John Sparkes
Encyclopedia
John Sparkes is a Welsh
comedian born in Swansea
and is more commonly known on Welsh television as Barry Welsh, in the award-winning (Best Light Entertainment, Welsh Baftas, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2004) series Barry Welsh is Coming
.
He starred in the sketch shows Naked Video
(BBC2), Absolutely
(Channel 4
), Barry Welsh is Coming
(ITV Wales), Pub Quiz and Jeff Global's Global Probe
. He provides the voice of the Narrator and some other characters in the children's animated series Peppa Pig
(which also features the voice of fellow Absolutely
star Morwenna Banks
), Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends
, Shaun the Sheep
and Mr. Elf and King Marigold in Ben and Holly's Little Kingdom
. He also does the voice of Professor von Proton in The Big Knights.
Barry Welsh is Coming was broadcast only in Wales
, as was Jeff Global's Global Probe
(both ITV Wales productions) and Pub Quiz (BBC), in which he played the character Frank Hovis, originally devised for the Absolutely series. As well as playing Barry Welsh, the host of a chat show, Sparkes also plays other characters within the programme, such as pub singer Gwyn and Fishguard news reporter Hugh Pugh. Although the series ended in 2004, it did return in 2007 for a series of one-off specials broadcast throughout the year.
Sparkes also starred in the sketch show Naked Video
, where he played Siadwell, the geeky bed-sit poet who wore an anorak and glasses. The character also appeared when Sparkes was part of the BBC Radio 4 comedy programme 'Bodgers Banks & Sparkes'.
He is also the voice of Fireman Sam
and other characters in the 2004 animated series The New Adventures of Fireman Sam.
Currently, Sparkes is writing and presenting three ongoing television series for ITV Wales
called "Great Pubs of Wales." He also voices the unseen character of archivist Goronwy, in a section on Wallace and Gromit's World of Invention showing on BBC One
. He writes and presents Ghost Story in which he spends the night alone with a camcorder in haunted houses around Wales. He has co-written and presented Doug Strong's Special Places, a factual comedy series for ITV Wales and ITV Central.
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
comedian born in Swansea
Swansea
Swansea is a coastal city and county in Wales. Swansea is in the historic county boundaries of Glamorgan. Situated on the sandy South West Wales coast, the county area includes the Gower Peninsula and the Lliw uplands...
and is more commonly known on Welsh television as Barry Welsh, in the award-winning (Best Light Entertainment, Welsh Baftas, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2004) series Barry Welsh is Coming
Barry Welsh is Coming
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...
.
He starred in the sketch shows Naked Video
Naked Video
Naked Video was a BBC Scotland comedy series, broadcast between 1986 and 1991 on BBC2, the series was created by Colin Gilbert who also created A Kick Up the Eighties and Naked Radio.-Naked Radio:...
(BBC2), 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...
(Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
), Barry Welsh is Coming
Barry Welsh is Coming
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...
(ITV Wales), Pub Quiz and 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...
. He provides the voice of the Narrator and some other characters in the children's animated series Peppa Pig
Peppa Pig
Peppa Pig is a British animated television series created directed and produced by Astley Baker Davies and distributed by eOne Entertainment. To date, three series have been aired. It is shown in 180 territories.-Background:...
(which also features the voice of fellow 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...
star 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...
), Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends
Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends
Thomas and Friends is a British children's television series, first broadcast on the ITV network in September 1984. Until 2003, it was named Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends. This series was shot on 35mm film...
, Shaun the Sheep
Shaun the Sheep
Shaun the Sheep is a British stop-motion animated children's television series produced by Aardman Animations, and commissioned by the BBC and the WDR. It first aired in the UK on CBBC in March 2007...
and Mr. Elf and King Marigold in Ben and Holly's Little Kingdom
Ben and Holly's Little Kingdom
Ben and Holly's Little Kingdom is an animated pre-school children's show set in an enchanted magical kingdom with fairies, elves and insects....
. He also does the voice of Professor von Proton in The Big Knights.
Barry Welsh is Coming was broadcast only in Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
, as was 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...
(both ITV Wales productions) and Pub Quiz (BBC), in which he played the character Frank Hovis, originally devised for the Absolutely series. As well as playing Barry Welsh, the host of a chat show, Sparkes also plays other characters within the programme, such as pub singer Gwyn and Fishguard news reporter Hugh Pugh. Although the series ended in 2004, it did return in 2007 for a series of one-off specials broadcast throughout the year.
Sparkes also starred in the sketch show Naked Video
Naked Video
Naked Video was a BBC Scotland comedy series, broadcast between 1986 and 1991 on BBC2, the series was created by Colin Gilbert who also created A Kick Up the Eighties and Naked Radio.-Naked Radio:...
, where he played Siadwell, the geeky bed-sit poet who wore an anorak and glasses. The character also appeared when Sparkes was part of the BBC Radio 4 comedy programme 'Bodgers Banks & Sparkes'.
He is also the voice of Fireman Sam
Fireman Sam
Fireman Sam is a Welsh animated children's television series about a fireman called Sam, his fellow firefighters, and other townspeople in the Welsh town of Pontypandy . The original idea for the show came from two ex-firemen from Kent...
and other characters in the 2004 animated series The New Adventures of Fireman Sam.
Currently, Sparkes is writing and presenting three ongoing television series for 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...
called "Great Pubs of Wales." He also voices the unseen character of archivist Goronwy, in a section on Wallace and Gromit's World of Invention showing on BBC One
BBC One
BBC One is the flagship television channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It was launched on 2 November 1936 as the BBC Television Service, and was the world's first regular television service with a high level of image resolution...
. He writes and presents Ghost Story in which he spends the night alone with a camcorder in haunted houses around Wales. He has co-written and presented Doug Strong's Special Places, a factual comedy series for ITV Wales and ITV Central.