Owain Wyn Evans
Owain Wyn Evans (born 9 March 1984) is a Welsh journalist and broadcaster. He is the weather presenter for the nightly news programme "North West Tonight" and is a reporter for the television magazine and chat show programme "The One Show". 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. Career. Television work. Evans began his broadcasting career at the age of 18, when he became the presenter of Welsh language children's news programme "Ffeil". He then worked as a  reporter, presenter and video journalist for BBC Wales and in 2012 he began presenting the weather on "BBC Wales Today". Evans presented weather forecasts across many BBC nations and regions between 2012 and 2019. In September 2019, it was announced that Evans would be the new lead weather presenter for "BBC North West Tonight". 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". Since July 2020, Evans has been a regular guest quizmaster on the Australian panel game television quiz  show "Have You Been Paying Attention?". In August 2020, he made his debut as a reporter for the television magazine and chat show programme "The One Show". In 2020, he appeared as a celebrity guest on "Michael McIntyre's The Wheel" and co-presented "BBC's New Year's Eve" "The Big New Year's In" alongside Maya Jama and Paddy McGuinness. In February 2021 he made his debut presenting the weather on "BBC Breakfast". In 2022, Evans will participate in the upcoming reality competition series "Freeze the Fear with Wim Hof". Digital broadcasting. 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. 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". Radio presenting. In 2012 Evans became a traffic and weather presenter for BBC Radio Cymru. Evans has presented a number of radio programmes for BBC Local Radio stations across England. Evans regularly co-presents alongside Carol Vorderman on BBC  Radio Wales. In 2020 he began presenting alongside Helen Skelton on BBC Radio 5 Live. 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. In October 2021 Evans made his debut on BBC Radio 2 deputising for OJ Borg. Drumming. Evans drums as a hobby, having started when he was 7 years old. 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. 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. Children in Need drumathon. On 13 November 2021, Evans completed a 24-hour drumathon in support of the charity Children in Need. 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. The sum was expected to grow with further donations and had reached £2,621,750 by lunchtime that day. On 15 November, 48 hours after the challenge, the project had raised £3,062,418, making it the most successful 24-hour challenge in the 41-year history of BBC Children in Need. Awards and accolades. Evans has featured on the WalesOnline 'Pinc List' of the most influential LGBTQ people from  Wales on numerous occasions. In July 2019, Evans was awarded Best TV Presenter at the O2 Media Awards for Yorkshire and Humber. In November 2021, Evans was awarded the Best Regional Presenter and Best Breakthrough Talent awards at the Royal Television Society North West Awards. Personal life. Evans was born in Ammanford, Carmarthenshire, Wales. Evans has spoken out about homophobic abuse received on Twitter for his presenting style and continues to be vocal in his support for the LGBTQ community. In March 2017 Evans married his long-term partner Arran Rees in London.