Barry Welsh is Coming
Encyclopedia
Barry Welsh is Coming was a sketch show produced by Absolutely Productions for HTV Wales
. The programme was first broadcast at 10:40pm on Friday 6 September 1996 and originally ran for 6 series with some episodes later broadcast on the Paramount Comedy Channel. The main star was John Sparkes
, who played the geekish presenter Barry Welsh, along with other roles. For the final series, the show was renamed Barry Welsh is Going and consisted of three compilation specials. The series was replaced by Jeff Global's Global Probe
, which ended after six episodes.
The TV series also featured cast members from the Channel 4 series Absolutely
, while some character elements from Absolutely were incorporated into the programme. Denzil and Gwynedd, two of the original Absolutely characters, briefly returned in Barry Welsh is Coming for shorter sketches, now accompanied by their 21-year-old son, Codfyl.
The show returned in 2007 in the form of three themed specials broadcast throughout the year, presented by Sparkes in the guise of Fishguard news reporter Hugh Pugh. The new episodes were produced in-house by ITV Wales
.
with a strong aversion towards Barry Welsh.
and other animal welfare shows. The series is set in and around Cardiff
, and features the short-tempered Dave Daley (Kim Wall), Dave Sinclair (John Sparkes
), Dave Webster (Gordon Kennedy
) at .A.R.S. Control (his mothers' home), and an unnamed cameraman (Pete Baikie) who is always bullied by Dave Daley when Daley is in a fit of rage. The .A.R.S. tend to rescue mostly insects such as spiders and wasps rather than larger animals, though dogs have appeared in later sketches. The sketches were narrated by Morwenna Banks
.
The .A.R.S. has no known connection to an animal welfare service operating in Florida
with the same name.
and oral sex
. He is often billed as "the oldest man in wales".
enthusiast whose film has been doctored to appear as if "Geraint Pillock of Colwyn Bay" (as Barry Welsh names him) is trying bizarre feats in a coracle. The various challenges are attempted "mainly because it's a challenge, a challenge for me and a challenge for the coracle". The various challenges that Geraint attempts include crossing the Sahara Desert, travelling at 740 miles per hour, conquering the glaciers of the North Pole, circling the M25 for a year and going to Mars. In the 2007 special Barry Welsh Has An Election, Geraint was elected as the Mayor of Fishguard.
A special programme from the fictitious Fishguard Film Festival. This episode won the 1999 Bafta Cymru award for Best Light Entertainment.
A St. David's Day special in which Barry Welsh searches for the truth behind the patron saint of Wales.
Barry is joined by Gwyn, Mr. FFFF, Pete Baikie and Beca Evans (Pub Quiz) for a live Hogmany-style extravaganza as Wales counts down to midnight and the Welshest day of the year, St. David's Day.
The third St. David's Day special from the series in which Hugh Pugh provides his own personal account of ten thousand years of Welsh history. This episode won the 2005 Bafta Cymru award for Best Light Entertainment.
As part of ITV Wales
's Welsh assembly election coverage, Hugh Pugh presents coverage of the Fishguard mayoral election in which Mayor of Fishguard Mr. Kenny Twat stood for election against rival candidates Barry Welsh and Geraint Pillock.
The manic Fishguard reporter focuses on the build-up to the 2007 Rugby World Cup
.
A special Christmas episode looking back at the highlights from ten years of spoof news bulletins and reports from Fishguard reporter, Hugh Pugh.
HTV
HTV, now legally known as ITV Wales & West, is the ITV contractor for Wales and the West of England, which operated from studios in Cardiff and Bristol. The company provided commercial television for the dual-region 'Wales and West' franchise, which it won from TWW in 1968...
. The programme was first broadcast at 10:40pm on Friday 6 September 1996 and originally ran for 6 series with some episodes later broadcast on the Paramount Comedy Channel. The main star was John Sparkes
John Sparkes
John Sparkes is a Welsh comedian born in Swansea and is more commonly known on Welsh television as Barry Welsh, in the award-winning series Barry Welsh is Coming....
, who played the geekish presenter Barry Welsh, along with other roles. For the final series, the show was renamed Barry Welsh is Going and consisted of three compilation specials. The series was replaced by Jeff Global's Global Probe
Jeff Global's Global Probe
Jeff Globals' Global Probe was a short-lived regional comedy sketch show first seen on ITV1 Wales in 2004.Shown exclusively in Wales, the show was intended as a follow-up to the popular Barry Welsh is Coming, which had concluded in 2004 with the sacking of the geeky Barry Welsh as presenter...
, which ended after six episodes.
The TV series also featured cast members from the Channel 4 series Absolutely
Absolutely (TV series)
Absolutely is a popular United Kingdom television comedy sketch show shown on Channel 4 between 1989 and 1993.The cast and crew were mainly Scottish; the principal writers and performers were Moray Hunter, Jack Docherty, Peter Baikie, Gordon Kennedy , Morwenna Banks and John Sparkes...
, while some character elements from Absolutely were incorporated into the programme. Denzil and Gwynedd, two of the original Absolutely characters, briefly returned in Barry Welsh is Coming for shorter sketches, now accompanied by their 21-year-old son, Codfyl.
The show returned in 2007 in the form of three themed specials broadcast throughout the year, presented by Sparkes in the guise of Fishguard news reporter Hugh Pugh. The new episodes were produced in-house by ITV Wales
HTV
HTV, now legally known as ITV Wales & West, is the ITV contractor for Wales and the West of England, which operated from studios in Cardiff and Bristol. The company provided commercial television for the dual-region 'Wales and West' franchise, which it won from TWW in 1968...
.
Hugh Pugh
The most popular segment of the programme, Hugh Pugh is a news reporter from FishguardFishguard
Fishguard is a coastal town in Pembrokeshire, south-west Wales, with a population of 3,300 . The community of Fishguard and Goodwick had a population of 5043 at the 2001 census....
with a strong aversion towards Barry Welsh.
.A.R.S.
The Animal Rescue Squad (or .A.R.S. - pronounced as "arse"), is a lampoon of Animal HospitalAnimal Hospital
Animal Hospital was a television show starring Rolf Harris that ran on the BBC from 1994 until 2004. The story showed animal welfare stories from RSPCA hospitals.-Location:...
and other animal welfare shows. The series is set in and around Cardiff
Cardiff
Cardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for...
, and features the short-tempered Dave Daley (Kim Wall), Dave Sinclair (John Sparkes
John Sparkes
John Sparkes is a Welsh comedian born in Swansea and is more commonly known on Welsh television as Barry Welsh, in the award-winning series Barry Welsh is Coming....
), Dave Webster (Gordon Kennedy
Gordon Kennedy (actor)
Gordon Kennedy is a Scottish actor. Kennedy grew up in Tranent, East Lothian, and attended George Watson's College in Edinburgh...
) at .A.R.S. Control (his mothers' home), and an unnamed cameraman (Pete Baikie) who is always bullied by Dave Daley when Daley is in a fit of rage. The .A.R.S. tend to rescue mostly insects such as spiders and wasps rather than larger animals, though dogs have appeared in later sketches. The sketches were narrated by Morwenna Banks
Morwenna Banks
Morwenna Banks is a British comedy actress, writer and producer.Banks is perhaps best known in the UK as a cast member of the British Channel 4 comedy series Absolutely, where her best-known character was a schoolgirl who sat on the edge of a desk.She appeared as the Keeper of the Rules in the...
.
The .A.R.S. has no known connection to an animal welfare service operating in Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
with the same name.
Mr. Ffff
A dirty old man who explains about his sex life with elements of toilet humour from Frank Hovis. He frequently talks about masturbationMasturbation
Masturbation refers to sexual stimulation of a person's own genitals, usually to the point of orgasm. The stimulation can be performed manually, by use of objects or tools, or by some combination of these methods. Masturbation is a common form of autoeroticism...
and oral sex
Oral sex
Oral sex is sexual activity involving the stimulation of the genitalia of a sex partner by the use of the mouth, tongue, teeth or throat. Cunnilingus refers to oral sex performed on females while fellatio refer to oral sex performed on males. Anilingus refers to oral stimulation of a person's anus...
. He is often billed as "the oldest man in wales".
Geraint Pillock
An edited 1970s news film featuring a coracleCoracle
The coracle is a small, lightweight boat of the sort traditionally used in Wales but also in parts of Western and South Western England, Ireland , and Scotland ; the word is also used of similar boats found in India, Vietnam, Iraq and Tibet...
enthusiast whose film has been doctored to appear as if "Geraint Pillock of Colwyn Bay" (as Barry Welsh names him) is trying bizarre feats in a coracle. The various challenges are attempted "mainly because it's a challenge, a challenge for me and a challenge for the coracle". The various challenges that Geraint attempts include crossing the Sahara Desert, travelling at 740 miles per hour, conquering the glaciers of the North Pole, circling the M25 for a year and going to Mars. In the 2007 special Barry Welsh Has An Election, Geraint was elected as the Mayor of Fishguard.
Gwyn
An eccentric with a twitch (originally seen in Absolutely) based on Frank Hovis without the toilet humour. Elements of Frank Hovis' karaoke to Stoneybridge were recycled when Gwyn sang live to the studio audience.Aneurin Anus
A mock gardening show with strong gay sexual humour. Aneurin is a stereotypical Welsh gardener who was originally censored because of the strong content of anal jokes relating to homosexuality, but he is included in the VHS release of Barry Welsh: The Second Coming.Kenny Twat
The former mayor of Fishguard. He was voted out in the 2007 Fishguard mayoral election (as seen in Barry Welsh Has An Election) after 70 years in office.One-off specials
There have been a number of special one-off episodes, all of them with a particular theme.- Hugh Pugh Presents: The Fishguard Film Festival (1999)
A special programme from the fictitious Fishguard Film Festival. This episode won the 1999 Bafta Cymru award for Best Light Entertainment.
- St. David: Myth or Mister? (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 (28 February 2003)
Barry is joined by Gwyn, Mr. FFFF, Pete Baikie and Beca Evans (Pub Quiz) for a live Hogmany-style extravaganza as Wales counts down to midnight and the Welshest day of the year, St. David's Day.
- The History of Wales according to Hugh Pugh (1 March 2004)
The third St. David's Day special from the series in which Hugh Pugh provides his own personal account of ten thousand years of Welsh history. This episode won the 2005 Bafta Cymru award for Best Light Entertainment.
- Barry Welsh Has An Election (3 May 2007)
As part of ITV Wales
HTV
HTV, now legally known as ITV Wales & West, is the ITV contractor for Wales and the West of England, which operated from studios in Cardiff and Bristol. The company provided commercial television for the dual-region 'Wales and West' franchise, which it won from TWW in 1968...
's Welsh assembly election coverage, Hugh Pugh presents coverage of the Fishguard mayoral election in which Mayor of Fishguard Mr. Kenny Twat stood for election against rival candidates Barry Welsh and Geraint Pillock.
- Hugh Pugh Kicks Off (6 September 2007)
The manic Fishguard reporter focuses on the build-up to the 2007 Rugby World Cup
Rugby World Cup
The Rugby World Cup is an international rugby union competition organised by the International Rugby Board and held every four years since 1987....
.
- Hugh Pugh's Christmas Cracker (19 December 2007)
A special Christmas episode looking back at the highlights from ten years of spoof news bulletins and reports from Fishguard reporter, Hugh Pugh.