Homes Under The Hammer star reveals secret 'gay shame'

A Homes Under The Hammer presenter and BBC Radio 2 prima has opened up astir the 'gay shame' they felt arsenic a kid – and however drumming helped them header with things

Owain Wyn Evans, BBC Radio 2 big and latest summation to the Homes Under The Hammer adept crew, has candidly discussed the 'gay shame' helium struggled with during his youth. Known for hosting Wales' Home of the Year connected BBC One, Owain came retired astatine 17 and has been unfastened astir facing homophobic backlash online implicit his presenting style, reports OK!.

A staunch advocator for LGBTQ rights, Owain has often shared his experiences with sexuality. In a heart-to-heart with the Lancashire Post, helium reflected: "I knew I was cheery from a young age, but I conscionable didn't cognize what it was because, erstwhile I was increasing up, determination weren't immoderate notation points for what it really meant to beryllium gay."

Expanding connected the subject, helium said: "It was a precise masculine and heteronormative environment: the lone taste touchstones for cheery radical was them being the butt of jokes connected TV oregon overly-flamboyant characters." Candid astir his struggles, helium revealed: "I virtually felt similar the lone cheery successful the village, truthful I suppressed my sexuality. I enactment it successful a container and thought 'this is simply a portion of maine I tin hide.' I didn't speech astir it oregon recognize it."

Following their long-standing relationship, successful March 2017, Owain and his spouse Arran Rees celebrated their national by tying the knot successful London. In 2023, the mates embarked connected their 5th spot renovation aft moving backmost to Wales from England's north-west.

Owain, besides a beloved upwind presenter, shared his idiosyncratic travel with Music Teacher magazine, revealing however drumming became his sanctuary amidst struggles with 'gay shame' during his youth. He explained that drumming was a mode to disguise his sexuality and header with anxiety, saying: "It was this benignant of 'you're not normal' feeling, and the feeling that you ever person to effort and acceptable into a mould that isn't you, and astir apologise for who you are. But the drumming has ever been a happening that I could conscionable do, due to the fact that it wholly removes you from anything."

He further described the liberating effect of euphony connected his intelligence state: "Whatever I'm reasoning and nevertheless I'm feeling, erstwhile I enactment my headphones connected and my monitors successful and I play my drum kit, thing other that's going connected conscionable goes, due to the fact that the drumming is what I'm concentrating on."

Reflecting connected his deficiency of relation models arsenic a young cheery man, Owain recovered solace successful drumming: "I didn't person immoderate relation models astir maine arsenic a young cheery antheral increasing up, and the drumming was a happening I could crook to to unopen maine disconnected from the remainder of the world."

Owain, who began his drumming astatine 15, has since go a acquainted look connected BBC Breakfast and The One Show, and precocious took implicit Radio 2's Early Breakfast Show. His passionateness for drumming besides led him to rise a staggering £3million for Children In Need past twelvemonth done a 24-hour drum-athon.

He besides gained fame for his drumming accompaniment to the BBC News taxable during the coronavirus crisis. His show astatine the extremity of an April 2020 forecast went viral, bringing a spot of joyousness to viewers amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. The writer became known for his catchphrase 'hello my dahlings' and his upwind forecasting skills.