Former BBC journalist and broadcaster Gwilym Owen dies

Gwilym Owen was head of news and current affairs at BBC Wales

Journalist and broadcaster Gwilym Owen has died after a short illness.

Mr Owen, who was 87, was head of news and current affairs at HTV and BBC Wales, as well as Radio Cymru's news editor.

In tributes Mr Owen, who was born on Anglesey, was described as one of the "giants" of the Welsh broadcasting and journalism world.

Until earlier this year he had a column in the Welsh-language magazine, Golwg.

The son of a farm servant from the Llannerch-y-medd area, Mr Owen was appointed a reporter in north Wales for Television Wales and the West in the early 1960s, and later HTV.

In June 1970 he became the producer of Y Dydd programme in Cardiff, before being appointed head of news and current affairs at HTV Wales and later head of the Welsh Film Board.

Later, Mr Owen was appointed head of news for BBC Radio Cymru, and then head of news and current affairs at BBC Wales.

Tweli Griffiths, a former journalist for HTV Wales, said: "Gwilym was one of the giants of the Welsh broadcasting world, the Welsh journalistic world... He was an icon of his time and will leave a huge void behind him."

After retiring, Mr Owen returned to broadcasting and 'Wythnos Gwilym Owen' was an integral part of BBC Radio Cymru's schedule for more than 15 years.

Gwilym Owen (left) with Dewi Llwyd in the BBC Cardiff newsroom in 1988