Barry Welsh Is Coming
Welsh sketch show with inept host Barry Welsh.
Barry Welsh Is Coming was a Welsh sketch show from Absolutely Productions for HTV Wales, debuting at 10:40 pm on 6 September 1996 across six series. Produced by Pete Baikie, John Sparkes portrayed the bumbling host Barry Welsh and nearly all key characters. Some episodes later aired on the Paramount Comedy Channel.
Quick Facts
- Director
- Matt Lipsey
- Lissa Evans
- Peter Boyd Maclean
- Alan Nixon
- Huw Parry
- Starring
- John Sparkes
- Theme music
- Pete Baikie
- Country
- Wales
- Executive producers
- Elis Owen
- Producer
- Pete Baikie; Alan Nixon
- Editor
- Huw Parry
- Location
- Cardiff, Wales
Facts from the source article.
Characters
The show’s standout segment centered on Hugh Pugh, a news reporter from Fishguard in West Wales, portrayed by John Sparkes. Pugh harbored a deep dislike for Barry Welsh, partly because Cardiff is seen as more “advanced” than Fishguard and partly because Welsh is the program’s host. His reports were typically filmed in black and white, implying that Fishguard itself exists in monochrome due to being behind the rest of Wales. The newsreels were styled after old news footage to fit Sparkes’ jokes. Pugh always carried an old-fashioned microphone in one hand, while clutching the plug of its lead in the other. Crime in Fishguard is managed by Detective Chief Inspector Shortarse, who leads the Santa Squad—a unit of police officers all dressed as Santa Claus. The town’s most wanted figure is ganglord Larry Island, a parody of Barry Island, who commands a crew of baby criminals trained to steal toys and produce forged paintings. His gang includes Mad One-Eyed Jack and Baby-Faced Baby. For getting around town, transport is limited to motor vehicles, along with a small railway called the Fishguard - Fishguard Railway, operated by Fishrail. To travel outside Fishguard, the main option is lace-up shoes, though elastic-sided boots are available on certain routes. A pipeline was once built to pump thousands of tourists into West Wales each year, but casualties from its first run led to its replacement by an A-Road. Most of the Fishguard newsreels were altered from 1960s newscasts, with celebrity names changed for humor—such as Richard Cliff for Cliff Richard and East Clintwood for Clint Eastwood. Other Fishguard residents include Mayor Kenny Twat, his son Rasputin Twat, Terry Phone of the Telephone Club, fireman Norman Helmet, farmer Dung Bowen, retired soldier Mr. Clinc-Lee Dead, Mrs. Hideous, coracle enthusiast Geraint Pillock, the girl group The Pop Tarts, Anne Robinson, Trevor McDonald, Pamela Anderson, the Welsh-Language Homosexual Society, the West Wales Tortoise Impersonation Society, Colonel Tosser Thompson and the Royal Fish-Guards, Mr. Slightly Thomas, the Fishguard Staring Club, Dr. Raj Willseeyounow at St. Sardines Hospital, the 92-year-old plastic surgeon with poor vision Doctor Jekyll, trouser expert Professor Zip Fastener, and Sam and Ella Vomit of Sam and Ella’s restaurant.
One-off specials
A number of one-off special episodes were produced, each with a particular theme. Hugh Pugh Presents: The Fishguard Film Festival aired on 27 March 2000 and won a BAFTA Cymru award for Best Light Entertainment. St. David: Myth or Mister? was broadcast on 1 March 2001, a St. David's Day special in which Barry Welsh searches for the truth behind the patron saint of Wales. Barry Welsh Stays Up for St. David aired on 28 February 2003, a live Hogmanay-style extravaganza with Barry joined by Gwyn, Mr. Ffff, Pete Baikie, and Beca Evans. The History of Wales according to Hugh Pugh was broadcast on 1 March 2004 and won the 2005 BAFTA Cymru award for Best Light Entertainment. Barry Welsh Has An Election aired on 3 May 2007 as part of ITV Wales's Welsh Assembly election coverage. Hugh Pugh Kicks Off was broadcast on 6 September 2007, focusing on the build-up to the 2007 Rugby World Cup. Hugh Pugh's Christmas Cracker aired on 19 December 2007, looking back at highlights from ten years of spoof news bulletins from Fishguard reporter Hugh Pugh.
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