14 June 2021
S4C has commissioned a new three-part adventure documentary series following presenter Gareth Jones's journey as he challenges himself to swim 60km to celebrate his 60th birthday.
Gareth, a well-known presenter best known for his work on children's and science programmes such as How 2, Get Fresh, Tomorrow's World and The Big Bang will take on this 'never been done before' challenge to show the world that turning 60 isn't the end of the road for his crazy lifestyle.
Cameras will follow Gareth's every move in a 3x 60 ob doc series as he pushes himself to the limits swimming across lakes and reservoirs from south to north Wales in three weeks.
Gareth, originally from north-east Wales but now living in London, began wild swimming a few years ago with some friends and realised that he was "quite good at it". Since then he's been swimming in a local reservoir building up distance.
"It's going to be a huge challenge but I'm going to give it my best shot." says Gareth. "What a wonderful way to rediscover my homeland exploring stories around and beneath the water. This should feel immersive for the viewers too, combining classic documentary techniques with innovative computer graphics revealing the world below and log my biological data as I swim."
"I don't know if I can do this, but what I do know is that it's never been done before. I'm hoping to become the man who swam across Wales!"
The documentary series called Gareth Jones: Nofio Adre (Swimming Home) is produced by North Wales Production Company Cwmni Da; known for their world renowned adventure documentaries. Their S4C award winning documentaries 47 Copa (47 Summits) and Ar Gefn y Ddraig (Riding the Dragon) were the first Welsh documentaries to be shown on Amazon Prime. Production team include Llion Iwan as co-executive Producer with Gareth Jones and Huw Erddyn as Producer/ Director with Llinos Wynne as Factual Commissioner for S4C.
Llinos Says: "This commission was a very easy 'yes' for me. Gareth's captivating personality and inspiring determination along with mesmerising scenes of Wales' stunning lakes and reservoirs, mixed with Cwmni Da's track record in producing high quality adventure docs will create the perfect mix. I'm certain that viewers will enjoy following Gareth's once in a lifetime challenge."
Filming will take place in August with TX set for October.
