S4C series for Tanwen Cray and Ollie Cooper

S4C weather presenter Tanwen Cray hopes a new series will lift the taboo about being a young parent…

The series Tanwen & Ollie will follow Tanwen and her partner, Swansea City footballer Ollie Cooper in the weeks leading up to the birth of their daughter. Neli Meillionen Awen Cooper was born at the end of January. Also taking part in the series are Tanwen’s parents – Angharad Mair who presents Heno on S4C, and cameraman Joni Cray.

Tanwen Cray:

“A lot of people want to give their opinion on being a young mother and having a baby. Everyone talks about how amazing pregnancy can be – that it’s easy and that you get a pregnancy glow – but it hasn’t been like that for me. I have days where I feel down, and I have days where I feel really good about myself too. There is an expectation in society that you work, work, work and then have children. And for me, it was something to do in the future – I wasn’t sure when I would have children. At first, I did feel that this was ‘the end of my career’ – but that’s not true at all! I might need to take a bit of a break, but it certainly doesn’t mean that I won’t have a career.”

“The programme shows what it’s like to be pregnant at a young age – the highs and the lows – and what life is like for us in Swansea with Ollie playing football and me presenting the weather.”

The first episode of Tanwen & Ollie is now available on Hansh social media channels, S4C Clic, BBC iPlayer and YouTube. Tanwen says she has faced criticism for being a young mother.

Ollie Cooper:

“It was really special to be able to film this important period in our lives. It was quite a different experience for me – I’m used to cameras following me on the football pitch, but not at home! Hopefully the series will give an insight into our day to day lives as we cope with all the changes. It will be something special to look back on and remember those weeks before Neli arrived in the world.”

By now, the couple have adjusted to life as new parents. “We’re settling well!” Tanwen said, “It’s certainly easier now that she’s 7 weeks old. She’s started to smile and has a bit more personality. It was much more difficult in the first two weeks, but we’ve got more of a routine by now.”

Tanwen’s father, Joni Cray filmed the series, which meant a lot to the young couple. “It meant that he could be part of the programme by filming us instead of being in front of the camera. Dad doesn’t like being in front of the camera!”

Tanwen & Ollie will also be broadcast on S4C later this summer.