Owain Wyn Evans is swapping his drumsticks for a bike. The Radio 2 presenter will ride nearly 400 miles through all four UK nations for BBC Children in Need.
The Ammanford-raised broadcaster sets off from Glasgow on Monday 9 November and finishes five days later in central Cardiff on Friday 13 November, riding through Scotland, Northern Ireland, England and Wales.
The BBC says it is the longest distance ever covered in a Radio 2 fundraising challenge. It has not yet published the detailed route, including which Welsh towns he will pass through.
The ride was revealed live on Sara Cox’s breakfast show on Friday morning.
Owain Wyn Evans: ‘It’s going to be tough, demanding and probably a little daunting’
Evans, who presents Radio 2’s Early Breakfast show from 4am, said the ride would push him well outside his comfort zone. “It’s going to be tough, demanding and probably a little daunting at times, but I’m ready to give it absolutely everything I’ve got,” he said.
He knows the bar is high. “Sara, Paddy and Vernon have achieved some truly extraordinary things for BBC Children in Need over the years, so I’ve got a lot to live up to,” he said.
He is counting on Radio 2 listeners to get him to Cardiff. “Together, we can make a real difference for children and young people across the UK, helping to make sure they have someone by their side when they need it the most.”
Radio 2 head Helen Thomas said listeners “right across the UK will come together on air and on the streets to support him, as he pushes himself to his limit across all four nations”.
Sara Cox hands Owain the Pudsey backpack after her £11.7m run
Evans takes over from Cox, whose run, jog and walk from Kielder Forest to Pudsey in Leeds last year raised £11.7m, according to the BBC. She carried a Pudsey backpack the whole way, and it now passes to him.
Cox wished him “oodles of love and luck” and said listeners would be “rooting for Owain as he pushes up every hill and pedals mile after gruelling mile”.
Before her, Paddy McGuinness rode 300 miles across three nations on a Chopper bike in 2024. Vernon Kay went on foot from Leicester to Bolton the year before.
From a 24-hour drumathon to 400 miles on a bike
It is his second big challenge for the charity. In 2021, while still a BBC weather presenter, he drummed for 24 hours on BBC Breakfast and raised more than £3.8m, the BBC says, after his video drumming along to the BBC News theme went viral.
This one comes a year after emergency surgery to remove his gallbladder took him off air last autumn.
Sports scientist Professor Greg Whyte, who supported Cox last year, will work with him throughout the challenge.
A BBC TV crew will follow the ride for a BBC One film to be shown in November.
Children in Need chief executive Claire Hoyle said the charity would be cheering him on. “We know Owain will need buckets of determination, resilience and stamina to take on this epic adventure,” she said.
After Cardiff, Owain Wyn Evans heads for the Swansea Grand in Snow White
The finish in Cardiff comes weeks before Evans takes to the stage in Swansea as the Spirit of the Forest in this year’s Grand panto, Snow White.
It will be his first panto at the Grand.
ABBA Voyage galas and a Challenge Yourself 2026 for everyone else
Radio 2 is also staging two ABBA Voyage gala performances for the appeal, hosted by Vernon Kay, at 1pm and 6pm on Sunday 8 November at the ABBA Arena in London. Tickets go on sale on Thursday 1 October.
The charity is asking everyone else to set a fundraising challenge of their own based on the number 26, from walking 26 miles to baking 26 cakes, through its Challenge Yourself 2026 campaign.
Discover more from Swansea Bay News
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
