Brand new presenter to host S4C’s Newyddion Ni

A news and sports programme for young people will start on S4C next month and will be hosted by a brand new presenter fresh out of school.

18-year-old Siôn Tomos Williams from Glais, Swansea has just finished his A Levels. During his time at school, he had a part-time job as a tree surgeon, but has always had his sights set on being a presenter.

He will now take on the role of host for S4C’s ‘Newyddion Ni’ (Our News) which will be broadcast on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays during school term time starting from September 4, replacing the programme ‘Ffeil’.

Among the topics that will be discussed are climate change, human rights, sport, celebrities, as well as longer items to explain more complex stories.

Some stories will include reports by children and young people – Fy Stori i (My Story). And another aspect of the programme on Mondays will be a slot covering lighter news, called Newyddion App-us.

Screen test

Siôn said: “I’ve always known that I wanted to be a presenter – I enjoyed performing and competing in public speaking competitions at school, but I wasn’t really sure how to break into the field.

“I also knew that I didn’t want to go to University after finishing school, mainly because it was so expensive.”

“Mum sent me the advert for this job; I thought why not – and went for it! I filmed a small video explaining who I was, had an interview and a screen test – and was so excited to get this amazing opportunity to be on a newly launched programme. I’ve had a lot of training, as there are a lot of new aspects to the job – like editing and filming.

“Children and young people are the future, and a news programme that provides reliable and accurate news in a simple but entertaining way is crucial – especially as there is so much fake news on social media. I can’t wait to get started!”

Sharen Griffith, S4C’s Content Commissioner for News and Current Affairs said: “Children and young people are a priority for the channel, and they’re interested in news. So it’s important that we discuss the big news stories and offer a programme that presents the news in an entertaining way that gives an explanation behind some of those stories.

“And the inclusion of children and young people and their stories is also extremely important, and the intention with the item Fy Stori i is to give them a voice.”

The 8-minute programme will be shown on S4C Clic after 11:00 (and available on S4C Clic for a period of 48 hours), then part of the Stwnsh slot at 17:50 (and available on S4C Clic and BBC iPlayer after this).