Bethan Rhys Roberts was born and educated in Bangor in North Wales. She knew she wanted to be a journalist from the age of 9 when she wrote a weekly family newsletter to keep relatives in North and South Wales in touch. Her first headline was "Auntie Blod has new curtains"! So the only way was up! Brought up bilingually, she had a love for languages and went on to study French and Italian at Cardiff University. During her studies she spent a year working as an au pair in Toulouse and studying at the British Institute in Florence. She followed a post graduate course in Journalism at Cardiff University, with work placements at Reuters and Agence France Presse news agencies in London. She then won a scholarship to study European journalism for a year at the prestigious CFPJ school of journalism in Paris. During her time there, she worked at Radio France Internationale, Le Figaro and at the Press Office of the Winter Olympics in Albertville. Another year living in France confirmed her love for all things French but she decided to return to Cardiff when she was offered a job at BBC Wales.
Bethan’s broadcasting career began on the Eelsh language nightly news programme Newyddion. Within months, she was appointed London correspondent covering UK-wide stories for radio and television including economic affairs, royal events and terrorist attacks. She then covered international stories for BBC Wales, reporting from countries all around the world including war-torn Yugoslavia and Sudan, China, Hong Kong, Europe and the Middle East. Bethan was then appointed Political Correspondent for BBC Wales in 1997, covering the early Blair years in Downing Street and the 1999 referendum on Welsh devolution. She covered the early years of the National Assembly and was one of the main presenters of Newyddion.
In 2000 she decided to return to Westminister and left BBC Wales to join the BBC World Service and World TV reporting on UK politics for a global audience. During her time there, she reported throughout Tony Blair's premiership, on his decision to go to war with Iraq, the Hutton Inquiry, devolution throughout the UK and the Northern Ireland peace process. She also presented the World Service's weekly political discussion progamme "People and Politics" and their rolling news service, frequently interviewing premiers and opinion formers from around the globe.
Having started a family, it was time to move home to Wales and Bethan returned to BBC Wales in 2006 as presenter of BBC Radio Wales's flagship morning news show ‘Good Morning Wales’. She also presents the weekly Welsh language TV political discussion programme CF99 on S4C.
Combining early radio, a late night TV show and school runs can be quite a juggle but she loves it and always keeps an alarm clock handy!
She lives in Cardiff with her husband and two daughters.