| John Sparkes | |
|---|---|
| Born | 6 January 1954 Swansea, Wales |
John Sparkes (born 6 January 1954) 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, 2000, 2001, 2004) series Barry Welsh is Coming.
He starred in the sketch shows Naked Video (BBC2), Absolutely (Channel 4), Barry Welsh is Coming (ITV Wales), 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 (which also features the voice of fellow Absolutely star Morwenna Banks), Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends, Shaun the Sheep and Mr. Elf and King Marigold in Ben and Holly's Little Kingdom. He also does the voice of Professor von Proton in The Big Knights.
Barry Welsh is Coming was broadcast only in Wales, as was Jeff Global's Global Probe (both ITV Wales productions) 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 Fishguard news reporter Hugh Pugh. Although the series ended in 2004, it did return in 2007 for a series of one-off specials broadcast throughout the year.
Sparkes also starred in the sketch show Naked Video, where he played Siadwell, the geeky bed-sit poet who wore an anorak and glasses. The character also appeared when Sparkes was part of the BBC Radio 4 comedy programme 'Bodgers Banks & Sparkes'.
He is also the voice of Fireman Sam and other characters in the 2004 animated series The New Adventures of Fireman Sam.
Currently, Sparkes is writing and presenting three ongoing television series for ITV Wales called "Great Pubs of Wales." He also voices the unseen character of archivist Goronwy, in a section on Wallace and Gromit's World of Invention showing on BBC One. He writes and presents Ghost Story in which he spends the night alone with a camcorder in haunted houses around Wales. He has co-written and presented Doug Strong's Special Places, a factual comedy series for ITV Wales and ITV Central.