‘I’M REALLY ENJOYING FOCUSING ON NEWS AT THE MOMENT’
Presenter says she enjoys being back in Wales
OVER the years Lucy Owen has become one of the main faces of news in Wales. But despite this, the 51-year-old has revealed she currently has no plans to pursue a prime-time network job.
“That isn’t really an ambition of mine,” Lucy, from Llandaff, Cardiff, said.
“I’m not saying I’d turn an opportunity like that down, but I’m really enjoying focusing on news at the moment. There are lots of opportunities within the newsroom to develop stories into longer formats for iPlayer. It’s an exciting time to be working in news at the moment and I enjoy being back in Wales and I like being here for my son. With any sort of network programmes, there would be a lot of travel and a lot of time in London.”
Lucy was talking following the axing of BBC Wales’ consumer show X-Ray, which came to an end last month after 22 years.
Upon first finding out that the show had been cancelled, she said: “I have to say that it was a little bit of a shock for all of the team. We weren’t expecting it and we are all really sad because we’re a tight little team and we take a lot of pride in what we do.
“It’s a really difficult time for the BBC and I understand that they’re in a tight spot where if they could, they’d have kept it going but we were given two reasons for it. The first was money because it’s not a cheap programme to make and it took around 30 people in all to get the programme to air. The second reason was that although we have an amazing core audience and our viewing figures have been brilliant, we’re not great on iPlayer so that was a factor as well.
“The thing that really got me was the outpouring from our viewers because it has just been so lovely. I couldn’t believe it but with the last programme, we had people travelling round the country. Loads of people were turning up with Welshcakes for us and just saying thank you. I was in bits after that!”
Lucy described how people who came to X-Ray for help were usually “at their wits’ end”.
“These people had nowhere else to turn and were desperate and the fact that we were able to help some of those people has meant the world to us all. We’re so proud of all the things that we achieved whilst we were on air.”
Prior to X-Ray’s final episode, Lucy posted an emotional selfie to social media from a toilet in Porthcawl.
“It was really emotional,” she said.
“I wasn’t anticipating that because I just assumed we’d all go for fish and chips afterwards and all would be fine. It was when viewers started coming from far and wide – that was the bit that got me and it just kind of set me off.
“For the last link of the programme, all the team came down from Roath Lock in Cardiff so we could have a shot of our final farewell. I had a little bit of a link to do before that and just before I did it, they all stood behind the camera and I was trying to do the link and I could just feel my voice catching. I did manage to get through it eventually, though.”
Lucy started work on X-Ray in 2007. Recalling the time, she said: “I was pregnant with my son when we did our first links for X-Ray. It was appealing because it allowed us to provide a great public service.
“I also hadn’t worked on a consumer show before so for me, that was really appealing too. Rhodri [Owen, her husband] was also working on it at the time so that was great that we got to do something together. It was an amazing opportunity to work on a programme like that.”
When asked to choose an episode that stood out to her, she recalled the shocking case of Reg Gill, who claimed he could treat people with cancer.
Describing the case, Lucy said: “These claims that he could cure [people with cancer] were bogus and he was jailed for eight years as a result of our investigation. When you hear stories like that, we’re really pleased that we were able to help bring him to justice.”
Presenting was not always the path Lucy intended to go down.
She explained: “I didn’t really know what I wanted to do. My dad was a lawyer but he used to broadcast on Vincent Kane’s show on the weekend. I remember when I was really young going into a radio show at Broadcast
ing House in Llandaff and watching him do that and thinking, ‘That’s really cool.’
“Years down the line after I’d done English as a degree at university, I thought that maybe I could try that. I wrote in for some work experience and got some experience researching on Meet For Lunch, which was a current affairs radio programme at the time and I really liked it and got the bug from doing that.
“They were starting up a radio drivetime lifestyle programme and they were looking for reporters. They said, ‘Come up with an idea and if we like your idea then we’ll teach you how to use the kit. If we like what you come back with then we’ll teach you how to edit it. And if we like the final version, we’ll broadcast it.’ That led to me getting a regular slot on that show.
“I then heard there was a morning presenting job going at ITV Wales so I did a screen test and had an interview. When I got called back for another screen test, I thought that I may actually have a chance at getting it and, miraculously, they gave me the job.
“I was there for a long time and got to do the main evening programme quite quickly. After about 13 years, the opportunity of going to the Beeb came up and I haven’t looked back.”
Lucy stressed how ITV and BBC were very different places to work.
“I thought that it may be the same job but on a different channel. It’s a different working culture within the BBC. This is partly because of the way that the BBC is funded – there feels like there’s a real responsibility to the viewer. At the BBC, there’s a lot more scrutiny and there’s a lot more focus on balance. It just feels like it is ramped up a gear.”
When asked to cite a presenter she admires, Lucy immediately said she’d “stick with the Welsh” and praised Huw Edwards.
“Huw is just amazing,
I just love him. He’s an incredible news broadcaster and brings a real warmth and personality to the news. That isn’t always easy to do when things are tightly scripted. I love it when he’s doing rolling news and things are breaking and he’s doing that big liveevent coverage.”
Lucy also shared her admiration for The One Show host Alex Jones.
“I’m a massive fan of Alex. I think that she does a wonderful job day in, day out on The One Show and she makes it look really easy. She makes live broadcasting look so effortless when she probably has loads going on in her ear.”
Lucy said that the BBC is keen to break away from the stigma that it is an “exclusive” and “unreachable” broadcaster.
“There’s a real push to make it really, really inclusive. I’d say to someone looking to get into this industry: keep knocking on doors and keep putting yourself out there. It is competitive but that doesn’t mean there aren’t opportunities there. I would also tell someone to think about the broad range of opportunities that are there – it’s not just about broadcasting but behind-the-scenes, marketing and everything. Get as many strings to your bow as possible and don’t take no for an answer.”
Aside from broadcasting, Lucy is also a supporter of the charity Cerebral
Palsy Cymru. As to why the cause is important to her, she said: “I sort of feel that the job that I do is quite a privileged position and if you can give anything back then it’s part of the job. I’ve always wanted to have a positive impact with my position.
“Cerebral Palsy Cymru were the first charity to get in touch with me and I’ve been involved with them for about 25 years. They’ve become increasingly special to me over the years. I recently wrote a children’s book and included a character who had cerebral palsy in it, which was a wonderful opportunity to write about the condition. It was interesting for me, writing this character, as I was in touch with Cerebral Palsy Cymru to make sure I was portraying her correctly.”
While on X-Ray, Lucy worked with cerebral palsy role model and social media star Emily Nicole Roberts.
“Working with Emily on X-Ray has been really, really great. She’s so brilliant and I can’t wait to see what she does next. She’s written dramas and there’s The i Word that you can watch on iPlayer. She’s such a talent.”
As to what’s next for Lucy, she said: “I’m really focused on news and in particular, what I’m really loving right now is trying to help nurture some of the younger talent that we have coming through – that’s a real passion of mine.”