National Grid team takes Matt Baker up a South Wales pylon in new More4 show

A team of South Wales-based overhead electricity line engineers is set for a starring role in the new More4 series Matt Baker’s British Isles.

The Countryfile presenter’s new show takes viewers across the four nations, celebrating the people and places that make up modern Britain.

In the final episode – due to air Tuesday 24 June – Matt joins a National Grid team on the South Wales coast as it carries out essential upgrades to transmission pylons near Aberthaw substation.

To make sure Matt could safely experience the world of overhead lines (OHL) engineers, he was first put through his paces at National Grid’s training centre in Eakring, Nottinghamshire, completing all the necessary safety courses and a familiarisation climb on a de-energised pylon.

Matt was then able to join the team up a pylon in Aberthaw, and chat with them as they replaced ceramic insulators – components which support the power lines and stop the steel towers becoming live – with smaller, lighter polymeric versions.

OHL team engineer Gareth Davies was Matt’s mentor for the day, sharing his insight and experiences ahead of the climb, before guiding him up the tower to heights of up to 45 metres, with stunning views across the Glamorgan Heritage Coast.

The former gymnast and Blue Peter presenter took to it quickly – but there were no acrobatics on these bars, with safety the number one priority as he manoeuvred into position to watch the team at work and learn about the role.

Matt also had the opportunity to explore inside Aberthaw substation, and learn from OHL project engineer Lee Griffiths about the safety procedures of switching out the lines ahead of work starting.

Gareth, who has worked on OHLs at National Grid for 24 years, said:

It was great to show Matt how our overhead lines teams operate, and talk him through what’s involved. We’re proud of the work we do to keep power flowing safely around Wales and beyond, and hopefully viewers of the show will be interested to learn what we do and how we do it.

We’re always looking to bring in new talent to our overhead lines teams across the country. Hopefully this will encourage people to look to these roles as a career. It’s rewarding work, and there aren’t many offices with such a good view!

While Matt only had time to witness one phase of insulators and other components being replaced, the team went on to complete upgrade work on the entire overhead line route from Aberthaw to Cilfynydd substation some 30km north in Caerphilly – upgrades that are helping to futureproof the network in the region.

National Grid is planning £35 billion of investment in its transmission network across Wales and England between 2026 to 2031, to connect large sources of demand such as data centres and gigafactories, and new sources of electricity generation such as wind and solar.

Those interested in overhead lines careers, or who want to learn more about the different types of opportunities that are available, can join National Grid’s talent community to register interest.