Join BBC Wales’s Lucy Owen for a new series celebrating Welsh news and entertainment at the turn of the 21st century. From the excitement of our millennium celebrations to Catherine Zeta Jones’s star-studded wedding, Lucy revisits the stories and people who shaped the headlines. Remembering Wales’s first internet village, the ill-fated Bluestones Millennium Project, and the debut of Bryn Terfel’s Faenol festival - the biggest event in north Wales. It was the year John Malkovich launched a budget hotel in Cardiff and Gwent was in the grip of a big cat warning. There was a snooker legend from Cwm, Michelin star triumphs, a fashion show made from rubbish, and we were reminded that we’re never too old to dance or dream.
Lucy Owen takes a personal trip through the BBC Wales news and entertainment archives of the year 2001. It was the year Pavarotti invited Tom Jones to sing with him in Italy. There was a controversial new guidebook to the country, and we got a sneak peek at 2W, a new TV channel for Wales. The country prepared for a national census, and coped with the foot and mouth crisis. President Bill Clinton visited the Hay Book Festival, while Russell Crowe found he has Welsh roots. In sport, there was the Rhondda Rebels’ triumph in basketball and Christian Malcolm’s sprint record. And the Stereophonics had their biggest gig to date.
Lucy Owen explores BBC Wales’s news and entertainment archives of 2002. She takes us through the events, headlines, and memorable moments of the year from her perspective in the newsroom, with archive gems including the History Hunters team solving clues in Fishguard, the Welsh artist who sold hundreds of war paintings to Saudi Arabia and a newly restored visitor attraction at Ruthin Prison. We discover the story of the SOS signal from the Titanic picked up first in Wales, Nicole Cooke shares her Commonwealth Diary, and there's an ambitious challenge to build a home in ten hours. Entertainment highlights include Stuart Cable chatting to Keith Chegwin, Jessica Garlick at Eurovision and Radio Wales’s Owen Money in panto. And on a weather note – we confirm the wettest place in Wales, with rainfall records that boggle the mind.
Lucy Owen explores BBC Wales’s news and entertainment archives of 2003. She takes us through the events, headlines, and memorable moments of the year from her perspective in the newsroom with archive gems including a preview of the new Welsh Archbishop’s vestments made in Abergavenny, a 90-year-old yoga enthusiast in Anglesey, and a moving Traveller’s museum in Pembrokeshire. We celebrate the spirit of innovation with The Biz finalists, view Julien Macdonald’s collection for Givenchy, and breathe a sigh of relief as a players’ strike is averted in Welsh rugby. In entertainment, Tom Jones gets a BRIT award, Steve Balsamo performs at Proms in the Park, and Catherine Zeta Jones wins an Oscar. Welsh artists debut at the Venice Biennale, and a couple from Llanrwst become lottery millionaires. You’ve got to be in it to win it.
Lucy Owen explores BBC Wales’s news and entertainment archives of 2004. She takes us through the events, headlines, and memorable moments of the year from her perspective in the newsroom with archive gems that include the innovative dog wash at the car wash, while Siân James remembers the miners’ strike of 20 years ago. Chirk Castle holds an auction of memorabilia – did you bid for anything? Entrepreneurship is alive and kicking around the country from the eagerly awaited Penderyn whisky launch to the Welsh designed 'Celtic Wanderer' super caravan and blacksmith Ann Catrin Evans talks us through her inspiration for her work in the new Wales Millennium Centre. Do you recall who bought the famous Dylan Thomas watering hole Brown’s Hotel in Laugharne? We also meet the Welsh Italian gondola living in Neath, witness the first snow since 2001, and enter the rap band Goldie Lookin’ Chain’s unique world
BBC Wales’s Lucy Owen takes a personal journey through the archives of 2005. Tune in for an evening of nostalgia, inspiration, and shared memories, as Lucy invites viewers to relive the highlights and stories that shaped Wales in 2005. From the sporting success in rugby and netball, to Donny Osmond in Merthyr and a rare spider is found. Homes in a Welsh valley are finally plugged into the Grid while Carmarthen Etta bakes a Royal wedding cake. There’s a controversial art installation, the oldest car in Wales goes up for auction and Catrin Finch reinvents harp playing for the next generation.
This week BBC Wales’s Lucy Owen takes a personal trip through the BBC Wales news and entertainment archives of 2006. We witness the New Year tradition of waterfall karate, the Welsh contestants on Big Brother causing a stir, and Cardiff Library packs up and moves. There’s a jazzy celebration on the 250th anniversary of Pontypridd bridge, the coastal path in Anglesey opens and Chepstow racecourse hosts its first National Motor show. Thieves steal the Cardiff Castle clock hands, while Swansea debuts the new Eisteddfod pink tent. The Queen opens the new Assembly building and Katherine Jenkins sings at Llangollen. Plus, a World record attempt for the largest gathering of Jones’ in one place.
Lucy Owen explores BBC Wales’s news and entertainment archives of 2007. She takes us through the events, headlines, and memorable moments of the year with archive gems including the rise of influencers on YouTube, the grit eating sheep of Flintshire, the battle for Village of the Year and how Strictly took us back to the dance floor. In sport, Tanni Grey Thompson retires, the Phoenix Cheerleaders come back and a new digital pet watch monitors children’s exercise. It’s the year we first meet Nessa, find a Led Zepplin hideaway and the first air service starts between north and south Wales.
Lucy Owen explores BBC Wales’s news and entertainment archives of 2008. She takes us through the events, headlines, and memorable moments of the year from Butlins Bluecoats training in Rhyl to the canine crooners recording a song for Swansea Jack. We see the secret underground WW2 bunker on Chepstow Golf course, Katherine Jenkins on the Jonathan Ross Show and Duffy performing on Top of the Tops. We meet the one man keeping the town clock’s ticking, celebrate St Fagan’s 60th birthday and admire a new sustainable glass art project.
Lucy Owen explores BBC Wales’s archives of 2009, taking through the headlines, and memorable moments of the year from her perspective in the newsroom with archive gems that include the BBC Wales presenters in a ‘strictly’ dance off for Children in Need. The wild Kashmir goats of Llandudno provide a new regimental goat for the Royal Welsh. Boffins in Aberystwyth wonder if elephant grass could provide a new biofuel and we observe Harry Potter’s Shell house in Pembrokeshire. The Institute of Astronomy donates a giant telescope to Knighton and the best private collection of Welsh quilts goes on public show. There’s a skunk on the loose in Tredegar and the Women’s Tug o’ War team train for the World Championships.
