Lynn Bowles

Lynn Bowles (born 1963)[1] is a British broadcaster and a former traffic weekday mornings reporter for BBC Radio 2.

Lynn Bowles
Born1963 (age 59–60)
Splott, Cardiff, Wales
Career
Station(s)BBC Radio 2 (2000–2018)
BBC Radio Wales (2012–present)
CountryUnited Kingdom

Early life

Bowles was born in Splott, Cardiff, Wales in 1963,[2][3][1] and is the youngest of three siblings.[4] Her father, Cliff, was a marine engineer; her mother, Josephine, was born in Monmouth but moved to Rumney in Cardiff.[4]

Bowles attended St Hilda's School, a boarding school in Somerset, before moving to Llanishen High School when the family lived in Rudry. She went on to university in Coventry.[4]

Broadcasting career

After university, Bowles worked in New Orleans[4] for a TV news station. She returned to the UK in the early 1990s but struggled to find work. Eventually she secured a position as a traffic reporter with LBC, on Richard Littlejohn's show.[4] She subsequently joined the Nationwide programme on BBC Radio 5 Live where she remained for eight years before moving to BBC Radio 2 in 2000 as the first official traffic news reporter for weekday mornings.[4][5]

From Saturday 9 June 2012, and for eight consecutive weeks, Bowles presented her own show on BBC Radio Wales, featuring guests such as Ken Bruce with whom she appeared as travel reporter on his show on BBC Radio 2.[6]

Since 2 November 2014, she has presented a weekly Sunday afternoon show on BBC Radio Wales.[7]

On 16 March 2018, during The Chris Evans Breakfast Show and Ken Bruce's mid-morning show, Bowles announced that she would be leaving BBC Radio 2, after 18 years of broadcasting. Her last day was 29 March 2018. Bowles continues with her BBC Radio Wales broadcasting.[8]

Personal and charitable activities

Bowles learnt to drive in a Land Rover and became a mascot for the marque after competing in the 2004 run of the Macmillan 4x4 UK Challenge[9] and co-presenting the Heritage Motor Centre[10] Land Rover show from 2005 to 2010.

In the August 2013 issue of Land Rover Owner international magazine Bowles was a guest columnist 'for one month only'[11] discussing her childhood experiences in Land Rovers and her time training for the Camel Trophy .

She is an ambassador for Bobath Children's Therapy Centre Wales, a registered charity based in Cardiff that provides specialist Bobath therapy to children from all over Wales who have cerebral palsy. In the November 2007 Children in Need week a "Money can't buy" experience was auctioned which included spending a day with her at Land Rover and other automotive experiences under the banner of 'Petrolheads', and the item raised £22,000 for the charity.[12]

Bowles previously lived in Wimbledon but moved back to Wales permanently in 2018,[13] she regularly travelled back to her family home in the village of Rudry near Caerphilly.[4]

See also

References
  1. Butler, Hannah (16 March 2018). "The 'Totty from Splotty' says goodbye to Radio 2". The Cardiffian. Retrieved 1 May 2023.
  2. "Radio 2 Bowles' nickname was 'silliness'". BBC News. 27 March 2018. Retrieved 30 March 2018.
  3. "Lynn Bowles". BBC Radio 2. Retrieved 7 May 2013.
  4. Whitfield, Lydia (15 June 2009). "Talking traffic with the 'Totty from Splotty'". South Wales Echo / The Free Library. Fairlex, Inc. Retrieved 7 May 2013.
  5. "Lynn Bowles". JLA. Retrieved 7 May 2013.
  6. "BBC Radio Wales – Lynn Bowles – Episode guide". BBC. Retrieved 4 July 2014.
  7. Kirstie McCrum (24 October 2014). "Radio 2's 'Totty from Splotty' Lynne Bowles gets her own radio show and says: 'I've been trained by some of the best in the business to talk rubbish'". walesonline.co.uk. Retrieved 9 June 2016.
  8. "Lynn Bowles: 'I'm leaving Radio 2' says travel presenter". BBC News. 16 March 2018. Retrieved 16 March 2018.
  9. Archived 25 June 2010 at the Wayback Machine
  10. Archived 19 December 2007 at the Wayback Machine
  11. "WHAT'S IN THE AUGUST 2013 ISSUE OF LRO | LRO.com UK". Lro.com. Retrieved 4 July 2014.
  12. "Radio 2 – Children in Need 2007 – Wogan's Auction". BBC. Retrieved 4 July 2014.
  13. "Lynn Bowles: Radio 2 star leaving BBC programme Chris Evans co-star salary revealed | Express.co.uk". express.co.uk. Retrieved 1 May 2023.
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