Happy Birthday BBC Local Radio

Last week, I was on The Now Show on BBC Radio 4, talking about 50 years of BBC Local Radio. You can catch the full thing on the Radio iPlayer/Podcast but someone working in the online team (who clearly really likes old jingles) has clipped together the best bits here...

We Need To Talk About... Tony Law

At 7.15pm on Sunday 29th October (and online for 30 days after that) you can catch a brand new sitcom pilot written by John-Luke Roberts and I for BBC Radio 4. 

Tony Law: 21st Century Adventurer stars Adjoa Andoh, Nina Wadia, Freya Parker, John-Luke Roberts, Helen Lederer and Tony himself - who, brilliantly, came dressed for the part. Gosh, I hope he realised it was for radio.

I've also been working behind the scenes on a brand new show for Spotify Premium subscribers. We Need To Talk About... is presented by Jolyon Rubinstein and features panelists from comedy, music and journalism who pick through the week's news and try not to get too down about it all. At the time of writing there are 5 episodes available, with plenty more on the way. 

Finally, Elis James' Pantheon Of Heroes was nominated for Best Entertainment Or Comedy Production at the Radio Academy's ARIAS 2017. We saw didn't win, but we got to go to Leeds for the ceremony - so here's some photos of Busted, looking like they are on the set of Tron. 

Comedy Of The Week

All four episodes of Ankle Tag are now available on the BBC Radio 4 website.

Written by Benjamin Partridge and I, the show stars Elis James, Katy Wix and Steve Speirs - all three of whom you can see in the incredible iPlayer photo on the left which, after four episodes, is still being used. 

Ankle Tag is also this week's BBC Radio 4 Comedy Of The Week podcast - So download it now (or listen below if I can make the embed thing work*) to hear episode 1 - plus Elis and I being interviewed by Cariad Lloyd about the show (although they seem to have cut my bit on exactly how to disable an Ankle Tag. Probably very wise).

In other news, Series 4 of Elis James' Pantheon Of Heroes, written by Elis, Ben and myself and starring Elis, Ben and Nadia Kamil, has been nominated for a Radio Academy ARIAS award. The show isn't on iPlayer any more, save for this smidgen of it on Twitter and a couple of clips from Series 1-3 on the BBC Radio Wales website. 

(*I can't).

Inside And Outside

Ankle Tag is a sitcom for BBC Radio 4 written by Benjamin Partridge and I and stars Elis James, Katy Wix and Steve Speirs - who you can see to the left, captured for posterity in one of my favourite cast photos of all time.

(You can find a synopsis of the show here – but I honestly think the show's title and that photo are already doing a lot of the work - so if it seems like your kind of thing, you can probably just dive straight in).

There will be four episodes going out on Wednesday nights at 6.30pm starting on the 23^rd August, and each one will be available online for 30 days afterwards.

Meanwhile, for BBC Radio Wales, I’ve been out-and-about, working on a two part series about camping and glamping. The Welsh Under Canvas, produced by Leaping Wing, sees me visit Pembray, Hay-On-Wye and several other places in-between - as I try to find out exactly what it is about outdoor living that appeals to us.

If you like Sue Perkins, animals or jokes (and I find it highly unlikely that you won't be a fan of at least one of those things) then you may enjoy a new podcast written by Jon Hunter, Gabby Hutchinson Crouch and myself.

Zoopedia consists of 13 episodes of facts about animals, presented by Sue with assistance from Margaret Cabourn-Smith and Simon Kane and produced by Ed Morrish. They’re an Audible Original, so if you’re already a member you can get them all for free.

And in addition to all that, you can also catch me on Sunday afternoons on BBC Radio Wales from 4-6pm (and on BBCiPlayer Radio shortly afterwards)… But do be quick. I’ve only got a handful of shows left to go!

Lolitics

Lolitics is a monthly, political stand-up comedy night in Camden, London, run by the brilliant Chris Coltrane who encourages acts to come down and do brand new sets full of political material.

Now I've been to Lolitics as an audience member many times but, last month, was very excited to head there, armed with some photos of Merthyr Tydfil, and talk to a room full of people in London all about the Welsh Assembly.

Chris edits the gigs down and releases them as The Lolitics Podcast - the website for which is well worth checking out as the archive he is building up there is really quite something.

You'll find my set at the end of Episode 46 but, in addition to the podcast, Chris also pops them on YouTube - This is particularly handy for me as the visual-aids I was waving around can also be seen in the video below... Which is potentially more useful than just hearing them flap-about on the podcast. 

You can hear the set in the video below or download the podcast itself - And don't forget to check out Chris' Twitter and other projects. 



Also, I should say, I've had my hair cut since that photo was taken and, looking at it now, not a moment too soon

Llandudno Craft Of Comedy Conference

On the BBC Radio 4 website now there are two editions of The Now Show on which I was part of the writing team. The most recent, broadcast on 31^st March 2017, was recorded in front of an audience at Venue Cymru in Llandudno – Where the Craft of Comedy Conference was taking place.

I popped up here-and-there as part of the conference itself, and also spoke to The Today Programme’s David Sillito who, having taken part in our topical comedy writing workshop, chatted to me about current state of satire. His finished package, broadcast on Tuesday morning and featuring people far more famous than me, is embedded below.

Then, on the way back, I stopped off in Wrexham to present a slightly truncated version of my regular BBC Radio Wales afternoon show. The whole show can be found on the BBC Radio Wales bit of iPlayer.

Emergency Procedure

I wasn't feeling very well last weekend, so finally gave-in and pressed a button on the BBC Radio Wales computers that I've been wanting to click for so, so long...

As such, if you want to hear me shouting over the BBC Radio Wales Evacuation Package for an hour, it is now available on BBC iPlayer Radio for the next couple of weeks. It's well worth catching if you are a fan of emergency procedures, old Radio Wales jingles and slightly under-the-weather presenters stumbling their way through a Sunday afternoon.

Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to shake off a cold which, post-show, only seemed to get worse. Hopefully I'll be back to normal by next Sunday.

O'r Diwedd On iPlayer

On the BBC iPlayer now, both episodes of O'r Diwedd are now available - It's look back at 2016 in sketches and monologues and features possibly the single rudest prop ever broadcast on Welsh television.

The show is presented by Sian Harries and Tudur Owen and written by those two and myself - featuring guest appearances from Garmon Ceiro and Sara Huws. 

The show was broadcast on S4C over Christmas in Welsh - but English subtitles are available, if that's your preferred language in which to scream about the year. Just press the "S" in the bottom of the iPlayer screen. 

Coming soon to the radio bit of iPlayer is Now The Twelfth Night Show - A one-off edition of Twelfth Night by The Now Show team, to be broadcast on 7th January, on which I did a little bit of writing work. I've also been working behind the scenes on a brand-new stand-up show for BBC Radio 4 presented by Elis James - State Of The Nations starts in Carmarthen and then moves onto Newcastle, Glasgow and Belfast with stand-ups from each Nation talking about what all that means and will be on BBC Radio 4 on Wednesday nights.

Also returning to the BBC Radio Wales end of iPlayer is the fourth series of Elis James' Pantheon of Heroes - Written by Elis, Benjamin Partridge and myself and starring Elis, Ben and Nadia Kamil, the fourth series looks at Welsh towns and cities to decide which ones are the best - which has proven to be considerably more contentious than when we used to compare long dead historical figures. 

And from the 8th January, I'll be back on BBC Radio Wales on Sunday afternoons from 4pm - Provided I can remember how it all works...

O'r Diwedd

Together with Tudur Owen and Sian Harries, I've been working on a new show for S4C called O'r Diwedd - A two-part look back at 2016 with sketches, monologues and a blink-and-you'll-miss-it appearance of me in a dreadlock-wig.

The episodes go out at 10pm on Christmas Eve and 9pm on New Year's Eve. If you can't speak Welsh, you can watch it live with English subtitles or catch it on BBC iPlayer afterwards (just press the "S" in the corner of the screen).

Trump. Brexit. Prince.
Golwg arall ar 2016 wallgof gyda @tudur a @sianharries_ #ordiwedd
Dydd Sad 24/12, 10.00 https://t.co/GMCTfynQ7h

— S4C (@S4C) December 19, 2016

How Not To Deal With A Technical Error

Taken from my Sunday afternoon show on BBC Radio Wales, this is the first full link from the edition broadcast on 13th November 2016. The whole show (including repercussions of this incident) is available on my bit of the BBC Radio Wales website.

Pantheon Of Heroes - Available Soon/Now (Depending when you read this)

The fourth series of Elis James' Pantheon Of Heroes starts this Saturday (13th August) at 1pm on BBC Radio Wales.

Written by Elis James, Benjamin Partridge and myself and starring Elis, Ben and Nadia Kamil, this series is all about places, as opposed to people, so the three episodes cover Market Towns, Industrial Towns and Cities (although I have no idea what order our producer, Sharif Shahwan will choose to put them out).

Each episode will be on the BBC Radio Wales website for 30 days, so if you're reading this on or after 1pm on the 13th, head to the BBC Radio Wales website now to listen back to however many episodes you've missed. 

While we're thinking further ahead - if you're reading this on-or-after the 18th August, you'll also be able to listen back to Fred MacAulay's Wet Hot Political Summer on BBC Radio 4 - Recorded at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and which, by the time it is broadcast, I will have helped write (Haven't done anything for it yet though. It's topical. To do anything right now would be presumptuous). 

And, considerably more straightforwardly, whenever you read this, you should be able to find the last few editions of my BBC Radio Wales Sunday show on the BBC Radio Wales website right now.

Brexit and Bangor

So the week before the EU Referendum, I was one of the writers for BBC Radio 4's one-off Vote Now Show: EU And Yours - It's still available on the BBC Radio iPlayer and as the BBC's Comedy Of The Week podcast although, because I've been a bit slow to update this blog, I'm now pointing to something which may as well be part of Radio 4's Archive Hour. 

The following week, I traveled to North Wales and did my regular Sunday afternoon show from the BBC's Bangor studios - While there I took the opportunity to walk up Snowdon and enjoy the excellent views...

Snowdon, there.

I'm back on Radio Wales this weekend, from 4pm on Sunday for my regular show and also joining Lloyd Langford from 11am on Saturday morning, as we stand-in for Rhod Gilbert.

A Pantheon Guide To Machynlleth

Last weekend, as part of their coverage of the Machynlleth Comedy Festival - BBC Radio Wales broadcast Elis James' Guide To Machynlleth - A Pantheon of Heroes spin-off, all centred around the historic market town. I co-wrote the episode, which stars Elis, Benjamin Partridge and Llinos Mai and is available on the BBC Radio iPlayer now. 

As well as being a thorough and reliable guide to Machynlleth, the episode also acts as an exciting taster of the fourth series of Elis James' Pantheon Of Heroes, which will have an altogether more geographical slant than previous series. We recorded those in the Glee Club in Cardiff last month, and they should be on BBC Radio Wales this summer. 

Aside from this, I've also been working on The News Quiz with Miles Jupp (specifically, episode 3 - which is available in both Regular and News Quiz Extra formats - both of which are now available as a podcast) and I've been helping out Max Davis with these videos which are very tangentially about water.

And finally, as part of Brain Awareness Week, I was asked to provide the voice over to these lovely videos all about how your brain works (or doesn't work) written by Jon Hunter, drawn by Henry Paker and animated by Matt Partridge. 

It isn't Brain Awareness Week any more, but it should all still be true.