NEW six-part BBC One programme is looking for five to eight-year-olds across Wales who are finding it hard to make friends

A NEW BBC television series is looking for children across Wales aged between five and eight who are finding it hard to make friends.

Will You Be My Friend? is a new six-part series for BBC One and iPlayer from Five Mile Films, the makers of Channel 4’s The Dog House. The programme will focus on children who are struggling socially, whether through shyness, feeling left out, or finding it difficult to connect with others their own age.

The series will centre on what producers call The Friendship Centre, where a team of psychologists will help children build confidence and social skills to form real and lasting friendships.

Each child will then be sensitively matched with a potential new friend from their local area for a play date. Six weeks later, the programme will return to see how their new-found confidence has helped them at school, in the playground and beyond.

The production team says the series aims to explore the challenge of friendship in modern childhood, at a time when many families remain concerned about loneliness, social confidence, screen time and the lingering effects of the Covid pandemic.

Emma Loach, Interim Head of Commissioning, Documentaries at the BBC, said: “The longing to connect, to be seen, and to belong is universal.

“Whether you’re five or fifty-five, I defy anyone to watch these children without seeing a little bit of themselves reflected.

“In a world that can feel increasingly disconnected, this series shows that the simplest gestures – a smile, a shared joke, a tentative ‘will you be my friend?’ – still have the power to change everything. Five Mile Films has brought us something very special, and we couldn’t be prouder to give it a home on the BBC.”

Nick Mirsky, CEO of Five Mile Films, said: “I don’t think there’s a commission I could be more thrilled to bring to Five Mile. Will You Be My Friend? will be joyful, warm and funny, but it also does something genuinely new – inviting us to look closely at the challenge and art of making friends.”

Filming is due to take place in July and August, and producers are now inviting applications from families in Wales who feel their child could benefit from taking part.

The series is being made by Five Mile Films for BBC One and iPlayer, with All3Media International acting as international partner.

Parents or guardians who would like more information or wish to apply can visit: bemyfriend.tv

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A grassroots club brand that changed west Wales — and still echoes 25 years on

THE STORY of The Evolution Experience does not begin in 2000.

It begins in 1998, with a major event — Gigawatt ’98 — that had already attracted significant press and BBC Wales coverage before being stopped at the last minute following licensing issues.

For the young team involved, it was more than a cancelled charity concert in aid of the RNLI. It was the moment that changed everything.

Launched in 2000 by Tom Sinclair and his friend John Lee, the founders of Gigawatt Concerts, Evolution began modestly but quickly grew into one of the most ambitious nightlife ventures Pembrokeshire had seen.

At a time when serious clubbing meant travelling to Swansea or Cardiff, a group of young people in Milford Haven decided to build something themselves.

What made The Evolution Experience different was not just the scale, but the young team behind it. At a time when most 19 or 20-year-olds were either at university or in their first jobs, the team behind Evolution were organising large-scale events, managing budgets, dealing with authorities, and taking on responsibilities usually associated with far older operators.

According to the Evolution Experience website in June 2001, the main team members, nearly all from Milford Haven were: Tom Sinclair, John Lee, Denys Bassett-Jones, Gareth Jones, Linda Rouse, Declan Rouse, Dan Mills, Matthew Norman, Luke Sinclair and Mike Knight.

Filling a gap

In the early 2000s, Pembrokeshire’s nightlife was limited. There were pubs, small venues, and occasional events — but nothing on a scale to rival city clubs.

Evolution changed that.

Early nights at the Kings Function Centre in Milford Haven drew hundreds, then close to a thousand people. The venue — a cricket club hall — was transformed with lighting rigs, powerful sound systems, and multiple arenas.

What emerged was not just a DJ night, but a full-scale experience.

As the brand grew, larger venues followed, including the Park House Exhibition Centre in Haverfordwest, where crowds of up to 2,500 attended — an unprecedented scale for the county.

More than a club night

What set Evolution apart was not just its size, but how it was run.

Despite being organised by people in their late teens and early twenties, the operation was structured and professional. There were sponsorship deals, thousands of flyers distributed across the county, branded vehicles, trained security, and medical cover on site.

Promotion was hands-on, with mailing lists built manually and campaigns run across towns and villages.

The aim was clear: to deliver something that could stand alongside events in larger cities.

And it worked.

Big-name DJs and acts were brought to Pembrokeshire, while local talent was given a platform to perform in front of large crowds.

What made The Evolution Experience different was not just the scale, but the people behind it. At a time when most 20-year-olds were either at university or in their first jobs, the team behind Evolution were organising large-scale events, managing budgets, dealing with authorities, and taking on responsibilities usually associated with far older operators.

As the events grew, so did the scale — and visibility — of the operation. Evolution nights were advertised across the county using thousands of flyers, AA-style road signs directing traffic into Haverfordwest, and branded vehicles fitted with tannoys reminding people on the day that something major was happening.

At one event in May 2002, a large police operation involving around 60 officers and a Gold command structure was deployed, with vehicles searched on arrival — but no issues were identified.

The intensity of promotion occasionally brought its own consequences, with Sinclair receiving a small fine for fly-posting and the use of loudspeakers.

Alongside this, the team pushed boundaries creatively, even securing Civil Aviation Authority permission to project the Evolution logo into the night sky using a high-powered searchlight — a reflection of the ambition behind what had, by then, become far more than a typical local night out.

A platform for people

For many involved, Evolution was more than a night out.

It provided early experience in:

• event management
• sound and lighting
• marketing and promotion
• working under pressure

Participants went on to careers in a wide range of fields, including policing, design, IT, and the music industry.

For Sinclair, the experience would prove formative in a different way.

Expansion beyond west Wales

As Evolution grew, it began to move beyond its local roots.

Events were held in London, including a night at The Fridge in Brixton. The brand also reached overseas, with a tour in China and plans — later followed by smaller events — in Tokyo.

For a venture that began in a Milford Haven cricket club, the expansion was significant.

The Chequers turning point

In 2002–2003, plans were put forward to establish a permanent home for Evolution at Chequers nightclub in Penally, near Tenby.

The move represented a major step — from one-off events to a fixed venue.

However, the application faced strong opposition from residents, authorities, and other stakeholders, particularly around concerns over noise and location.

Following a lengthy licensing hearing, the application was refused.

Sinclair disputed aspects of the decision, but the project did not proceed.

That pressure brought its own rewards. At just 22 years old, Sinclair found himself standing alone in a packed licensing hearing, representing his case for over six hours without legal support.

It was an experience that would shape everything that followed. “After that,” he has said, “nothing ever really felt that daunting again.”

A short-lived attempt to operate the venue as a private members’ club followed, but this also faced enforcement action and was ultimately discontinued.

Lessons learned

The refusal of the Chequers application marked more than just the loss of a venue. It was a moment where ambition collided with the limits of what was possible at the time — in terms of regulation, location, and local sensitivities.

For those involved, it was a harsh but valuable lesson. It exposed the realities of navigating systems that were still evolving themselves, and forced a deeper understanding of how decisions were made — and how they could be challenged.

The episode marked a turning point.

For those involved, it provided first-hand experience of the complexities of licensing, regulation, and public scrutiny.

Sinclair has since reflected that the experience influenced his decision to study law — and later to establish The Pembrokeshire Herald, where scrutiny of authority and public accountability became central themes.

That experience would have lasting consequences. For Sinclair, it sparked a deeper interest in law, leading him to study the subject and later apply that knowledge in a different arena — journalism.

The confidence built through Evolution, and the lessons learned during its most difficult moments, would go on to shape the approach behind The Pembrokeshire Herald.

A return — and a legacy

Although Evolution’s early peak passed, it did not disappear.

The brand returned in later years with events including:

• “No Place Like Home” nights in 2008
• smaller club events in 2009
• a full-house event in Tenby featuring SASH!
• sell-out shows at the De Valence Pavilion, including Judge Jules

Each time, the response showed that the name still carried weight.

A shared cultural moment

Today, The Evolution Experience occupies a rare place in local memory.

For those who were there in the early 2000s, it represents:

• first nights out
• a sense of something new
• proof that large-scale events could happen locally

For younger audiences, it remains a recognised and credible brand.

Few nightlife ventures bridge generations in this way.

Perhaps the most enduring impact of The Evolution Experience is not found in the events themselves, but in what came after.

Those involved did not simply move on — they carried the experience with them. Skills learned under pressure translated into careers across a range of professions, from public service to technology and the creative industries.

In that sense, Evolution was not just a series of nights, but a starting point.

Should it return?

With renewed interest and upcoming anniversary events, the question arises: should The Evolution Experience return in a larger way?

There is no simple answer.

The demand appears to be there, and the brand still resonates. However, the landscape has changed — with stricter regulation, different audience expectations, and a very different nightlife culture.

What is clear is that the original conditions that created Evolution cannot be replicated exactly.

More than nostalgia

Perhaps the question is not whether Evolution should return as it was, but whether the spirit behind it can be carried forward.

Because what Evolution demonstrated — 25 years ago — still matters:

That it is possible to build something significant from nothing, even in a rural area.

That young people, given the opportunity, can create, organise, and deliver at scale.

And that sometimes, what begins as a small idea can leave a lasting impact.

Today, the name still carries weight. For one generation, it represents a time when something genuinely new arrived in west Wales. For another, it is a brand associated with more recent events and headline DJs.

Few local ventures manage to bridge that gap — to be remembered by those who were there at the start, while still recognised by those discovering it for the first time.

A lasting impression

What started as a birthday party in Milford Haven became something far bigger — not just a club night, but a moment where a group of young people proved they could build something of scale, ambition and lasting impact.

Twenty-five years on, The Evolution Experience is no longer just about what happened on those nights. It is about what grew out of them — the confidence, the careers, and the belief that, even in a rural corner of west Wales, you didn’t have to wait for opportunity.

You could create it.

Free family event planned at Rwts on Easter Sunday

A FREE Easter egg hunt is set to take place in Broad Haven this weekend, with families invited to join in the fun on Easter Sunday.

The event, organised by Havens Events Crew, will be held at Rwts, Broad Haven, on Sunday, April 5 at 2:00pm.

Organisers say all children are welcome, with free entry for those taking part.

As well as the egg hunt itself, there will also be an Easter egg prize for the best Easter dress-up, adding to what is expected to be a fun-filled afternoon for local youngsters.

The event is likely to attract families from across the Havens area as children celebrate Easter with games, treats and fancy dress.

Havens Events Crew, which was established in 2023, has been building a reputation for putting on community events in the area.

The Easter egg hunt is expected to be a popular addition to the holiday weekend calendar.

Photo caption: Easter fun: Havens Events Crew is holding a free Easter egg hunt at Rwts, Broad Haven, on Sunday, April 5 at 2:00pm.