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.

The Greatest Ever Faker

I've just finished work on a brand-new documentary for BBC Radio 4, written and presented by myself and produced by Michael Surcombe.

The Greatest Ever Faker is all about Iolo Morganwg - Iolo was a 18th century writer, poet and literary forger (and a good one, too). 

In the programme we cover Iolo's forgeries and the whole sticky world of making-stuff-up as we speak to poets, historians, broadcasters, a convicted art forger and someone who writes biopics for BBC Four. It also has the greatest iPlayer photo of all time (featuring me and Joseph Rosenblum). 

The show is transmitted on Monday 7th March at 4pm on BBC Radio 4 and will be on iPlayer forever. So, y'know, plenty of time to catch up.  

The fact BBC Radio 4 documentaries stay up indefinitely is handy if you enjoy this and want to catch the other two shows I've made for the station: Gareth Gwynn's Little Book Of Welsh Independence and Gareth Gwynn's Little Book Of Welsh Rock. 

Also being broadcast this week is a television show I had a small hand in - Jonathan's Six Nations Quiz is on BBC One Wales at 9pm on Wednesday 9th March. 

And while I'm doing this update, there are actually quite a few things I've worked on on iPlayer (or similar) right now:

The Now Show - I wrote on the first episode of the new series.
Bull - All three episodes of the GOLD sitcom which I co-wrote with John-Luke Roberts are available on NOW TV. Click on it and just look who is in the cast. It's crazy. 
Ankle Tag - Co-written with Benjamin Partridge and starring Elis James, Katy Wix and Phillip Fox - This was a one-off for BBC Radio 2, but which has just been repeated on BBC Radio Wales, so it's back online. Join-in with the hashtag #hotpig.  

And my regular BBC Radio Wales show is on Sundays at 4-6pm, with the most recent episodes available to listen to on BBC iPlayer Radio. This Sunday (6th March) I'll be speaking to actor, stand-up comedian and News Quiz host Miles Jupp. Because that's what Mother's Day is all about. 

How Wales Works

As part of BBC Wales' "How Wales Works" season, I was asked to prepare a bunch of radio packages all about the Welsh Assembly and how it functions. 

As well as appearing on-air, they've also been animated by Sharif Shawan, and the first one is out today. 



There are going to be six altogether and, one by one, they'll appear on this page. 

Once they're all up, I can recommend a fun game of trying to spot the places where I've said something that was factually incorrect during the recording, and have then had to fix during the edit.

While you're on the BBC Radio Wales website, do check out the most recent edition of my brand-new Sunday Afternoon Show (and for a very limited period, there are the final episodes of my Sunday morning show there too, so you can compare-and-contrast how exhausted I used to sound). 

Plus, for a limited time, you can catch series two of our award-winning sketch show Here Be Dragons.

Right now, I'm working on The News Quiz with Miles Jupp and hoping that the Welsh Assembly do something that we can base a question on. After all, I've done all the research.

Bull: Currently on Sky Go and Now TV

On Sunday GOLD repeated all 3 episodes of Bull in a row (so to anyone just catching it for the first time, it probably felt more like a film with a constantly changing plot).

This means that the show is now available to watch on Sky Go and Now TV. Just follow the links for more details.

Bull is written by myself and John-Luke Roberts and stars Robert Lindsay, Maureen Lipman, Naz Osmanoglu and Claudia Jessie and also features Matt Lucas, Kevin Eldon, Brett Domino, Tim Brooke-Taylor and Pam St Clement (she's meant to be swearing, but they snipped that out for pre-watershed. Don't know how Now TV will deal with that!)

Do watch if you haven't seen it before (or, indeed, if you have. It all helps the figures).And if you don't have access to Sky Go or Now TV and there is absolutely no way for you to see it, here is a screen grab of the single most important moment...