News

BBC Cymru Wales announces new line-up of sports content

Published

1 year ago

July 18, 2024

BBC Cymru Wales has announced an exciting new fixture list of content for the forthcoming sporting season. With sports fans looking for immediate coverage of their team, keeping up to date with the latest news and analysis, the broadcaster will be introducing new content on iPlayer, Sounds and online.

Under the Scrum V and Feast of Football brands BBC Cymru Wales will be launching two new digital first, multi-platform programmes – designed for audiences to watch or listen to on their phones, tablets and laptops as well as on television or BBC iPlayer.

The multi-platform Scrum V show will feature big names talking rugby in a relaxed and no holds barred environment, presented by Lauren Jenkins.

And of course there’ll be plenty of live action as Scrum V’s first URC game of the season kicks off on Friday, 20 September when Cardiff take on Zebre. Sarra Elgan will bring all the action from the Welsh clubs every Friday evening on BBC Two Wales, following all four Welsh regions in their quest for this year’s title.

With audiences wanting their highlights quickly, Scrum V’s evening highlights show will no longer be on Sunday nights. Instead, highlights will be available shortly after the final whistles of all Welsh regional matches online and on Scrum V’s social channels. These highlights will also be combined and shown as one comprehensive package on BBC Wales TV and iPlayer. And the Scrum V Podcast continues weekly on BBC Sounds with Gareth Rhys Owen.

Other new shows under the Scrum V banner this season include Scrum V Top 5s which sees Mammoth star and diehard rugby fan Mike Bubbins inviting guests to choose iconic moments and characters from the game. Among those featured in this eight-part series is Sam Warburton who reveals some very unlikely choices for his Top 5 Teammates.

Football fans also have a new multi-platform show. With a bumper autumn of international football approaching, an eight part series of Feast of Football will have unparalleled access into the national squad – capturing all the excitement and the big talking points of the Welsh game.

Presented by former Wales captain Ashley Williams, this will be a must watch for football fans and will tap into the spirit and passion of the Red Wall. Filmed at the Football Association of Wales’s headquarters on the eve of the men’s and women’s internationals, the show will feature interviews and exclusive access to players from both camps, as well as short films from around Wales.

Ashley Williams said: “I’m really excited to be presenting Feast of Football. We’ve got great access to the squads and we’ll be giving fans a brilliant insight into Welsh football and talking about the things that matter to them. We want them to feel they’re right at the heart of the camp and part of the story.”

BBC Cymru Wales is also increasing its online sports coverage with more team topic pages and live text pages while a new BBC Radio Wales and BBC Sounds series this autumn – Iconic: The Rise of the Women in Red – presented by Wales’s most capped footballer Jess Fishlock will chart the growth of women’s football.

Carolyn Hitt, Head of Sport at BBC Cymru Wales said: “Scrum V is our iconic rugby brand and will remain at the heart of our sports coverage, with content throughout the week offering analysis and predictions, timely highlights as well as marking the remarkable moments. BBC Wales is proud to have brought Scrum V to audiences for almost 30 years and our aim is to capture the interest and imagination of a new generation of rugby fans as well as rewarding our longstanding audiences with new content.”

“As the game evolves and the way we consume sport changes, we’re looking to provide more instant coverage, courtesy of our new digital formats. Rugby and football fans can rest assured that the new offer will bring the latest news, views and analysis to their laptop, smart phone and TV.

“I’m delighted that from next season we can bring more football to fans across Wales. Feast of Football will expand with a podcast and iPlayer and TV versions. Feast of Football will talk Welsh football in all its glory and in the slightly less glorious times.

“It’s also true that the BBC, like other broadcasters is having to cut its cloth in line with its budgets. Increased costs across the board, as well as our ambition to cover a broader range of sport means we’re having to focus where we spend our money and ensure we’re giving our audience the sport coverage they want in the places they want to enjoy it.”

News

Lib Dems call for emergency VAT cut for hospitality as families ‘priced out’

Published

10 hours ago

November 12, 2025

Tom Sinclair

THE WELSH LIBERAL DEMOCRATS are calling for an emergency 5% VAT cut for pubs, restaurants and other hospitality and entertainment businesses in next week’s Budget — part of a bold £12 billion plan to tackle the cost-of-living crisis that has made “going out an unaffordable luxury” for many families.

Under the proposals, VAT would be reduced from 20% to 15% on hospitality, accommodation and visitor attractions. The move would boost struggling high streets and bring down prices for hard-pressed families across Wales.

The plan forms part of a two-pronged “cost of living and cost of doing business rescue package,” which also calls on the Chancellor to cut household energy bills by scrapping the current renewables obligation levy. Together, these measures — to remain in place until April 2027 — would save a typical family around £270 over the next 18 months.

Funding would come from a new windfall tax on big banks, originally proposed by the IPPR think tank. The tax could raise an estimated £30 billion between now and 2030, with less than half of that needed to cover the cost of the VAT cut (£7.5bn) and the removal of the renewables obligation levy (£4.5bn).

The Liberal Democrats say their proposals would give a vital boost to Welsh pubs, restaurants and entertainment venues currently struggling under the “double whammy” of high taxes and falling customer spending.

Recent research by More in Common found that almost two in three Britons (59%) believe restaurant meals are now unaffordable for most people, while over half (51%) said the same about a night out at the pub, and 45% about a trip to the cinema.

David Chadwick, Welsh Liberal Democrat Westminster Spokesperson, said: “People are working with their nose to the grindstone all month and have next to nothing left over after sky-high bills and spiralling food prices.

In years gone by, people could look forward to fish and chips on a Friday or a weekend trip to the cinema. Now those small joys – the ones that make life worth living – are becoming an unaffordable luxury for too many.

High street businesses have been hammered by Labour’s jobs tax, so it’s no wonder so many treasured pubs, restaurants and cafés are closing their doors, taking with them vital jobs and community spaces.

It doesn’t have to be that way. With a new voting system in the Senedd, every single vote for the Welsh Liberal Democrats will count and deliver change with fairness at its heart.

Our plans to cut VAT on hospitality and energy bills would put £270 back into people’s pockets, making it easier to heat their homes and spend a little more locally. This would help restore our high streets, drive economic growth and give the country a much-needed morale boost.”

Crime

Haverfordwest man fined for damaging car wing mirror

Published

10 hours ago

November 12, 2025

Court Reporter

Victim later retracted statement, court hears

A HAVERFORDWEST man has been fined after admitting to damaging a car wing mirror belonging to a woman in the town earlier this year.

Luke Owen, 33, of Wayside Close, Simpson Cross, appeared before Haverfordwest Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday (Nov 12), where he pleaded guilty to criminal damage.

The court heard that on May 7, 2025, Owen damaged the wing mirror of a black Peugeot 2008.

Prosecutor Sian Vaughan said the damage was minor, and a victim personal statement was not presented to the court as the complainant had since retracted it.

Owen, represented by Mike Kelleher of Welch & Co Solicitors, was fined £40.

He was also ordered to pay £20 in compensation, £85 in prosecution costs, and a £16 victim surcharge.

Magistrates allowed the fine to be deducted from Owen’s benefits.

Crime

Whitland woman’s no-insurance charge discontinued

Published

10 hours ago

November 12, 2025

Court Reporter

A WHITLAND woman accused of aiding another person to drive without insurance has had her case discontinued at Haverfordwest Magistrates’ Court.

Louise Mary Hook, 52, of Compton House, Llanfallteg, was alleged to have aided and abetted Christopher Rone in using a Fiat Ducato van without insurance on High Street, Narberth, on May 15.

The prosecution claimed that Hook had encouraged or permitted Rone to drive the vehicle when no valid insurance policy was in force.

However, when the case came before magistrates on Tuesday (Nov 12), the Crown Prosecution Service confirmed that the matter had been discontinued and no further action would be taken.