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GARETH GWYNN

"I was always a bit of a performer at school," chuckles 24-year-old Gareth Gwynn, revealing what seems to be almost a pre-destined route into comedy. "They used to give my friends and myself the obvious comedy characters, which I'm sure we used to over-act dreadfully."

Now working as a writer and presenter on radio, as well as performing stand-up at every opportunity, Gareth is forging a formidable comedic reputation. It wasn't until he began studying at university, though, that he took seriously the idea of penning his own mirth-making material.

"I was very lucky that in our hall of residence there were a few people interested in starting a comedy society. At first it was just booking acts to perform and selling the tickets, but we started to branch out into writing and performing ourselves. I would never have got into that on my own."

"I joined the student radio station as soon as I could, which took up more and more of my time. Something that became increasingly apparent with our impending graduation was the freedom we had been granted on-air. In your final year you start thinking, ‘I have thousands of pounds of radio equipment at my disposal - I can do almost anything I like. I might never be in this situation again."

Gareth cites an impressive triumvirate of Chris Morris, Peter Cook and Tony Hancock as formative inspirations - within his comic universe, an affectionate parody of Grandstand nestles snugly alongside deconstructionist side-swipes at radio phone-ins and an over-arching sense of the ridiculous.

It's perhaps unsurprising given that his own comedy favourites also include Armando Iannucci and Monty Python, whose knack for combining cerebral with surreal seems to have rubbed off. But does Gareth see himself first and foremost as a radio or stand-up performer?

"Until recently I've manage to balance the two reasonably well, but whenever the decision has to be made, I'm confident that radio will always win. If I'm wandering round and think of an idea, most of the time I'll imagine how it will work on the radio first."

"On the radio, I'm probably more comfortable, just because I've been doing it for longer. I love the fact that even in a normal 'DJ and music' show there's scope for playing with the format. So much is taken for granted by listeners that can be easily made fun of."

Currently presenting his own weekly show on Welsh station Afan FM, and working as a broadcast assistant for BBC Radio Wales' Roy Noble Programme - "he's Wales' answer to Terry Wogan," he helpfully explains - Gareth has steadily garnered attention via his shows for commercial, community and student radio, including winning the Gold Student Radio Award for Best Comedy in 2004.

He got a further taste of triumph when he was named one of ten winners of a BBC contest, being gifted a pilot show on BBC7 which reached the ears of stand-up stalwart Jon Holmes, who drafted Gareth in to write snatches of material for forthcoming Radio 4 series Listen Against. But he remains typically self-deprecating about the pitfalls of entering comedy competitions.

"I think one thing I might have done differently is choosing what material to do when entering competitions. When you start doing stand-up you're generally expected to do 10-15 minute sets, but most competitions require a 5-minute set. So you have to start frantically plucking material while still keeping a coherent structure. Or just speak faster. I usually do both," he deadpans, "with mixed results."

CONTACTS

gareth.gwynn@gmail.com

Judge: Neil Gardner, Channel 4 Radio
Illustration: Andrew Whittles

Gareth was one of 20 4Talent Award winners in 2007, our hotly tipped young creatives to watch, to hire and to collaborate with. To meet the other 19 click here