Why did you decide to learn Welsh?
It’s something I’d always thought about doing, but just hadn’t got round to doing it. When I became engaged to my husband Rhodri, who’s a Welsh speaker, I knew we’d want our children to speak Welsh, and so I wanted to be able to speak to them in Welsh too. Also I wanted to know what Rhod was saying about me whenever I overheard him on the phone!

Where did you learn it?
I did the Wlplan course (correct my spelling there if needs be!!) at the council offices in Cardiff. It was an hour and a half in the morning, five days a week.

Did you enjoy learning Welsh?
I really did enjoy it. It wasn’t easy, doing that in the morning and then going on to work, and then trying to do homework in the evening as well. But it’s really rewarding when you can start to understand the language and begin using it.

Does your ability to speak Welsh help you in your career at all?
It really helps me with the pronunciation of Welsh villages and towns. I’d be devastated pronouncing something incorrectly and my Welsh classes helped give me confidence on air.

Is speaking Welsh and other languages an advantage when you are working in the media?
Welsh would be a huge advantage to someone starting out in broadcasting. It just gives you so many more opportunities of working on Welsh language programmes for S4C or for Radio Cymru – it would definitely be a huge asset.

Do you socialise through the medium of Welsh?
Someone once said to me, once you get to know someone in one language, it’s very hard to switch and speak to them in another. I still lack the confidence to just go for it though, but whenever I’ve tried everyone has been really supportive and encouraging. My advice to anyone would be to just try. You’re bound to make mistakes so don’t worry about it, it’s the way to learn and soon it will feel more natural to speak it.

Has learning a language enhanced your life in any way and would you like to learn yet another language?
Well, I haven’t mastered Welsh yet! I’ve still got a long way to go and really need to work on it, so I better not try another one until I’ve got to grips with this one!

Would you encourage other young people to speak other languages and why?
I absolutely would encourage young people to try it. It can be fun, and it can really open up so many opportunities for you, so why not give it a go? There’s nothing to lose, and everything to gain!