The Wales Show is a new weekly arts and music programme from ITV Local Wales. Featuring articles on music, dance, theatre and film, their first edition was broadcast at the end of January 2009. Fronting the new series is Andrea Benfield, who also co-anchors the early evening news programme Wales Tonight.
Andrea is originally from Guildford, Surrey. After gaining a degree in English Literature from Southampton University, Andrea completed a year’s postgraduate diploma in Broadcast Journalism at Highbury College in Portsmouth and then studied for a Political Diploma in her spare time. Her early career was spent in radio and television in Surrey, Hampshire and the Thames valley and her series of special documentary reports about RAF servicemen, as they prepared for posting to Afghanistan, achieved runner up place in the Royal Television Society awards 2006/7.
Just over a year ago Andrea moved to Wales, following the announcement - in December 2007 - that she would be taking over from Lucy Owen on the weekday Welsh news bulletin, opposite Jonathon Hill, on ITV Wales.
We caught up with Andrea, to ask her a few questions about fashion, style and Welsh life, for Cymru Culture:
CC ... Andrea, who is your style icon?
AB ... 'I don’t really have one style icon but I do like to keep a check on what different celebrities are wearing. I like the style of Catherine Zeta Jones. And at the moment, the dresses Kate Winslet is wearing have really caught my eye. I think she looks stunning.'
CC ... How would you describe your sense of style?
AB ... 'Very much dependent on whether it’s casual or smart. For work I’ll look for tops, skirts and trousers which are sleek, smart and sassy (a bit like Roz in Spooks – I’m a big fan!). It needs to be edgy with some detail which makes them stand out from the norm.
When I’m dressed more casually, my friends have joked in the past that I look like I should be pop group All Saints! It’s just because I like combats and gilets and that type of thing. But otherwise it’s skinny jeans and Uggs for me. Uggs are meant to be going down in the fashion stakes but I still love them. They’re so comfy and got a pair from America recently which are like Ugg biker boots with a zip down the side!'
CC ... What does fashion mean to you?
AB ... 'It’s a way to express yourself and establish your identity. As I’ve got older and become more confident as a person, I’ve become more confident in what I wear. Although people say you can be a slave to fashion I think sometimes it can have the opposite effect and be a way to show you are not afraid of expressing your personality and letting people know who you are.'
CC ... Do you have a favourite fashion designer?
AB ... 'I’m very much a high street shopper because I like to buy lots of clothes and refresh my wardrobe regularly so it’s just more practical. But I do like to indulge in designer sometimes so it’s a bit of mix and match. I really like Mulberry and Karen Millen. They are probably my 2 biggest weaknesses!
I also love Suzanne Neville dresses. Although I don’t own one, recently I was lucky enough to wear one of her evening dresses (pictured, right) for a charity fashion show I was hosting and I didn’t want to take it off! For another recent event I was also able to borrow a dress from Welsh designer Jane Davies, which was a chocolate brown number inspired by a tree. Another one I didn’t want to part with!'
CC ... What has been your most extravagant fashion purchase?
AB ... 'I should think probably Mulberry handbags and Armani shoes. I’m happier to spend more money on classic pieces which will last forever and there’s no danger of growing out of! I’ve never spent a really extravagant amount on a dress. I’ll save that for when I get married!'
CC ... What do you like to do to relax?
AB ... 'I love to go for long walks on crisp clear days and then to a cosy pub with a big log fire and have an indulgent meal. I also like to go the cinema, theatre and concerts as well – anything from Take That to Jools Holland. It’s fantastic for me because we’ve just launched a new show on ITV Wales called The Wales Show – it’s on every Thursday night and takes a weekly look at the arts and entertainment scene here, so I’m excited about discovering some new bands and seeing some different performances.
I’m not afraid to admit it’s not all plays and books for me though – I do indulge in quite a few US TV series. When I’ve had some busy weeks at work it’s great to chill out and catch up on a series of Desperate Housewives, 24, Lost or Heroes!'
CC ... Do you have a favourite Welsh restaurant?
AB ... 'I’ve been living in Wales just over a year now so I should have a few. The Old Custom House in Penarth Marina has two great restaurants and it’s fairly local to me so that’s great! Any restaurant or pub that serves local fish is always a winner.
On my travels filming ‘Tidal Wales’ last summer we ate in some great places along the way. In Beaumaris in Anglesey, I remember a lovely restaurant called the Bull. That I highly recommend.'
CC ... If you were to have a dinner party, to which you could invite any six guests, whom would you invite?
AB ... 'Simon Cowell, Madonna, Prince Harry, Ban Ki-Moon, Margaret Atwood, Sir David Attenborough.'
CC ... What courses would you serve?
AB ... 'It would be a fish-dominated menu with mussels to start and any fresh fish for the main course. Dessert would have to be something with meringue. My childhood favourite was my mum’s home-made Lemon Meringue Pie. I’d probably need a hand to cook it though. I have a few dishes I’m well-practised at whipping up, but I’m no Delia Smith!'
CC ... Andrea Benfield, thank you.