Owain Glyndŵr
You're Dead to Me
BBC
4.7 • 11.8K Ratings
🗓️ 24 December 2025
⏱️ 14 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Dead Funny History: Owain Glyndŵr.
Join historian Greg Jenner for a fast-paced, funny and family-friendly journey through the life of Owain Glyndŵr: Wales’ legendary rebel leader, lawman, hostage-taker and Merlin superfan. This episode of Dead Funny History is packed with sketch comedy making it perfect for Key Stage 2 learners and their grown-ups.
Owain Glyndŵr’s story is full of twists. Born into a posh Welsh family, he trained as a lawyer in London before returning home to live the good life. But after years of bad neighbour behaviour from Lord Grey de Ruthyn, and being ignored by King Henry IV, Owain snapped. He declared himself Prince of Wales and led a rebellion that shook the English crown.
Expect battles, betrayals and a surprising number of hostages. Owain captured his enemies, held them for ransom, and even turned one prisoner into a son-in-law. He built alliances with France, inspired Welsh students to ditch Oxford, and launched a bold new vision for Wales including its own parliament, universities and laws.
But Owain wasn’t just a warrior, he was a dreamer. Obsessed with Merlin and Welsh mythology, he became a symbol of national pride. Even after disappearing from history, his legend grew. Today, he’s remembered as a hero who fought for Welsh independence and inspired generations.
Written by Gabby Hutchinson Crouch, Athena Kugblenu and Dr Emma Nagouse Host: Greg Jenner Performers: Mali Ann Rees and John-Luke Roberts Producer: Dr Emma Nagouse Associate Producer: Gabby Hutchinson Crouch Audio Producer: Emma Weatherill Script Consultant: Dr Kathryn Hurlock Production Coordinator: Liz Tuohy Production Manager: Jo Kyle Sound Designer: Peregrine Andrews
A BBC Studios Production
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | BBC Sounds, Music, Radio, Podcasts. |
| 0:05.0 | Ellis, our podcast is over 500 episodes old. |
| 0:10.0 | But what have we learnt? |
| 0:11.0 | Ellis James and John Robbins. |
| 0:13.0 | I've learnt that when you're doing live radio, if somebody texts in in block capitals, it's very really a good sign. |
| 0:18.0 | We've had a confused text and it says, I want to listen to this rubbish. |
| 0:22.0 | I learned that if you lose to lose Sanders in a board game |
| 0:24.9 | and don't mention her on the show, |
| 0:26.3 | you are going to get an unexpected call. |
| 0:28.4 | Oh, dear, oh dear. |
| 0:31.1 | Ellis James and John Robbins, 500 not out. |
| 0:34.1 | Lovely stuff. |
| 0:35.5 | Listen on BBC Sounds. |
| 0:40.2 | Hello, and welcome to Dead Funny History. |
| 0:42.6 | I'm Greg Jenner. I'm a historian and I want to tell you about someone cool. |
| 0:46.8 | Oh, I'm Glyndor. Now, if you're Welsh, you might know him as a 15th century revolutionary hero. |
| 0:52.3 | His story is full of twists. Batt battles, and poems about how nice it was |
| 0:58.3 | to stay at his house. What rhymes with lovely guest towels? O'ane was born around year 1359 near |
| 1:05.4 | Rexham. Did someone say Rexham? Back off, Ryan Reynolds. This is my show. Both sides of Owain's family were very |
| 1:13.1 | posh. After his dad died, he was fostered by a rich lawyer called David Hamner and he got a fancy |
| 1:19.1 | law job in London. Less, give me freedom! And more. Give me a mock of rapper, yeah? |
| 1:27.9 | By 1383, he'd had enough of London life. |
... |
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