RTS Wales

The first event – “The network speaks: beyond tokenism” – took place in Cardiff in early June to a full house of programme-makers from Wales’ unscripted production community, who took part in an in-depth conversation about diversity and representation on-screen.

The series of discussions aims to take the conversation about disability out of London and change how the industry works for everyone. It will focus on local issues and solutions, generated through intimate, accessible and open discussions.

We do enjoy a quiz at the RTS, so here’s a question for you: what notable moments in British television history took place in 1959? You get a point if you knew that it was the year that Juke Box Jury was first broadcast on the BBC (or, indeed, Noggin the Nog).

Two points to anyone who answered that it was the year that the ITV franchise Tyne Tees Television started broadcasting. But there’s another event that you almost certainly didn’t know about – and it’s why 1959 interests me: it was the year that the RTS formed its first committee in Wales.

Thank you to RTS Cymru Wales for inviting me to give this year’s lecture. It’s a privilege to be with you all here tonight, particularly as we’re here in this shiny building – the new home for Cardiff University’s prestigious school of journalism, media and cultural studies as well as, of course, BBC Wales.

Opportunities such as this give a rare chance to reflect publicly on what has been an incredible few years - a constant and glorious work in progress that myself and the other Bad Wolves are passionately driven and obsessed by. 

The awards also saw the launch of two Industry Awards to recognise the work of individuals in behind-the camera roles at the start of their television careers. 

Both awards went to ITV Cymru Wales employees: production specialist Ellis Clark received the Newcomer award and journalist Sian Thomas, the Industry Breakthrough award. The latter prize is for TV talent with a minimum of two years’ experience in the industry and at least one on-screen credit.

Front left: Sioned Wiliam, behind her Rhys Gwynfor, Barry Jones, Elen Rhys, and Daniel Glyn

Cardiff Bay was the venue for this year’s ‘Sinemaes’, a week-long pop-up cinema, held at the National Eisteddfod, supported by a partnership of film and TV organisations based in Wales. During the week over 3,300 attended screenings and sessions at Sinemaes, a 36% increase on the number in 2017.

The Welsh drama series Keeping Faith/Un Bore Mercher was the very timely subject of an RTS Wales panel discussion at the Celtic Media Festival in Llanelli on the 3rd of May.  The series, which stars Eve Myles as a lawyer and mother of three whose husband unexpectedly goes missing, has been making headlines as the most downloaded non-network programme on iPlayer with over 9 million requests, and has developed a cult following across the UK.  Made in both English and Welsh, it was a co-commission for S4C and BBC Wales and the focus of the discussion was the ‘back-to-back’ nature of t