First episode of The Truth About My Murder examines the 1996 Wentwood Forest killing of Tyrone France and the painstaking forensic work that helped identify him and secure justice

BBC WALES’ new true-crime series The Truth About My Murder begins on Tuesday, February 3, 2026, with an opening episode titled Bones in the Forest.

The programme is fronted by world-renowned forensic pathologist Dr Richard Shepherd, who uses pathology and modern forensic techniques to show how evidence found on a victim’s body can separate fact from fiction – and help police catch a killer. The series combines Shepherd’s analysis with testimony from detectives and the families left behind.

In the first episode, Shepherd revisits the 1996 murder of Tyrone France, a Newport man whose remains were discovered at Wentwood Forest, near Newport, south Wales.

Gwent Police were alerted to what was left of a fire at the crime scene. Officers found teeth, 343 small fragments of bone, and spent bullets. With so little intact, forensic investigators faced an extraordinary challenge: the fragments needed to be painstakingly examined and reconstructed in the pathology lab in the hope of identifying who the victim was.

Many of the pieces were from the body’s largest bone – the femur – and by piecing the fragments together through a complex process, pathologists were able to give police their first meaningful lead: an estimate of the victim’s approximate height.

A public appeal followed, prompting a breakthrough which led police to a name – Tyrone France, who had recently been reported missing.

The investigation then focused on Jason Preece, who came forward claiming to have been the last person to see Tyrone alive. As inconsistencies emerged, Preece offered a new account – describing a planned drug deal, an unexpected shooting, and the alleged involvement of two other men, Simon Spring and Dylan Watcyns.

At trial, the programme says, pathology played a central role in testing those accounts – including evidence about how Tyrone was shot, what happened next, and which version of events the forensic findings supported. The outcome, the episode claims, shocked police, journalists and local residents, and devastated Tyrone’s family, who remember him as their smiling “Baby Bear”.

The Truth About My Murder: Bones in the Forest airs on BBC Wales on Tuesday, February 3, 2026, from 10.40pm to 11.20pm.

RISING soul star Olivia Dean has revealed how a quiet camping trip in Pembrokeshire turned into the call of a lifetime after she received a FaceTime from music legend Sir Elton John.

The 26-year-old singer told BBC’s The Graham Norton Show that she was cooking “sausages and beans” on a small gas stove when her phone rang and Sir Elton’s name appeared on the screen.

Dean said her team had warned her the star might get in touch, but she panicked when the moment arrived and initially declined the video call.

“It rang and it was a FaceTime and I said ‘no – I’m not ready’,” she told the audience, as the studio erupted with laughter.

Realising what she had done, Dean said she immediately regretted it and feared she had missed her chance — but Sir Elton called back moments later.

The Your Song hitmaker then offered words of encouragement, telling her he was proud of her and that it looked like she had worked hard and was “ready now”.

Dean said she managed a quick thank you before collapsing on the ground “like a starfish”.

The light-hearted story has once again shone a spotlight on Pembrokeshire’s reputation as a place to switch off and recharge, with its beaches, coastal paths and campsites offering a peaceful escape from busy city life.

Dean, who is London-born and has Jamaican-Guyanese heritage, has previously spoken fondly about the county’s coastline and the appeal of getting away from the spotlight.

Her surprise call from Sir Elton also reflects his well-known habit of supporting fellow artists, with host Graham Norton joking that the music icon “loves the phone” during the segment.

A short clip of the moment has since been shared online, with viewers praising both Dean’s down-to-earth reaction and the county she chose for her downtime.

PEMBROKESHIRE could soon see life-size artwork reproductions of many National Gallery masterpieces, including works by Turner, Constable and Cezanne at locations throughout the county, in a scheme submitted to the national park.

In a Pembrokeshire Coast National Park application to the park’s own planners, permission is sought for the installation of 12 life-size National Gallery artwork prints on various locations in the national park, between June and November of this year.

Of the 12 locations for the ‘Art on your doorstep’ project, 11 will be on existing structures, the last on a self-standing structure at Oriel y Parc, St Davids.

Carew will see four artworks: Constable’s The Hay Wain, at the tidal Mill Bridge; Koninck’s ‘An extensive landscape by a road, with a river,’ in the car park opposite Carew River which overlooks the castle; Hans Holbein the Younger’s ‘The Ambassadors,’ in the national park workshop; and Turner’s The Fighting Temaraire, by the village’s war memorial.

Castell Henllys will feature two works: Cezanne’s Bathers, and Titian’s Baccus and Ariadne.

St Davids’ Oriel y Parc will feature Van Gogh’s Wheatfield of Cypresses, and Canaletto’s The Stonemason’s Yard.

Porthclais will host Van Gogh’s Sunflowers, with Claude-Joseph Vernet’s A shipwreck in Stormy seas at Strumble Head.

Rosebush’s Tafarn Sinc will display Turner’s Rain, Steam, Speed, and a site at the skate park overlooking Tenby’s South Beach will host Monet’s Bathers at La Grenoville.

The application will be considered by the national park planning committee.