Ammanford‘s own Owain Wyn Evans has been named among the BBC’s highest earners, in the corporation’s annual pay list published today.
The Radio 2 presenter, who grew up in Ammanford, earned between £205,000 and £209,999 in the year to March 2026 — up from between £195,000 and £199,999 the year before.
That placed him joint 53rd on the list, which the BBC must publish each year for anyone paid more than £178,000 of licence fee money.
The pay covers his work presenting BBC Radio 2‘s Early Breakfast Show — the first daily Radio 2 programme to be made outside London, broadcast from the BBC Wales building in Cardiff.
Evans famously opens the show with a “Bore da, darlings” — bringing the Welsh language to the network’s early risers since the programme launched in 2023.
His broadcasting career began at 18, presenting the Welsh-language children’s news programme Ffeil — though his first taste of fame came earlier still, voicing Norman in Fireman Sam from the age of eight.
He went on to present the weather for BBC Wales, before fronting bulletins for BBC Look North, North West Tonight and BBC Breakfast.
He remains a regular face on television — reporting for The One Show and judging BBC One’s Wales’ Home of the Year, while a recent Celebrity Antiques Road Trip special saw him scouring antique shops across south Wales.
He became a household name in the first Covid lockdown, when a video of him drumming along to the BBC News theme straight after a weather forecast went viral around the world.
The following year he completed a 24-hour drumathon for Children in Need, raising more than £1.8m.
Earlier this year, the presenter spoke about being diagnosed with hearing loss, warning that he had been “missing conversations” before seeking help.
He is one of two Welsh presenters on this year’s list — Cardiff’s Jason Mohammad also features, earning between £290,000 and £294,999, up sharply from the previous year.
The list was topped by former Radio 2 breakfast host Scott Mills, who earned between £745,000 and £749,999 before he was sacked by the corporation in March.
Radio 1’s Greg James was second on £440,000 to £444,999, while Laura Kuenssberg was the highest-paid woman at up to £409,999.
Gary Lineker, the BBC’s top earner for years, fell to 15th after leaving the corporation last May — down from £1.35m to under £330,000.
The published list does not include stars paid through independent production companies or the BBC’s commercial arm, BBC Studios — meaning the true picture of the corporation’s biggest pay packets is incomplete.
