Local television presenter, Daf Wyn, has been named as the first Welsh-speaking ambassador for the MS Society after being diagnosed with the illness back in 2021.

“It’s a huge honour, but my ultimate goal is to raise the profile of all the revolutionary work that the Society is doing and give hope to people who may be finding themselves themselves in a very dark place as a result of their MS diagnoses,” he said.

“By using my platform on Heno and Prynhawn Da, I can help promote the MS Society, because the way in which they’ve helped me over these past three years has been incredible.”

Daf is one of 17 MS Society Ambassadors promoting the charity’s work throughout the UK, with others including interior designer Lawrence Llewelyn Bowen and celebrity TV chef, Tom Kerridge.

In 2021 Daf’s television career dived into uncertainty when he was told he was suffering from MS.

“Whenever someone receives a diagnosis like that, they automatically think the worse, but when your livelihood revolves around speech and talking, it makes it even harder,” he said.

Daf Wyn first started suspecting that things weren’t right in March 2021.

“I began suffering from light headedness, I felt dizzy and then I started to have slightly slurred speech,” said Daf, who is a native of St Dogmaels and a former pupil of Ysgol Uwchradd Aberteifi.

“I started getting this strange feeling in my head and I knew that within three seconds, my speech would start slurring.  Then a few seconds later, everything would get back to normal.

“This happened one afternoon when I was presenting ‘Prynhawn Da’ live, and this was when I realised I had to go and see my GP.”

Daf Wyn was sent to the Heath Hospital, Cardiff, where a series of rigorous tests were carried out including two MRIs and a lumbar puncture.

“Towards the end of the tests, my consultant told me he suspected I was suffering from Multiple Sclerosis.

“Naturally I’d heard about the illness but I didn’t really know anything about what it meant nor how it might affect me.

“And what made it even more difficult to understand was the fact that it’s a ‘snowflake’ disease which means that every single person is affected by it in a different way.”

Multiple Sclerosis affects the brain and spinal cord which subsequently affects the nervous system.  

After being given the choice of five different forms of treatment, Daf Wyn, on the advice of his consultant, opted for the most robust – Alemtuzumab.

“Everyone who is diagnosed with MS gets a nurse and mine, Jackie, speaks Welsh, thank God, so I’ve been able to talk to her in a very open and honest way,” he said.

“She told me that throughout the treatment process, it was important to carry on leading life as normal.

“These days people can expect to die with MS and not because of it. And this has helped me a lot.”

Daf Wyn came out of hospital in March 2021 and decided to go back to work in mid June to record a piece on the re-opening of the White Hart pub in his home village of St Dogmaels.

He spent the next few months working from home and then returned to the studio on a full-time basis towards the end of September.

“I’m a very positive person and made a point from the outset, that this was how I was going to deal with MS,” he said.

“And I consider myself very lucky to have been able to receive the treatment which is available to combat the illness. My hope is that in the years to come, we will one day be in a position to stop MS.”

Commenting on Daf Wyn’s role, Shelley Elgin who is the Country Director of MS Society Cymru, said, “We’re delighted to welcome Daf as our first Welsh-speaking Ambassador, as his unwavering support has been demonstrated not only by sharing his experience of living with MS but also by being a member of the MS Cymru Council for the lats year, advocating for people living with MS here in Wales and raising awareness of MS. This makes Daf a perfect Ambassador to hep us reach more people affected by MS. He is truly an inspiration.”