Wawffactor

(Co-hosts)
(Web links: diolch i'r nefoedd am y Wayback Machine ;))
 
(16 intermediate revisions not shown)
Line 1: Line 1:
-
<div class="image">[[Image:Wawffactor_logo.JPG]]</div><div class="box">
+
<div class="image">[[Image:Wawffactor_logo.JPG]]</div>
 +
 
 +
<div class="box">
 +
 
== Host ==
== Host ==
-
Eleri Sion
+
[[Eleri Sion]]
== Co-hosts ==
== Co-hosts ==
-
Judges: Owen Powell, Bethan Elfyn (2005-, Aled Haydn Jones, Huw Chiswell (2006-), [[Emma Walford]] (2003-4), Peredur ap Gwynedd (2003-5)
+
Judges: Owen Powell, Bethan Elfyn (2005-), Aled Haydn Jones, Huw Chiswell (2006-), [[Emma Walford]] (2003-4), Peredur ap Gwynedd (2003-5)
Vocal coach: [[Caryl Parry Jones]]
Vocal coach: [[Caryl Parry Jones]]
Line 12: Line 15:
== Broadcast ==
== Broadcast ==
-
Al Fresco for S4C, 2003-
+
Al Fresco for S4C, 26 October 2003 to 2006
</div>
</div>
== Synopsis ==
== Synopsis ==
-
Straight off the back of ITV's announcement that [[Pop Idol]] won't be coming back and well before ITV's announcement of [[The X Factor]], S4C swallows a little bit of its pride and comes up with this more bearable show. Wawffactor doesn't go looking for a singer, it's looking for more of a singing performer - the dancing and singing go hand in hand, although the singing is all the more dominant.
 
-
In Wales, the series doesn't mean the world to contestants as much as [[The X Factor]] does. There's no £1 million contract, which invariably means no excruciatingly tearful pleas of 'Please, it really means the world to me'. It's more of a platform for any aspiring young singers, which works especially in Welsh-speaking Wales. Most of the contestants don't follow the traditional route of the Eisteddfods yet it is available to them - so not making the next stage is more of a tiny knock than the big overblown tragedy it is to some of those involved in [[The X Factor]].
+
Straight off the back of ITV's announcement that [[Pop Idol]] wouldn't be coming back and well before ITV's announcement of [[The X Factor]], S4C swallowed a little bit of its pride and came up with this more bearable show. ''Wawffactor'' didn't go looking for a singer, it looked for more of a singing performer - the dancing and singing go hand in hand, although the singing is dominant.
-
The format is simple - hundreds take part in a series of auditions around Wales - all of them auditioning in front of four judges:
+
In Wales, the series did not mean the world to contestants as much as ''X Factor'' does. There was no million-pound contract, which thankfully meant no excruciatingly tearful pleas of "Please, it really means the world to me". It was more of a platform for any aspiring young singers, which works especially in Welsh-speaking Wales. Most of the contestants featured didn't follow the traditional route of the Eisteddfods yet it was available to them - so not making the next stage was more of a tiny knock than the big overblown tragedy it is to some of those involved in ''X Factor''.
 +
 
 +
The format was simple:- hundreds took part in a series of auditions around Wales,- all of them auditioning in front of four judges:
*Owen Powell - former guitarist of Catatonia
*Owen Powell - former guitarist of Catatonia
Line 28: Line 32:
*Huw Chiswell - senior musician
*Huw Chiswell - senior musician
-
(N.B. [[Emma Walford]] was a judge in the first series, musician Peredur ap Gwynedd was a judge in the first two series and Bethan joined the panel in the second series)
+
[[Emma Walford]] was a judge in the first series, musician Peredur ap Gwynedd was a judge in the first two series and Bethan joined the panel in the second series.
-
Eventually, the hundreds that applied get whittled down to ten who take part in studio heats (with a studio audience of about 15!) The judges vote off one of the remaining singers every week. It's during this time that they recieve voice coaching sessions from profilic Flintshire singer-songwriter Caryl Parry Jones (who has also progressed to become Series Producer). The culmination is a live grand final from Cardiff (with a studio audience of certainly more than 15) with three remaining finalists. After the judges eliminate one of the finalists, the winner is decided by the now-obligatory phone vote.
+
Eventually, the hundreds that applied got whittled down to ten who took part in studio heats (with a studio audience of about 15!) The judges voted off one of the remaining singers every week. It was during this time that they received voice coaching sessions from profilic Flintshire singer-songwriter Caryl Parry Jones (who also progressed to become Series Producer).
 +
 
 +
The culmination was a live grand final from HTV's studios in Cardiff (with a studio audience of much more than 15) with three remaining finalists. After the judges eliminated one of the finalists, the winner was decided by the now-obligatory phone vote.
== Winners ==
== Winners ==
-
2003-04 series winner: Lisa Pendrick - Following an album release, Lisa is concentrating on live performances and her own composing. She is also a reporter/researcher for ''Hacio'', a late night current affairs programme produced by HTV for S4C.
+
2003/4 series winner: Lisa Pedrick - Following an album release, Lisa is concentrating on live performances and her own composing. Previously, she was a reporter/researcher for ''Hacio'', a late night current affairs programme produced by HTV for S4C.
-
2005 winner: Rebecca Trehearn - Released an album and then moved to London where she is currently performing in the cast of Queen musical, ''We Will Rock You''.
+
2005 winner: Rebecca Trehearn - Released an album and then moved to London where she's had a number of prominent roles in the West End, and won an Olivier Award for her performance in the revival of ''Show Boat''.
-
2006 winner: Einir Dafydd - Also released a debut album and then disappeared for a while before coming back to win 2007's ''Can i Gymru'' (Song for Wales) competition.
+
2006 winner: Einir Dafydd - Also released a debut album and then disappeared for a while before coming back to win 2007's [[Can i Gymru]] (Song for Wales) competition...and then disappeared again.
== Trivia ==
== Trivia ==
-
Despite the fact that both male and female contestants enter, the winner is always a woman. Both 2004 and 2005 grand finals featured three women. The 2006 grand final was the first to feature a male in the final three (Nathan Whiteley from Wrexham), but he was voted out by the judges.
+
Despite the fact that both male and female contestants enter, the winner was always female. Both 2004 and 2005 grand finals featured only female competitors. The 2006 grand final was the first to feature a male in the final three (Nathan Whiteley from Wrexham), but he was voted out by the judges.
 +
 
 +
The 2005 final became a two-way battle with just 48 hours to transmission when Lisa Haf Davies pulled out because of mumps. She followed in the footsteps of the show's first winner and became lead presenter/reporter of ''Hacio''.
 +
 
 +
Runner-up in the 2003/4 competition was one Aimee Duffy from Nefyn, Gwynedd. In later years, she dropped her given name, secured a major-label deal, and burst into the public gaze with a number one single, "Mercy", in early 2008.
 +
 
 +
One competitor in the last series, Aimee-Ffion Edwards from Newport, Gwent, later found herself cast as obsessive 17-year-old, 'Sketch', in the first two series of E4's apparently 'cool' comedy drama, ''Skins''. She's gone on to further success as an actor, including two series of ''Detectorists'' and one of ''Keeping Faith'', and voiced recurring villain "Havoc" in ''Thunderbirds Are Go!''.
-
== Weblink ==
+
== Web links ==
-
[http://www.s4c.co.uk/wawffactor Official site] - in Welsh and English
+
[https://web.archive.org/web/20080215060704/http://www.s4c.co.uk/wawffactor/ Official site] in Welsh and English, via the Wayback Machine
[[Category:Variety]]
[[Category:Variety]]
Line 52: Line 64:
[[Category:Wales]]
[[Category:Wales]]
[[Category:S4C Programmes]]
[[Category:S4C Programmes]]
 +
[[Category:Boomerang Productions]]

Current revision as of 09:01, 21 June 2023

Image:Wawffactor_logo.JPG

Contents

Host

Eleri Sion

Co-hosts

Judges: Owen Powell, Bethan Elfyn (2005-), Aled Haydn Jones, Huw Chiswell (2006-), Emma Walford (2003-4), Peredur ap Gwynedd (2003-5)

Vocal coach: Caryl Parry Jones

Broadcast

Al Fresco for S4C, 26 October 2003 to 2006

Synopsis

Straight off the back of ITV's announcement that Pop Idol wouldn't be coming back and well before ITV's announcement of The X Factor, S4C swallowed a little bit of its pride and came up with this more bearable show. Wawffactor didn't go looking for a singer, it looked for more of a singing performer - the dancing and singing go hand in hand, although the singing is dominant.

In Wales, the series did not mean the world to contestants as much as X Factor does. There was no million-pound contract, which thankfully meant no excruciatingly tearful pleas of "Please, it really means the world to me". It was more of a platform for any aspiring young singers, which works especially in Welsh-speaking Wales. Most of the contestants featured didn't follow the traditional route of the Eisteddfods yet it was available to them - so not making the next stage was more of a tiny knock than the big overblown tragedy it is to some of those involved in X Factor.

The format was simple:- hundreds took part in a series of auditions around Wales,- all of them auditioning in front of four judges:

  • Owen Powell - former guitarist of Catatonia
  • Bethan Elfyn - Radio 1 DJ, sidekick to Huw Stephens
  • Aled Hadyn Jones (BB Aled) - Also from Radio 1 (best known from Chris Moyles) and also Entertainment reporter for BBC Radio Cymru
  • Huw Chiswell - senior musician

Emma Walford was a judge in the first series, musician Peredur ap Gwynedd was a judge in the first two series and Bethan joined the panel in the second series.

Eventually, the hundreds that applied got whittled down to ten who took part in studio heats (with a studio audience of about 15!) The judges voted off one of the remaining singers every week. It was during this time that they received voice coaching sessions from profilic Flintshire singer-songwriter Caryl Parry Jones (who also progressed to become Series Producer).

The culmination was a live grand final from HTV's studios in Cardiff (with a studio audience of much more than 15) with three remaining finalists. After the judges eliminated one of the finalists, the winner was decided by the now-obligatory phone vote.

Winners

2003/4 series winner: Lisa Pedrick - Following an album release, Lisa is concentrating on live performances and her own composing. Previously, she was a reporter/researcher for Hacio, a late night current affairs programme produced by HTV for S4C.

2005 winner: Rebecca Trehearn - Released an album and then moved to London where she's had a number of prominent roles in the West End, and won an Olivier Award for her performance in the revival of Show Boat.

2006 winner: Einir Dafydd - Also released a debut album and then disappeared for a while before coming back to win 2007's Can i Gymru (Song for Wales) competition...and then disappeared again.

Trivia

Despite the fact that both male and female contestants enter, the winner was always female. Both 2004 and 2005 grand finals featured only female competitors. The 2006 grand final was the first to feature a male in the final three (Nathan Whiteley from Wrexham), but he was voted out by the judges.

The 2005 final became a two-way battle with just 48 hours to transmission when Lisa Haf Davies pulled out because of mumps. She followed in the footsteps of the show's first winner and became lead presenter/reporter of Hacio.

Runner-up in the 2003/4 competition was one Aimee Duffy from Nefyn, Gwynedd. In later years, she dropped her given name, secured a major-label deal, and burst into the public gaze with a number one single, "Mercy", in early 2008.

One competitor in the last series, Aimee-Ffion Edwards from Newport, Gwent, later found herself cast as obsessive 17-year-old, 'Sketch', in the first two series of E4's apparently 'cool' comedy drama, Skins. She's gone on to further success as an actor, including two series of Detectorists and one of Keeping Faith, and voiced recurring villain "Havoc" in Thunderbirds Are Go!.

Web links

Official site in Welsh and English, via the Wayback Machine

Feedback

To correct something on this page or post an addition, please complete this form and press "Send":
If you are asking us a question, please read our contact us page and FAQ first.

Name: E-mail:   
A Labyrinth Games site.
Design by Thomas.
Printable version
Editors: Log in