John Sparkes
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John Sparkes is a Welsh comedian born in Swansea and is more commonly known on Welsh television as Barry Welsh, in the award-winning (Best Light Entertainment, Welsh Baftas, 1999) series Barry Welsh is Coming.
He starred in the sketch show Absolutely, Barry Welsh is Coming, Pub Quiz and Jeff Global's Global Probe. He provides the voice of the Narrator and some other characters in the children's animated series Peppa Pig.
Barry Welsh is shown only in Wales, as is Jeff Global's Global Probe (both ITV)and Pub Quiz (BBC), in which he played the character Frank Hovis, originally devised for the Absolutely series. As well as playing Barry Welsh, the host of a chat show, Sparkes also plays other characters within the programme, such as pub singer Gwyn and west Wales reporter Hugh Pugh.
John Sparkes also starred in the sketch show Naked Video, where he played Siadwell, the geeky bed-sit poet who wore an anorak and glasses, apparently based on Rik Mayall's character Kevin Turvey.
John Sparkes is also the voice of Fireman Sam and other characters in the 2004 animated series The New Adventures of Fireman Sam.
John is currently working on a new television programme called "Great Pubs of Wales" and the series is still ongoing. Some of his original comedy is carefully placed into the show, despite the fact that the new programme was originally designed to be a documentary.