Wales

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1200" height="900" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/wales/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/01/Lucy-Owen-radio-BBC-Wales-.jpeg" alt="Lucy Owen radio BBC Wales " class="wp-image-3454" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/wales/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/01/Lucy-Owen-radio-BBC-Wales-.jpeg 1200w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/wales/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/01/Lucy-Owen-radio-BBC-Wales--300x225.jpeg 300w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/wales/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/01/Lucy-Owen-radio-BBC-Wales--1024x768.jpeg 1024w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/wales/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/01/Lucy-Owen-radio-BBC-Wales--768x576.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Lucy Owen radio BBC Wales</figcaption></figure>



One of most familiar faces on TV in Wales, Lucy Owen has been broadcasting for 30 years across radio and television. She presents the flagship news programme BBC Wales Today, the Friday morning show on BBC Radio Wales and has a celebrity-packed show on Saturday lunchtime, as well as hosting the children’s book programme <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001zc6y/episodes/guide" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Books That Made Me</a>. Somehow she&#8217;s also found time to write her fifth children&#8217;s book Forest Girl, coming out in the spring, and have a serious chinwag with Muddy about her arts and culture favourites. What a trooper! If you&#8217;re looking to make 2026 the year you book your own cultural kicks, read on for Lucy&#8217;s recommendations. 



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-art">ART</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="1200" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/wales/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/01/Ian-H-Watkins-.jpg" alt="Artist Ian H Watkins, Lucy Owens favourite artist" class="wp-image-3462" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/wales/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/01/Ian-H-Watkins-.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/wales/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/01/Ian-H-Watkins--250x300.jpg 250w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/wales/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/01/Ian-H-Watkins--853x1024.jpg 853w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/wales/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/01/Ian-H-Watkins--768x922.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Ian H Watkins </figcaption></figure>



I&#8217;m no expert but occasionally I do love to treat myself to pieces of art. For my 50th birthday I bought a graffiti-style portrait of Dylan Thomas by Welsh Artist <a href="https://www.instagram.com/jpjonesart/?hl=en-gb" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">JP Jones</a> which I love and I&#8217;m also a big fan of <a href="https://www.instagram.com/ianhwatkinsart/?hl=en" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Ian H Watkins</a>&#8216; work &#8211; obviously super famous for Steps, but now he’s a hugely talented painter too and I&#8217;d love one of his pieces. He&#8217;s a lovely guy, and lives around the corner from me – he does loads for the Cowbridge community. 



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1500" height="1124" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/wales/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/01/Gwen-John-National-Museum-Cardiff-Wales-.jpg" alt="The Pilgrim by Gwen John. Photo credit - Yale Center for British Art, Paul Mellon Collection. Lucy Owens favourite exhibition" class="wp-image-3451" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/wales/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/01/Gwen-John-National-Museum-Cardiff-Wales-.jpg 1500w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/wales/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/01/Gwen-John-National-Museum-Cardiff-Wales--300x225.jpg 300w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/wales/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/01/Gwen-John-National-Museum-Cardiff-Wales--1024x767.jpg 1024w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/wales/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/01/Gwen-John-National-Museum-Cardiff-Wales--768x575.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1500px) 100vw, 1500px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">The Pilgrim by Gwen John. Photo credit &#8211; Yale Center for British Art, Paul Mellon Collection.</figcaption></figure>



An exhibition that&#8217;s definitely on my radar for this year is <a href="https://museum.wales/cardiff/whatson/12640/Gwen-John-Strange-Beauties/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Gwen John: Strange Beauties</a> at National Museum Cardiff, rarely seen works from collections around the world to celebrate her 150th birthday and the first major exhibition of her work in 40 years. Her work still has a really modern feel and I can’t wait to see it when it opens in February.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-theatre">THEATRE</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1500" height="869" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/wales/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/01/Michael-Sheen-Owain-and-Henry-.jpg" alt="Michael Sheen's Owain Glyndwr" class="wp-image-3449" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/wales/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/01/Michael-Sheen-Owain-and-Henry-.jpg 1500w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/wales/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/01/Michael-Sheen-Owain-and-Henry--300x174.jpg 300w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/wales/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/01/Michael-Sheen-Owain-and-Henry--1024x593.jpg 1024w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/wales/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/01/Michael-Sheen-Owain-and-Henry--768x445.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1500px) 100vw, 1500px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Michael Sheen&#8217;s Owain Glyndwr</figcaption></figure>



I don’t go to the theatre as much as I’d like to, although I did see Matthew Rhys performing Playing Burton four times last year! He was incredible. I think it’s amazing what Michael Sheen is doing with Welsh National Theatre, nurturing Welsh talent and telling national stories and I’ve already booked my tickets for <a href="https://www.welshnationaltheatre.com/owain-and-henry" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Owain and Henry </a>at the Wales Millennium Centre in November. It’s a new play written by Olivier Award-winning playwright Gary Owen about Owain Glyndwr (played by Michael) who’s been declared an outlaw by Henry IV. I’m a bit of a Disney princess at heart, so at the other end of the cultural spectrum I’m going to be booking my tickets for <a href="https://muddystilettos.tixculture.com/london/shows/43135-disneys-hercules" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Hercules The Musical </a>in London this month.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-books">BOOKS</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="1500" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/wales/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/01/Michael-Morpurgo-book.jpg" alt="Michael Morpurgo's Kensuckle Kingdom book. " class="wp-image-3465" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/wales/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/01/Michael-Morpurgo-book.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/wales/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/01/Michael-Morpurgo-book-200x300.jpg 200w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/wales/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/01/Michael-Morpurgo-book-683x1024.jpg 683w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/wales/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/01/Michael-Morpurgo-book-768x1152.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /></figure>



One of my resolutions is to read more this year, I&#8217;m determined! I love <a href="https://www.griffinbooksonline.co.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Griffin Books</a> in Penarth; I always get great recommendations for reads there, and they suggested Ordinary Love by Marie Rutkoski, about second chances with first loves, which I’m reading at the mo and totally loving. <a href="https://www.facebook.com/thecowbridgebookshop/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The Cowbridge Bookshop</a> is another brilliant indie and they recommended several books that my son bought me for Christmas including Sandwich by Catherine Newman and David Nicholls’ You are Here. Next up for 2026 will be Hamnet and a re-read of Wuthering Heights before I see the films. 



Because I host a children’s book programme (<a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001zc6y/episodes/guide" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Books That Made Me</a>, on BBC Radio Wales and BBC Sounds), I really enjoy reading children’s books &#8211; I always feel they&#8217;re not just for kids, there’s always a message that grown-ups can relate to as well. I’m really looking forward to my interview with Michael Morpurgo going out on air this month – he was incredibly wise and humble and I can’t believe I’ve never read any of his books. He told me his favourite is Kensuke&#8217;s Kingdom, about a boy shipwrecked on a remote Pacific island with his dog, so I’m going to start with that and I’ll also have to re-read my own book Forest Girl before it gets published in the spring and try not to feel too unworthy!



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-film">FILM</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<iframe loading="lazy" title="The Sheep Detectives | Official Trailer" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/pyZI5oM6hWk?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>
</div></figure>



My favourite film is Beauty and the Beast – how many times have I seen the animated version? Oh my god, about 20 times! But in my defence it was the first animated film nominated for a Best Picture Oscar. A lot of the time I’ll stream movies at home, but I went on a date night with my husband for the first time in, like, forever and ended up seeing The Roses at the Everyman in Cardiff! Not sure it was the most romantic date night film, just more ideas to how to torture each other but it was brilliant. Top of my list to see in 2026 is <a href="http://youtube.com/watch?v=pyZI5oM6hWk" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The Sheep Detectives</a> – I&#8217;m such a good Welsh girl! It’s an amazing cast with Hugh Jackman, Bryan Cryanston, Emma Thompson, and Nicholas Braun from Succession. Basically it&#8217;s Babe with wool and added murder.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-podcast">PODCAST</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1500" height="1000" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/wales/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/01/Ellis-John-podcast.jpg" alt="Ellis &amp; John podcast" class="wp-image-3474" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/wales/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/01/Ellis-John-podcast.jpg 1500w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/wales/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/01/Ellis-John-podcast-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/wales/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/01/Ellis-John-podcast-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/wales/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/01/Ellis-John-podcast-768x512.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1500px) 100vw, 1500px" /></figure>



I’m obsessed with the <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0005fdz/episodes/downloads" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Ellis &amp; John</a> podcast. I went to see them at the Swansea Grand at the It Feels Significant tour last year – they’re really funny, but there’s a real openness and depth there too and they have some great features, from Mad Dads to Cymru Connecting – one minute to find a connection with a random caller. I never get bored of listening to them.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-festivals">FESTIVALS</h2>



I&#8217;m really excited about the <a href="https://eisteddfod.wales/festival/2026" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">National Eisteddfod</a> this year &#8211; it&#8217;s heading to a beautiful part of Wales, Llantwd in South Pembrokeshire, for the 850th year of the event &#8211; a celebration of poetry, music and the arts. To the uninitiated the ceremonies can look slightly bizarre, but I love seeing different Welsh notables being inducted into the Gorsedd of the Bards and rocking the robes &#8211; actor Mark Lewis Jones nailed the look last year!



I always love the <a href="https://www.hayfestival.com/m-232-hay-festival-2026.aspx?skinid=2&amp;currencysetting=GBP&amp;localesetting=en-GB&amp;resetfilters=true&amp;gridview=true&amp;gad_source=1&amp;gad_campaignid=23001196775&amp;gbraid=0AAAAA-6VfxrUPUxpm56TIhzceF1jIJX0d&amp;gclid=Cj0KCQiAvOjKBhC9ARIsAFvz5lhnenk5LcpixL7Ba56IGz9e2KBrI1oY6W_Ib2Ap36JtBXJ74BIT0QsaAuECEALw_wcB" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Hay Festival</a> too. I saw Ruth Jones, Kathy Lette and Jameela Jamil there last year. I also recorded an eposide of <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001zc6y/episodes/guide" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Books That Made Me</a> there in the BBC tent, interviewing Cardiff illustrator Rebecca Harry and author Tiffany Murray who grew up at Rockfield Studios in Monmouth. Her mum was the cook there and she has amazing stories, including memories of Freddie Mercury wafting around in silk robes while Queen were there recording Bohemian Rhapsody. The dates (21 &#8211; 31 May 2026) are already in my diary and a few events for this year have already been announced &#8211; director Emerald Fennell, author Elizabeth Stroud (who I love) and journalist Amol Rajan are on my to-see list. I&#8217;ll be there again recording BTMM so come along to the BBC tent to say hi &#8211; it&#8217;s free to get in! 



<a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001zc6y/episodes/guide" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Books That Made Me</a> on BBC Sounds with Lucy Owen

My Cultural Kicks: broadcaster and author Lucy Owen

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