winterwatch iolo

Winterwatch: who is Iolo Williams?

Get the details on Iolo's career, family life and more 

TV & Film Editor
January 21, 2021

Winterwatch has certainly been cheering up our January Blues so far, but how much do you know about one of the show's presenters, Iolo Williams? Find out everything you need to know about the TV personality here... 

MORE: All you need to know about Winterwatch presenter Gillian Burke

Iolo Williams' career so far

Iolo, 58, is a nature observer who studied ecology at the University of East London before going on to pursue a career at the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds. He worked as a regional co-ordinator at the charitable organisation before beginning a TV career with Visions of Snowdonia for BBC Wales. 

WATCH: Chris Packham talks his local wildlife

He has since gone to the present Winterwatch alongside Rugged Wales, Iolo's Snowdonia and the Welsh nature show, Hydref Gwyllt Iolo. 

Is Iolo Williams in a relationship?

Iolo is happily married to wife Ceri, and the pair share two sons, Dewi and Tomos. The presenter chatted about being a gay icon in Wales to Wales on Sunday back in 2013, and revealed that his wife "laughed like hell" after hearing the news. 

Iolo is married with two sons 

He explained: "A friend of mine... told me about one of her mates who is gay, and said they have an informal gay club. One thing they did was tape my S4C programmes wearing my tight shorts and would get together in a bar to watch it. I was a little bit surprised at first but absolutely delighted... If I go out there I might meet some of my fans and get taken out – it would be a great laugh. My family and wife laughed like hell. No, she didn’t get jealous." 

Where does Iolo Williams live?

Hailing from Builth Wells in Breconshire, Iolo's family have lived in Pembrokeshire and Montgomeryshire. He and his wife now live in Newtown, Powys in Wales. 

MORE: Meet Winterwatch star Chris Packham's family

MORE: Autumnwatch's Chris Packham reveals he was 'terrified' during father's health battle

MORE: Meet Escape to the Perfect Town's Steve Brown's family

The couple built an environmentally friendly home with a wildlife garden, and Iolo opened up about having a carbon footprint significantly under the national average, telling World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF): "Ultimately you can always do more to lower your footprint and as my work footprint must be so high I am constantly striving to maintain as low an environmental impact in my home life as possible. 

Are you a fan of the TV personality?

"I feel incredibly guilty about the amount of travelling I have to do for my work, filming with the BBC and S4C, so I have made certain changes in my lifestyle when I'm at home to begin to combat the carbon emissions I produce when I'm working." 

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