Bethan learnt the importance of language and communication early on. Aged just seven, she created a bilingual family newspaper, The Review, to connect her family together – her mother’s side were English-only speakers from South Wales, while her father’s family were first-language Welsh speakers from the north. The paper may not have lasted long – pocket money only goes so far – but it was the first kernel of a future career.
After studying journalism first in Cardiff and then in Paris, Bethan’s career began as a freelance reporter based in France. She returned to the UK to work for the BBC and then became a political correspondent in London, a role she held for many years, before a move back to her birth country saw her join daily morning news programme Good Morning Wales (2007-2013). In 2013, she landed her current role as presenter of S4C’s Newyddion, where she’s covered such important stories as the Charlie Hebdo attacks in Paris, which won a BAFTA Cymru award for the news team in 2015, and the desperate migrant crisis in Turkey.
Bethan’s passion for connecting people to local interest and international news has been a mainstay of her work. Her warm yet authoritative style makes even the most complex topics understandable and it’s no surprise she was one of the first women presenters to front the overnight election results for the BBC in 2015.
“It’s an absolute honour to be given this prestigious award in the name of such an inspirational Welsh and international icon,” Bethan says. “This is truly humbling and is recognition of the excellence of the amazing colleagues and teams I have been privileged to work with to tell people’s stories in Wales and beyond. I hope it will inspire young journalists – especially women – to challenge and to keep searching for the truth.”
