The Story of Wales
27 February 2012
Huw Edwards
HUW EDWARDS LAUNCHES NEW LANDMARK PROGRAMME
THE STORY OF WALES
The Story of Wales starts Monday, February 27, BBC One Wales, 9pm
BBC News at Ten presenter Huw Edwards is to tell the story of Wales from pre-history to modern times in a landmark television series commissioned by BBC Cymru Wales from Green Bay Media.
One of BBC Cymru Wales’s most ambitious series ever, The Story of Wales will trace the history of the Welsh nation from 30,000 years ago to the present day.
Paviland
The Story of Wales will start with a reconstruction of the earliest known human burial in Western Europe - that of the “Red Lady” of Paviland - almost 30,000 years ago. Its epic story runs through Hywel Dda’s uniting Wales under one law, the Welsh at the heart of the Tudor court, through the immense pace of change in the country as coal mines and iron works flourished - with technological and educational innovations putting Wales ahead of the world in the Industrial Revolution - and right up to present day devolution.
Huw Edwards said, “This really is a dream come true for me. How could any Welsh broadcaster not be energised by the challenge of telling the nation’s story?
“It’s been a long wait. The last major television history of Wales was The Dragon Has Two Tongues in the mid-1980s, when the great Gwyn Alf Williams and Wynford Vaughan-Thomas slugged it out in one of the best history series ever seen on British television. So we have a lot to live up to.
Huw Edwards
“I am aware that working on this series - a once-in-a-generation event - is a real privilege. Above all, The Story of Wales needs to engage audiences in Wales and beyond. After all, we have a great story to tell.”
Elis Owen, Head of Commissioning for BBC Cymru Wales, said, “We’re delighted that Huw will present The Story of Wales which promises to be an accessible look at our history. So many people do not realise how influential Wales has been down the centuries and I’m sure the series will enlighten many of our viewers. Wales has a great, exciting story to tell.”
The Story of Wales is made by Green Bay Media for BBC Cymru Wales in partnership with the Open University in Wales. Other project partners, including the National Museum Wales, Cadw and the National Library of Wales, will be running activities tied to The Story of Wales series, while BBC Cymru Wales has additional programming on the same theme.
BBC One Wales will be screening a series on the history of four Welsh towns and cities - Pontypridd, Newport, Bangor and Cardigan - from Monday, February 6.
BBC Radio Wales will broadcast a six-week series of Histories of Wales, which looks at themes such as radicalism, migration, the family and war, with presenters including former First Minister Rhodri Morgan, from Sunday, February 19. BBC Radio Cymru will have a series Be di’r Hanes which follows a chronological history of the Welsh nation, from February 22.