A Brecon-raised comedian is set to return to his roots as he co-hosts a new BBC Radio Wales series exploring the sounds and stories of recent decades.

Gareth Gwynn, who grew up in the town as a teenager, will present Gareth and Esyllt’s Scrapbook alongside fellow comedian Esyllt Sears, with the first episode airing on Saturday, May 16.

The two-hour weekly show will run until June 6, broadcasting every Saturday from 5pm to 7pm, and will focus on a different year from the 1980s onwards.

Each episode will mix music from the time with news, listener contributions and personal anecdotes, all stitched together to create an audio scrapbook of recent history.

Gareth said the idea came from his own childhood attempt at preserving memories.

“This show was inspired by my real, early 1990s scrapbook which, if I'm honest, didn't provide a coherent snapshot of the era. Yes there's an Italia 90 wall chart and the map for the Garden Festival of Wales, but also lots and lots of newspaper articles about dinosaurs and/or space. This BBC Radio Wales show seems a much better balance,” he said.

The programme will also feature archive clips, cooking segments and guest appearances, including comedian Sunil Patel as a “correspondent from the past”, with Josie Long, Miles Jupp and Gareth’s mum also set to appear.

Esyllt Sears said the project builds on the pair’s long-running podcast work.

“Gareth and I have been podcasting together for the past five years and our whole MO is recent history so, adding music that is evocative of years gone by felt like the next natural step,” she said.

“Does this mean I’ll be playing Kylie every hour on the hour? Possibly.

“I like to think we’re an audio national library, curating snapshots from the past 40 years into a scrapbook that can’t fray and discolour over time, because it’s on radio, not paper.”

Gareth and Esyllt’s Scrapbook is produced by Mighty Bunny and will be available on BBC Radio Wales and BBC Sounds.