are dealt with quickly, courteously and with respect".

So it’s simple enough - next week, I'm going respond to all enquiries (or complaints, of course) without courtesy or respect. But to do this properly, I'm going to need something to respond to.

If you'd like to send me something, there are two ways... The first (and probably best) is to my twitter account: @garethgwynn.

Alternatively, you can send me an email to gareth@bbc.co.uk (these get automatically copied to my boss too, by the way, so it's going to be especially exciting once it all gets going. I haven't actually warned him about this).

Then, all going to plan, you can hear me respond to these in a suitably petulant and surly manner live on BBC Radio Wales on Sunday at 5.45am. Or on iPlayer. Don't worry, I'm not operating under any illusion about this.

Updated Links

2010-12-06T08:33:00.000-08:00

An iPlayer link to the latest edition of my Sunday morning show is now available from the show's webpage on the BBC Radio Wales website.

Alternatively, you can listen to it live on BBC Radio Wales from 5 - 6.30am on Sunday mornings. I imagine the iPlayer link will be more palatable for most.

I'll be doing a few extra shows over Christmas too. If that page doesn't link to them automatically, I'll put something up closer to the time.

In other news, I will be producing the third series of BBC Radio Wales' topical panel game, What's The Story throughout January and February. Recordings will be every Friday night at the Reardon Smith Theatre, starting at 7.15pm from January 7th to February 18th. Tickets will be free, and I'll pop a link up in the new year explaining how to get hold of them.

BBC Radio Wales - Sunday Morning Early Breakfast (5 - 6.30am)

2010-11-02T13:58:00.000-07:00

For the last couple of weeks, I've been getting into work for 5am on Sunday mornings to present the Early Breakfast show on BBC Radio Wales. Yes, that's right. 5am. Early, isn't it?

You'll no doubt be pleased to know you don’t have to get up that early every week to find out exactly what it is I'm up to. If I've got my head around the way the BBC Radio Wales website works, the following link will take you to the webpage for the show, where you'll find the most recent BBC iPlayer link.

BBC Radio Wales Early Breakfast Show Page

You can text me during the show on 8 10 12. Alternatively, you can get in touch with me at any time during the week via twitter (@garethgwynn).

Antiquity Blog Post

2010-09-03T06:01:00.000-07:00

Before the broadcast of Antiquity, John-Luke Roberts and I wrote the following piece for the BBC Comedy Blog. Unfortunately, it never made it online (Presumably because, when we sent it, every person involved with the BBC Comedy website, or indeed BBC Comedy in general, was at the Edinburgh Festival, so it just sat in someone's inbox until it was far too late to do anything about it).

Anyway, I thought it made sense to pop it up here so it wasn't lost forever. Not that anyone would miss it if it was. It was meant to be accompanied by 2 minutes from the show itself - which I presume would do more to convince people to listen than anything we could say in 300 words.

How we came up with the title "Antiquity"
(By Gareth Gwynn and John-Luke Roberts)

We spent almost as long coming up with the title to this show as we did writing it. And the sitcom took a perfectly respectable length of time to write.

"Antiquity" was the name of the word file Gareth saved it as when he first sent it to the show’s producer, Victoria Lloyd and, months later, that ended up the name of the show. Knowing the Welsh people’s famous unpredictabily, it could just have just easily been called "Mr. Potty Goes To The Shops".

We decided something we thought of that quickly couldn’t possibly be right and set about coming up with a better title for a sitcom set in an antique shop. Personal favourites are "Queen Anne And The Chippendales" (vetoed on the grounds that "it sounds like a different show") and "Antiquesdisestablishmentarianism!" (wouldn’t fit in the Radio Times). For about 48 hours, we were both convinced "Antique Shop!" (pronounced "Antique Shop Exclamation Mark") was the right one.

The BBC Ticket Unit issued tickets for something called "Cavendish’s Curiosities" and we suspect our cast including Tim McInnerny, Andrew Sachs, Nadia Kamil and Will Andrews all turned up to appear in differently named shows.

We were convinced we'd think of something better right up until there were 350 people in the BBC Radio Theatre staring at our cast and David Reed, our announcer, needed to say something at the start of the show to let people know it had started. And with the same quick thinking with which we named the word document, we once again opted for "Antiquity".

(We’ve since been told the best way to find the show on the iPlayer will be to search for "Happy Tuesdays", the strand our pilot appears in. So maybe thinking of a name didn’t matter so much after all).

Antiquity on BBC iPlayer

2010-08-18T01:22:00.000-07:00

Antiquity, the sitcom written by John-Luke Roberts and I, script edited by Arthur Mathews and starring Tim McInnerny, Andrew Sachs, Nadia Kamil and William Andrews was broadcast on BBC Radio 4 last night, and will now be available on iPlayer for a week.

Antiquity on BBC iPlayer

Antiquity, Papa's Got A Brand New Wigbag and Something Else

2010-08-02T03:46:00.000-07:00

Antiquity

This August, "Antiquity", a sitcom written by John-Luke Roberts and I (and script edited by Father Ted's Arthur Mathews) will be broadcast on BBC Radio 4.

The official press release can be found here, but that was written before we confirmed the whole cast - So tune in to BBC Radio 4 on the 17th August at 11pm to hear Tim McInnerny, Nadia Kamil, Will Andrews and Andrew Sachs. It'll also be on the BBC iPlayer for a week after broadcast.

Edinburgh

Together with Carrie Quinlan and Robert Cawsey, I'm heading up to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival with the sketch show Papa's Got A Brand New Wigbag. We're appearing at The Canons' Gait at 4.55pm almost every day as part of PBH's Free Fringe. The flyer (front and back) is below.

I'll also be assisting John-Luke Roberts with his one-man show John-Luke Roberts Distracts You From A Murder, which is in the Pleasance Joker Dome at 8pm.

Something Else

And finally, I was on BBC Radio Wales last Sunday on "Something Else". It'll be on the BBC iPlayer until Sunday 8th.

What's The Story?

2010-03-08T08:28:00.000-08:00

Throughout April and May, I'll be working on the second series of BBC Radio Wales' topical panel game "What’s The Story?". The team at Tidy Productions are really keen to encourage new writers, and there are details on how to audition (for want of a better word) to be a writer on the show on the BBC Writersroom website.

On the same website, make sure you check out Dan Tetsell's blog. Dan was script editor of Newsjack, and kept a diary throughout the second series. Very handy if you’re considering writing for future open-door shows.

My contribution to the blog was the following pie-chart, which I made as we worked our way through the submissions. I think the titles and labels are pretty self-explanatory.

January Update

2010-01-20T11:12:00.000-08:00

Newsjack Series 2

The second series of Newsjack (BBC Radio 7’s open-door topical comedy show), is currently on air. We’re three episodes in, which leaves three more opportunities for anyone who fancies giving topical sketch writing a go. If you are interested in sending material to the show, make sure you check out Dan Tetsall’s blog on the BBC Writer’s Room website.

1449AM URB

Anyone following this blog who happens to be a former URB member is probably already aware of this, but tickets for the URB reunion are available until this Friday, so make sure you get your name down in time!

Boo Hoo 7 and 8

2009-09-25T12:58:00.000-07:00

Well, after a little break, myself and John Luke Roberts are back with the topical comedy podcast, "Boo Hoo - It's The News".

We're two episodes into the new batch, but if you want to relive the MP expenses scandal and the police getting a bit handy, episodes 1-6 are still available from the show website and iTunes. There's also a Facebook group so you can stay abreast of our rather erratic release schedule.

Also, I notice than in my last update I mentioned Newsjack as a great opportunity for new writers. Newsjack has finished now, but this seems a good opportunity to mention another open door show I'll be working for later in the year - Recorded For Training Purposes Series 4. Deadline for submissions is Oct 2nd. Check out the details on the BBC writersroom website.

Boo Hoo Update, Newsjack and JLR's Street Dares

2009-06-21T06:24:00.000-07:00

Boo Hoo - It's The News

Thanks to everyone who has downloaded our topical comedy podcast "Boo Hoo - It's The News!". If you haven't heard it yet, there are currently 6x10-minute episodes available on iTunes, or you can download the shows directly from the "Boo Hoo - It's The News" webpage.

Myself and John-Luke Roberts are actually taking a short break from the podcast, but will return in the not too distant future. If you subscribe via iTunes you'll get the new episodes automatically, and we've also set up a Facebook group to keep people informed of our slightly wonky release schedule.

Newsjack

Just a quick note to any budding writers - I'm currently working on a new show for BBC Radio 7 called "Newsjack". Presented by Miles Jupp, it's a topical sketch show with an open door policy, so a great opportunity to get your stuff on-air.

All the details regarding submissions and deadlines are available from the Newsjack website and you can listen to a full episode on iPlayer right now, which should help any potential contributors get a feel for programme.

Street Dares

And finally, make sure you check out John-Luke "Boo Hoo - It's The News" Roberts' brand new video "Street Dares" video.

Boo Hoo - It's The News! Episode Two

2009-04-24T23:13:00.000-07:00

Episode 2 of "Boo Hoo - It's The News" is available on iTunes now. Click here to be taken to our bit of the iTunes store.

If you wish to download it directly you can do so from here, or alternatively this is the RSS feed.

We've also set up a new email address, boohooitsthenews@googlemail.com, if you want to get in touch with the show.

Boo Hoo - It's The News! - Now On iTunes.

2009-04-22T12:11:00.000-07:00

Our topical comedy podcast "Boo Hoo - It's The News!" is now on iTunes! Of course, those of you who prefer to use RSS feeds directly can get hold of it here.

Boo Hoo - It's The News!

2009-04-20T13:49:00.000-07:00

Hello. John-Luke Roberts and myself and have written and produced a new topical podcast called "Boo Hoo - It's The News!". You can get hold of Episode 1 from this page, and the RSS feed is here. We're currently waiting for it to appear on iTunes too.

It's the first one, so do have a listen and let us know what you think!

http://boohooitsthenews.libsyn.com/

Twitter Taglines

2009-03-29T06:46:00.000-07:00

If you're viewing this blog via my webpage, you'll notice that along the top of the page, just underneath the big "www.garethgwynn.co.uk", there's a tag-line.

When we set this website up, Tom Natt suggested we open a Twitter account and use the feed from that to update the tag-line. This was great it was simple to update and no-one really looked at the Twitter feed itself, which just sat as a list of things I had worked on with dead iPlayer links.

However, as people began to use Twitter properly, I started to join in too. This means that in the last few weeks, garethgwynn.co.uk has displayed messages detailing where to find a 1p breakfast, how I fixed my malfunctioning toilet cistern and my shock at seeing a small child doing a little poo in a potty in a crowded family pub.

Do y'know what, I'm in two minds about even posting this now. I think I prefer the thought of visitors seeing the tag-line "I've just seen a child 'do potty' in a pub" and thinking that was my catchphrase.

It might still be. It certainly has potential

If you want to follow me, by the way, check out www.twitter.com/garethgwynn

My job does exist, doesn't it?

2009-02-27T06:41:00.000-08:00

Only the second post of the year, but that's because, to date, 2009 has been largely characterised by me working increasingly unsociable hours at BBC Radio Wales and spending my days wandering around towns pretending to be a pensioner. Not really blogging material.

However, this week I discovered that I am to receive the BBC Radio Entertainment Writers’ Bursary for 2009. This is tremendously exciting stuff. It means I get to work across all sorts of BBC Radio 4 programmes that my grandparents have heard of (The News Quiz, The Now Show etc.) as well as new stuff too!

I tried to find something I could link to for this post. I've been searching for some kind of online explanation of what the role entails. I couldn't find anything, but knowing that one of the previous recipients of the bursary was Richard Herring, I headed to the "History" section of his website in the hope of finding a witty explanation of the job (And thereby save me writing one... I am clearly saving up the funnies for when I start).

It appears he does mention the bursary, but only in the context of it not happening any more (See the bottom of this page).

I do hope he's wrong... I've sorted out a flat now, and everything...

B.A.D. Radio - Now on YouTube!

2009-01-07T00:46:00.000-08:00

GWR Bath's Roop Jones has been a very busy man! Not only has he put the Christmas Eve episode of B.A.D. Radio up on YouTube, but he's also put the as-yet-unbroadcast second episode of the show online too! Links below:

B.A.D. Radio - Episode 1 - Part 1

B.A.D. Radio - Episode 1 - Part 2

B.A.D. Radio - Episode 2 - Part 1

B.A.D. Radio - Episode 2 - Part 2

And if you're still looking for something to listen to after all that, you could do a lot worse than check out the latest episode of BBC Radio Wales' "Jest A Minute", which I have been producing and editing. The episode on iPlayer now features We Are Klang's Greg Davies and Eggsy from GLC!

URB on 6Music

2009-01-04T17:34:00.000-08:00

Oooh, here's an excitement! Steve Lamacq is doing a regular feature on student radio stations as part of his BBC 6 Music show. He kicked off with 1449AM URB (the place I tended to hide when I should have been doing problem sheets, coursework or socialising during my time at the University of Bath).

I am particularly pleased by the URB representative's answer to the question, "So has anyone famous ever come from the station?". Whilst she was unable to recall my name (frankly, I don't particularly blame her), I am impressed that "a man who used to work for XFM" sprung to mind, rather than the current Magic breakfast show presenter, former Capital Radio DJ and fellow URB alumni, Dr Neil Fox.

The whole thing is on iPlayer (Spin to the end of Friday's show... It's the last ten minutes). I'm certainly going to be listening to the subsequent interviews in the hope that the students involved begin a game of desperate one-upmanship, to prove themselves superior to the station that has occupied the slot before them. I can't help feeling that by half-remembering myself as the best example of a former DJ, 1449AM URB has underplayed their hand, somewhat.

B.A.D. Radio (GWR Bath)

2008-12-21T18:13:00.000-08:00

B.A.D. Radio, the first in a series of occasional sketch shows written and performed by myself, Roop Jones and Tom Bowker, will be going out on GWR Bath (103FM) this Wednesday (that's Christmas Eve!) at 9.30am.

Of course, you don't even have to be in Bath to catch the show - You can Listen Live via the GWR Bath website!

Roop and Tom were, of course, Breakfast Show presenters at the short-lived XFM South Wales (where I worked as producer), so those of you in South Wales who remember what was on 106.8 and 107.3 before Nation Radio came along can tune in and pretend it's an early morning in the spring of 2008, as the old gang get back together.

In addition to this historic reunion, it is also an emotional moment for myself as it marks the first time I have been on FM in the Bath area since the University's student station (1449AM URB) embarked on 2 weeks of FM transmissions in the spring of 2003.

That kicked off with a fondly remembered live performance from The Cheeky Girls, who abandoned their set prematurely after successfully negotiating their way through "The Cheeky Song", "The Cheeky Song (Remix)" and The Cheeky Dance Competition (to the tune of "The Cheeky Song").

I can't remember quite what caused them to halt the performance of their second single after just one verse, but I think we'd all seen the track we'd paid our £2 entry fee for (as their Cheeky-Song based set list would concur).

In stark contrast, I can assure you that no-one's bum was touched in the making of B.A.D. Radio.

Happy Christmas!

Things I'm in, have helped with, made or like...

2008-12-08T12:57:00.000-08:00

Thanks for popping by. I've been involved in a few bits and bobs dotted about the iPlayer which you might want to catch before they drop off...

Listen Against is still on BBC Radio 4. If you head to the iPlayer now you'll catch Episode 3 (I did the Boris Johnson and Radio Wales bits), right up until 6.30pm on Tuesday, when it'll turn into Episode 4 (I don't know what of mine has made it into this... I haven't heard it yet!).

I've also just been told that Play And Record is being repeated on BBC Radio 7. The episode currently on iPlayer includes me battling with an uncooperative Terry Wogan.

Over the last couple of weeks, I've been producing the second series of Jest A Minute, a panel game for BBC Radio Wales hosted by Rhod Gilbert with team captains Chris Corcoran and Lloyd Langford. Episode 1 is on iPlayer now and the shows go out on Sundays at 2pm, and are repeated on Saturdays at 1pm.

That's all for now!

Good Morning Dillydale (A Recommendation)

2008-12-08T12:19:00.000-08:00

Generally, I don't tend to use this blog to recommend stuff.

I've got it into my head that anyone who has bothered to find this site will be, broadly speaking, on the same page as myself culturally. Spending time recommending people go and see Daniel Kitson, buy the new Death Cab For Cutie record or invest in a kids album made by the drummer from Razorlight seems to me a bit like preaching to the converted.

(Actually, maybe the drummer from Razorlight album isn't such an obvious one. You should check it out. A selection of witty children's poems set to music that easily knocks everything Razorlight have ever done into a cocked hat - And all in under 15 minutes too).

However, I have come across one TV show that, due to it's scheduling, may have passed many people by. I have become obsessed, in an entirely unironic way, by "The Mr. Men Show" (Five, Cartoon Network, YouTube).

(There's a good example of the UK version here. When searching, make sure you add "UK" as you get a more familiar selection of regional accents!)

I once read an interview with the writers of Father Ted, who explained that the joy of introducing characters who are priests is that you immediately have certain expectations of them. You know their job, that they should believe in God, that they should be celibate etc. etc. The Mr. Men show uses a startlingly similar mechanic for an audience of under 5s.

It's a sketch show featuring the Mr. Men and Little Miss characters. Not all of them, obviously. There are nearly 80 in the original books and the episodes are only 10minutes long. Getting through that many brightly coloured shapes in such a short period of time would surely fail that epilepsy test they do on kids telly shows.

Each show contains sketches and songs on a certain theme: cookery, doctors, mowing the lawn, celebrating your country's national day... All the familiar comedy staples, but because you're dealing with such a recognisable group of characters, as soon as you see them, or hear the name mentioned, you know exactly what to expect... When Mr. Happy says "Oh look, here comes our waiter now", and Mr. Bump approaches on roller skates, you know it's going to end in disaster. When Mr. Pernickety introduces his cookery lessons, you're waiting for Mr. Messy to walk into shot.

But there are some real strokes of genius. Mr. Happy has become a slimy game-show host and co-presenter of "Good Morning Dillydale" forming a hideously cheery "Richard and Judy" partnership with Little Miss Sunshine. Mr. Messy has opened a Pizza Emporium and Little Miss Naughty a restaurant. You start to wonder what the Dillydale careers office was up to...

The real joy of The Mr. Men Show is that it solves the greatest problem with the Mr. Men books. Until now, the Mr. Men characters have felt disposable. A character is invented, we follow a short tale where their name and characteristic is either challenged or re-affirmed, we never hear from them again. By stripping back the numbers, letting them all live in the same town and fleshing out the character traits properly, they've made a comedy programme for the under 5s better than most adult sketch shows.

Oh yeah, and they look different, too. Get ready for that. It's a bit weird at first.

(Addendum: Apparently, in Series 2 a new character called "Mr. Green", who teaches children environmental issues, will be voiced by Jamie Oliver. I may have spoken to soon).

Listen Against 2 (And other things too...)

2008-11-16T02:16:00.000-08:00

Sorry this hasn't been updated in a while. Having said that, I read something recently which estimated there are 112.8 million blogs on the internet, so I doubt you've been struggling for something to read...

Here's what's going on:

Listen Against Series 2

Well, I've just heard some proper trails for this on Radio 4, so it must be happening! The second series of Jon Holmes' Listen Against starts this Tuesday (18th November) at 6.30pm. Just like last year, I've contributed sketches, ideas and all manner of strange noises to this show, staying up well past my bedtime to slice up audio of Robert Peston, John Humphrys, Jenni Murray, Steve Wright and countless others. A lot of it leaves my email inbox and I don't hear it until it's going out on the actual Radio 4, so I'll be hearing it for the first time too! How exciting.

Jest A Minute

Right now, I'm editing down 6 episodes of this BBC Radio Wales panel game, chaired by Rhod Gilbert with team captains Chris Corcoran and Lloyd Langford and panellists including Elis James (who now has a rather splendid blog. Read it!), Jon Richardson, Lucy Porter, Milton Jones, Greg Davies and Eggsy from GLC (who is still doing those Rhys and Eggsy podcasts which you can find here) and loads more. It should be going out in early December.

Roop and Tom

I've also been busy working on some bits and bobs with former XFM South Wales Breakfast Show presenters Roop and Tom, which should be hitting an airwave sometime soon. In the meantime, they're now presenting the Breakfast Show on GWR Bath, so listen to that if you're in Bath, or on the internet before 10am in the morning. Oh, and listen their Beyonce parody on youtube...

Feedback?

2008-08-01T05:25:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago, Tom Natt (the man responsible for this website) mentioned to me that an episode of The News Quiz, which I had contributed towards, was featured on the following week's edition of "Feedback" on BBC Radio 4.

It's was a little too far back to make use of iPlayer or Listen Again, but I have just managed to track down the episode of Feedback in question. Two clips of the show were used - both featuring jokes written by myself.

I'm now trying to decide if I can legitimately add "Feedback (BBC Radio 4)" to my writing CV... I’m worried that might convey the wrong message… Any thoughts?

Other People’s Podcasts

2008-07-24T05:25:00.000-07:00

I have two new and exciting things for you to click on.

First of all, I'm currently back behind the scenes at BBC Radio Wales and, last week, stood in as Producer on the Rhod Gilbert Show. Then, once the show was over, I had to chop the whole thing down into a digestible 15 minute podcast. It'll be available right up until the next one is out on Saturday, and you can download it from here.

And on the subject of Podcasts, Rhys And Eggsy from XFM South Wales have done an "Unemployment Podcast". It's nothing to do with me, but those of you missing the mighty XFM South Wales might want to head over to their Myspace page and give it a listen.

EX-FM

2008-06-16T05:39:00.000-07:00

First of all, thanks for all the messages of support/concern following the demise of XFM South Wales. If you don't know what's going on, or have spent the last fortnight prodding your radio wondering where we've all gone, check out this article from the Western Mail, which should bring you up to speed.

Although we never really got a chance to do a "last show", the final Roop and Tom Show was a suitably exciting affair... We had One Night Only in doing a session, and Tom managed to win "Charity Shop Challenge" by flogging the Jason Donovan Board Game for a whopping six pounds fifty on eBay. Thanks to everyone who bid on our assortment of tat (or sent bizarre and obscene questions to my eBay account) and indeed to anyone who got involved over XFM South Wales' roller coaster 6 months and 1 day.

Not only has XFM South Wales disappeared, but the old XFM South Wales website has gone too, so there could be a few broken links on the site/blog for a bit... One thing I was pleased to find was that it's still possible to get hold of some of the XFM Podcasts. You can find the best bits of the Roop and Tom Breakfast Show here and once you've got your face around that, only a fool would not move straight on to the podcasts of (the Arqiva nominated!) Rhys and Eggsy. Catch 'em while you can.

As for me, I'll let you know what I'm doing next once I'm doing it...

Thanks for dropping by...

2008-05-21T09:38:00.000-07:00

A very quick update to say that I've popped a short Glastonbury festival based clip (taken from the final episode of BBC7's Tilt) over in the Audio section of the site. I think you'll agree, it shows the plus-side of Michael Evis' plans to invite such diverse acts as Jay-Z and Shakin' Stevens to this year's festival.

All going to plan, we'll have more audio to follow soon...

Tilt, Flu, Cheese Grating and more...

2008-04-17T08:11:00.000-07:00

I've been slow to update this. I would be able to forgive myself if there wasn't much going on, but we're already half-way through a series I'm involved with so this post is, at best, three weeks late.

Tilt: I've been writing and slicing up audio for this brand new 6-part topical comedy show on BBC7 (Thursday evenings: 11.30pm). At the time of writing, we're somewhere between episodes 3 and 4, but you'll always be able to catch the latest episode if you head to the BBC7 website, and use the the listen again facility.

For more information, do check out the Tilt Homepage. There's even a little bit written by me right at the bottom, where I make the most of the fact I've been given the chance to promote the show, by whinging about the fact I have flu.

XFM South Wales: Don't forget to tune in to the Roop and Tom Breakfast Show, every weekday morning from 6am - 10am on XFM South Wales, where I continue to play the part of "Producer Gareth". Over the last couple of weeks, we've been putting together some podcasts, which you can download from the XFM South Wales Website or via iTunes. Also, if you haven't visited it yet, do check out some of the bits and bobs on the show homepage too, including the human wheelbarrow montage, and a video of me grating a large block of cheese.

On a slightly more technical note, the more observant of you (i.e. the ones who visit websites, right click and hit "view page source"), will notice that despite retaining the bare and stripped down look you've no doubt come to know and tolerate, this website has actually had something of an overhaul. While it's nothing you can see with the naked eye, the whole thing should now be a good deal easier to update, and the little tagline on the top right should keep you informed of my actions with what will hopefully be an almost sinister level of accuracy.

Plus, now we've done all those "back-end" bits we've been meaning to do for ages, we can get on with coming up with something exciting for the "Audio" section on the left hand side. I mention it here because I will then feel obliged to follow it up at some point.

So let's hit "Go" and see if this really is as easy to update as Tom said it would be...

Happy New Year

2008-01-12T08:15:00.000-08:00

Hello again

Thanks for visiting. Here's what's been going on since I last updated this...

First of all, I'm now a 4Talent award winner for my radio presenting work. Wow. I know I mentioned this briefly in the last update, but it seems far more official since I've been to London and been handed an actual physical award. It's really quite impressive and glows a blue/purple/pink colour... Well, it did... I seem to have broken it, so now it's permanently a sort of off-white colour. Anyway, it doesn't matter. It's got my name on it and looks nice on my parents' windowsill... And that's the point of awards really, isn't it?

To tie in with the awards, I appeared in Issue 8 of TEN4 magazine. There's an interview with me and everything.

The other big news is that I am now working as producer on the Roop and Tom Breakfast Show on XFM South Wales every weekday morning from 6am-10am. Roop and Tom have their own website which you will no doubt want to check to ensure that I am not mixing with unsavoury types.

Finally, if you're now on the internet with nowhere to go you could do a lot worse than check out Roop and Tom's attempts to break a record.

See you soon

All Manner of Excitement

2007-11-01T08:14:00.000-07:00

Hello,

Right, let's cover all the exciting stuff first. Then, once that's done, we'll get onto the apologising about the fact I haven't updated the website in what seems like forever...

Play And Record (BBC7): This is a brand new sketch show with all kinds of things in it - including a couple of cut-ups and sketches by myself. There are 4 episodes, going out Wednesdays at 11pm on BBC7, starting on 31st October.

Listen Against (BBC Radio 4): I'm currently in the process of writing and cutting-things-up for Jon Holmes' brand new show, which is going to be brill. I think it's going to be 4 episodes, the first one of which will be going out at 6.30pm on Wednesday 14th November on Radio 4. There'll be far more information on this project on Jon's website, as he knows what's going on and updates his site regularly, therefore having two distinct advantages over this particular page.

Gareth Gwynn's Alternative Anthems (107.9 Afan FM): I'm still presenting this show on Tuesday Nights on Afan FM, which is going rather well, thanks for asking. In fact, clips from this show (as well as odds and ends from some of my previous radio-based adventures), led to me making the list of this years "4Talent" award winners. There are more details on the Channel Four website as well as in the forthcoming "TEN4" magazine.

And finally, sorry the website is looking increasingly sad. Myself and scary-eyed-internet-ninja, Tom Natt, keep coming up with more and more exciting things we can do with it, each more complex and involved than the last, but then ultimately get distracted by pizza and cake and stuff so never get round to actually doing any of it. But we will. And it'll be great. Promise.

Thanks for visiting. Now off you go to see the rest of the internet...

News

2007-04-20T08:13:00.000-07:00

"BBC BackChat" will be going out on 2nd May at 10.30pm on BBC7 as part of the station's "Witty and Twisted" series of pilot shows by new writers. It will also be on the station's "Listen Again" page for a week afterwards. Please listen to this as it is, literally, my 15 minutes of fame.

I am currently presenting Afan's Alternative Anthems on community radio station 107.9 Afan FM from 9pm, every Tuesday evening. If you live in the Neath/Port Talbot area, please support Afan FM as it is a great idea.

Hello and thanks for visiting

2007-03-04T16:09:00.000-08:00

Hello. Thanks for visiting garethgwynn.co.uk.

Does it look too corporate?

We ought to explain. We've put this page online long before it deserves to be. My hand was forced into getting garethgwynn.co.uk after idly browsing the internet one evening and finding that garethgwynn.com had been taken. This really shouldn't have been a surprise. I fight for google supremacy with a footballer and a film-maker, and they are equally entitled to a domain name. Fair play to them for getting there first!

Anyway, in retaliation, I got hold of garethgwynn.co.uk. It was then my thoughts turned to what I should put there. Should I just re-direct to a myspace site? Not when one of Bath University's premier web-designers Tom Natt volunteered his web-designing servies for free!

So I "designed" the site on the back of a flyer after a gig in Cardiff, which Tom faithfully reproduced using state-of-the-art internet technology. The strange thing is, what looked fun and charming on the smudged back of a flyer in a dimly-lit stand-up venue looks weird and corporate when rendered in xmms, css and html (I think I've got those right) (he hasn't - Tom).

So rather than bat half-formed ideas back and forth ("Should we make it blue?" etc.), we decided to hell with it, we'll stick it up as it is and wait for the feedback to pour in. Let us know what you think. Although don't suggest colouring it blue. We've tried that.

Also, try checking out some of the links. Primarily to see if they work, and then to see if we've uploaded any cool stuff. Don't be too harsh on us if there isn't anything there, mind. We're still getting going on this.