BBC Wales
BBC Wales (
BBC Cymru in
Welsh) is the regional branch of the
British Broadcasting Corporation for
Wales. Based at Broadcasting House in
Cardiff (not to be confused with
Broadcasting House in
London which is the headquarters of
BBC Radio) it comprises around 1900 employees on site. The channel debuted on
1 February 1964 to much fanfare (snappy, succinct television commercials told the area: "Wales gets its very own TV service in 1964!"). [
1] Prior to 1964, the BBC had no dedicated television production centre in Wales, although television was broadcast there.
BBC Wales produces
television programming in
English and
Welsh both for the regional opt-out sections of the
BBC One and
Two network feeds, and for the dedicated Welsh-language channel
S4C. Perhaps its best-known Welsh-language programme is the soap opera
Pobol y Cwm, which has run since
1974. BBC Wales also runs two radio stations,
BBC Radio Wales in English and
BBC Radio Cymru which broadcasts in Welsh and is also aimed at a younger audience than Radio Wales. The local television news programme
Wales Today has been produced in Cardiff since
1963. BBC Wales also produce the Welsh language news programme (
Newyddion) for
S4C which combines international and UK news with regional news from Wales.
Another popular locally-screened programme is the drama series
Belonging, which as of
2005 has run for six seasons since
1999. An English language programme,
Belonging is produced in-house by the BBC Wales drama department and screened on
BBC One during a regional opt-out slot from the main national network feed. As with other such opt-outs, however, it is available to viewers elsewhere in the UK via the
Sky Digital platform.
As well as providing these dedicated services for Wales, BBC Wales also — in common with other larger BBC regions — provides programming for national consumption on the entire network. It is particularly noted for its drama output, which includes a 2004 adaptation of
Anthony Trollope's
He Knew He Was Right and the
2005 revival of the classic
science-fiction series
Doctor Who. The
BBC National Orchestra of Wales is resident at BBC Wales and performs regularly throughout Wales and internationally.
Produced in-house by BBC Wales
;For Wales:
Wales Today (1963–present)
Pobol y Cwm (1974–present)
Belonging (1999–present)
;For the UK:
The District Nurse (1984–1987)
He Knew He Was Right (2004)
Doctor Who (2005–present)
Doctor Who Confidential (2005–present)
Torchwood (2006)
Commissioned from independent producers by BBC Wales
;For the UK:
Shakespeare: the Animated Tales (1992,1994)
Casanova (2005)
The Girl in the Café (2005)
Life on Mars (2006)
*
bbc.co.uk - BBC Wales
