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No, I haven’t got a new job as a weather presenter! But standing in the very same spot as the infamous (in Wales, at least) Derek the Weatherman does and pretending to present the weather, was definitely one of the highlights of the behind-the-scenes guided tour of BBC Cymru Wales.

This is such a great idea for families with older children looking for something a bit different to do, or anyone who wants to know more about what goes on at the newest and most technologically advanced of the BBC’s studios, which are located at the stunning new building at Central Square in the heart of Cardiff city centre.

What happens on a BBC Cymru Wales studio tour?

Once we’d been through the airport style security, been given our tour lanyards to wear, and children handed a quiz booklet to fill in, we were given a brief history of broadcasting in Wales.

This took place in the entrance foyer to the BBC’s new £120 million state of the art studios, which saw staff move in from the previous home, Broadcasting House, in Llandaff October 2019 and its first broadcast taking place in July 2020. It’s a stunning area.

The striking coloured blocks and the open plan offices will be familiar to anyone whose seen live broadcasts from the studios. As our tour guide explained, the whole building is designed to be TV-ready and even the foyer has been used for live broadcasts for election coverage and Crimewatch Live.

From there, we got to step into the studio where popular TV sports programmes such as Clwb Rygbi and Match of the Day Wales are filmed. As you can see from the photos, the backdrop is a very unassuming green screen and I had no idea just how much technology is used to digitally create the sets we see on the TV. It’s all part of the BBC’s drive towards sustainability by not needing to make a new set for every programme.

Next up was the Dylan Thomas audio hub, a padded room filled with microphones and stands, where radio dramas and live music broadcasts are recorded – not just for Wales but further nationally too, with more than half of the BBC’s national output being produced outside of London. We got to test out vocal and sound effects and learn more about the lengths programme makers go to to ensure radio dramas sound authentic.

Try your hand at being a news presenter on a BBC Cymru Wales studio tour

Having taken part in many live radio interviews at the old BBC building, I was excited to see the new high-tech studios where BBC Wales and Radio Cymru are broadcast live, and even national programmes such as Owain Wyn Evans for Radio 2. BBC Cymru Wales is a working building, so you never know who you might see ‘in action’. On our tour, Owen Money was broadcasting live in the room right next to us.

After a brief stop off at a shelved area featuring a copy of every edition of the Radio Times ever published, we ventured into the biggest newsroom outside of London where BBC Wales and BBC Cymru journalists research and write their stories.

A real highlight for most of us on the tour was exploring the actual studio where BBC Wales Today news bulletins are presented – and where I had my weather presenting moment. We learned loads of behind-the-scenes secrets, which I won’t reveal here – if you want to find out for yourself, you’ll need to book the tour!

At the end of the 90-minute experience is a specially designed studio for tour visitors where you can record your own mini news or weather bulletin which is emailed to you as a keepsake from your experience.

Safe to say, I don’t think I’ll be presenting the news any time soon but it was certainly fun learning about how the autocue works and having a go at getting that TV voice just right.

BBC Cymru Wales Studio Tours take place at the new BBC broadcast studios at 3 Central Square, Cardiff, CF10 1FT.

Tickets cost £15 for adults £12 for children, and £42 for a family (2+2 or 1+3).

Tours take place Thursdays to Sundays at 10.30am, 12.20pm and 3pm

Welsh language tours are also available, as well as group/school bookings.

See the BBC Tours website for more information.