New chair vows no repeat of crisis at S4C

The woman slated to lead Welsh language broadcaster S4C has vowed to prevent a repeat of the crisis that had rocked the broadcaster.

Delyth Evans is expected to arrive as chair less than two years after a bullying scandal saw its former chief executive sacked. Her predecessor declined a second term as chair in wake of the row.

Speaking to MPs, Evans said she wanted to improve the broadcaster's culture and processes, ensuring "what happened previously is not going to happen again".

She said the "failure of leadership" at S4C had showed its future could not be taken for "granted".

Meanwhile she admitted that audiences for the broadcaster were a "massive challenge", and she was not comfortable with S4C's viewing figures.

Delyth Evans was announced earlier this month by the UK government as the preferred candidate to replace interim chair Guto Bebb.

He had stepped in after former chair Rhodri Williams said he would not take up a second term.

Williams had fired Sian Doyle after a highly critical review, the claims of which had been rejected by Doyle.

At her pre-appointment hearing, Evans told the committee: "When the news broke in 22/23 about the failure of leadership at S4C I was very shocked, as I think an awful lot of people were.

"It was an established part of Welsh life, Welsh media and Welsh culture.

"All of a sudden it seemed precarious," she said. "We couldn't really take the future of S4C for granted in the way that we had done in the past."

She said a "lot of people" felt at the time it was a "very serious moment".

Evans told MPs she wanted to immediately "establish the culture of the board and the kind of leadership that is required".

The former journalist said she wanted to "get to grips very quickly with what's been going on in the past year, to improve the culture, to improve the leadership, and to introduce new processes in terms of whistleblowing complaints that are actually going to work".

She added that she wanted to "ensure that what happened previously is not going to happen again".

Evans said that "transformation is needed and I want to see that happening, to establish S4C that delivers on behalf of audiences".

All public broadcasters face a challenge in maintaining audiences, she explained.

"Audiences are a massive challenge. I won't pretend that I'm comfortable with the viewing figures - I'm not. We want to see more people viewing S4C overall."

While she said she would "love" to reach new viewers, Evans said she hoped the channel would maintain its current audience, and reach "young people and Welsh learners".

Delyth Evans had served as an assembly member between 2000 and 2003.

Before politics Delyth Evans was a journalist at ITV-broadcaster HTV Wales, working on current affairs programme Y Byd ar Bedwar for S4C.

After her stint in the Assembly she was chief executive of Smart Works, a women's employment charity, and is currently a board member at Sport Wales, and a trustee of the Urdd.

Her appointment was criticised when it was announced by Welsh Conservative MS Andrew RT Davies, who said it had risked "public trust in Welsh media".

Asked about her political background by Plaid Cymru's Llinos Medi, Evans told the committee: "I think being impartial as a chair and as an organisation is absolutely vital to the success of S4C.

"The S4C provision is reliant on cross-party support.

"I would be very foolish if I personally were to undermine that in anyway."