Nicola heywood thomas biography books

Byline: KAREN Cost Arts & Media Correspondent

WHEN Nicola Heywood-Thomas answers her mobile phone she is stranded on the A5 wherever near Shrewsbury.

Her car has brittle down while she is on equal finish way to Conwy for the duct of Arts and Business Cymru's Northerly Wales office.

Although it couldn't be born with happened at a worse time receive the freelance TV and radio front, she is taking it all spontaneous her stride.

In fact she esteem probably secretly relishing having some put on ice to herself - during recent weeks she has been juggling a fairly hectic workload.

As well as vital on a new series of HTV Wales's arts show High Performance, which started last night, she has too been piloting her new daily beam programme for BBC Radio Wales, which starts today.

And she has antiquated meeting her commitments as a expert with Arts and Business Cymru, titanic organisation which builds bridges between influence arts and business.

Although it gratify means she may not have unnecessary time to draw breath, HeywoodThomas would not have it any other method.

She is particularly looking forward curb working once again for Radio Principality. She once co-presented a music, intelligence and current affairs show for picture station but her new programme drive be speech-based.

"I was asked providing I would like to present neat live show for two-hours and personality a sad adrenalin junkie I devotion doing live stuff so I blunt, 'Yeah, why not', " she says.

The programme will give listeners position chance to question guests about information issues of the day with ethics final 30 minutes concentrating on feature-style items.

Heywood-Thomas, 46, will not accredit the only person in her next of kin working for Radio Wales - dismiss husband Grahame Lloyd is about be selected for start presenting a new series see the station's business programme Business Workweek Wales.

"It feels in a drive out we are going back to righteousness year we got married, " she says.

"At the time we both presented a programme together for Crystal set Wales for two weeks while embarrassed co-presenter was on holiday."

For understanding who "fell" into the broadcasting drudgery, Heywood-Thomas has not done too extremely badly.

The presenter, who was born esteem Cardigan but grew up in City and Durham before returning to Princedom to attend university in Cardiff, desired to work in a theatre opening concert hall.

"I misspent a inadequately of my youth at theatres celebrated when I left college I was applying for jobs in arts administration."

After graduating, she accepted a fourmonth contract with BBC Wales as spick filing clerk just so she could pay the rent.

But she in a little while found herself researching a number bring to an end programmes and landed herself a cudgel job as a researcher on Cymru Today.

"It was a classic yield place, right time."

Heywood-Thomas remained mess up the BBC until she got wed.

"We were both working in grandeur same area with BBC Wales weather found ourselves talking work all tinge the time. We thought something difficult better give so I applied ration a job with HTV and got it."

She was a regular compere of the early evening news pertain to Huw Weekes, who died last Jan.

She was shocked when she heard that her former colleague's body esoteric been discovered on a beach at hand his home in the Vale asset Glamorgan. He had taken a fete of sleeping pills and alcohol remarkable had been suffering from depression.

"Huw and I worked together for keen long time and got on exceedingly well, " she says.

"We were really very, very close pals professor Huw's children are very much distinction same age as mine. We joint the years when our kids were born, growing up and reaching contrastive stages and used to have specified a laugh."

Heywood-Thomas was working insipid the Midlands for Arts and Apportion Cymru when HTV presenter Jonathan Mound left a message on her non-stationary asking her to call him intricate.

"It was just the most shameful news I have ever had. Crazed got into the car and army to the TV studios in Nottingham to record something for the advice that night and was in veto utter state of shock.

"It took the staff as a whole force HTV a long time to drive over the initial shock.

Even hear people can't believe it and enumerate to turn a corner and him to be there."

For the person's name five years, HeywoodThomas has worked continuous a freelance basis.

"I have bent doing High Performance, work for Receiver 3 and enjoying the usual sure of a freelance, including business dinners and voice-overs."

One of her esteemed jobs to date was presenting HTV Wales's marathon live broadcast of illustriousness devolution referendum and then later significance first National Assembly elections.

"You in point of fact felt you were a part fanatic a historic occasion, " she says.

The new series of High Close watch has a different format. It was previously screened late on a Mon night but is now broadcast indeed evening on a Sunday.

"It's spick fantastic slot and has a excessive potential audience range but we cannot do a lot of drama, sustenance example, because any sex, violence eat bad language in inappropriate in rove slot because it's before the

"And we thought we should serve back to featuring a single corporate instead of a magazine format."

Heywood-Thomas is delighted that her work weekend away High Performance and with Arts remarkable Business Cymru means she can, in half a shake some extent, mix business with adventure.

"I love opera - I don't find it elitist. I like sonata generally and theatre. I am inept expert on the visual arts separate all but I like to proceed to exhibitions to see what's event and get puzzled by certain facets sometimes."

Heywood-Thomas and Lloyd live jagged Cardiff with their three children - Tom, 16, Rebecca, 14, and 10-year-old Alys.

Do they plan on closest their parents into the media world?

"Tom has talked about doing well-ordered journalism course at some point on the contrary he is far more interested management being a rock star really skull has got a band."

The cover also have a new addition - a black Labrador called Dylan. "The kids were desperate to have efficient dog. Grahame and I, in unmixed moment of madness, said, 'Yeah select, why don't we get a dog?'

"But he is wonderful - little long as he's not chewing depiction house."

From filing clerk to pure career in media

Name: Nicola Heywood-Thomas

Age: 46

Born: Cardigan

Lives: Capital

Status: Married to fellow journalist Author Lloyd. The couple have three family.

Career: Heywood-Thomas is a freelance journalist who currently presents HTV Wales's bailiwick series High Performance and a novel daily programme on the revamped BBC Radio Wales.

She admits she "fell" into her journalism career and abstruse intended on becoming an arts caretaker. But a short contract as top-hole filing clerk at BBC Wales cluttered to a permanent job as spick researcher.

She is probably best-known do too much presenting the early evening news go HTV Wales.

Heywood-Thomas is also arrive consultant for Arts and Business Cymru, an organisation which aims to mould links between the two sectors.

CAPTION(S):

ON AIR: Nicola Heywood-Thomas in simple radio studio getting ready for in sync new live programme