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Wynne Evans is a presenter, broadcaster, and professional opera singer.
Born in South West Wales, Wynn studied at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, followed by the National Opera Studio in London, and has since had two number one music albums, and has a daily radio show on BBC Radio Wales.
He is probably best known to the masses for his character of Gio Compario, the spoof opera star of the Go Compare advertisement campaign, who he has been portraying for over 15 years.
His admirable career has seen Wynne made a member of the Gorsedd of the Bards of Wales in 2012, an Honorary Fellow of the University of Wales Trinity Saint David in 2013, a Member of the Venerable Order of the Saint John in 2008, and be awarded the British Empire Medal in the late Queen’s Platinum Jubilee honours list.
Before Wynne Evans became known as ‘The Go Compare Man’, he was one of the most prolific classically trained opera singers in the UK. Throughout his 25-year operatic career, he has performed in opera houses from The Royal Opera House in Covent Garden to the Metropolitan Opera in New York, and the Paris Opera De Lyon. He has given more than 200 performances at London’s Royal Albert Hall, including playing the role of Piangi in the 25-year anniversary filmed performance of The Phantom of the Opera. He has also starred in The Tsarina’s Slippers, Otello, Rigoletto, La Boheme, The Cunning Little Vixen, Les Dialogues des Carmelites, Die Fledermaus, and Anna Nicole.
Wynne is also a confident concert singer, and has appeared in concerts such as the BBC Proms, and the Welsh Proms, has appeared on BBC’s Friday Night is Music Night, and has released three albums to date.
Wynne was delighted when he was invited to perform at Tottenham Hotspur’s grounds in front of 62,000 fans, and has since performed at over 20 Welsh rugby international games.
Wynne burst onto the non-opera scene in 2009, when he first appeared as Gio Compario on the Go Compare adverts. He has played the character ever since, and has made over 150 adverts for the company.
This screen presence has meant Wynne has been welcomed into our homes and he has since appeared on some of our best loved programmes. He has been seen on Songs of Praise (2019), The One Show (2020), Pointless Celebrities (2023), Celebrity Antiques Road Trip (2023), Christmas With Katherine Jenkins, and Celebrity Masterchef (2023) which he went on to win!
He is also a presenter on the radio, hosting a daily music and chat show on BBC Radio Wales, which is very often their highest rated show. He has also broadcast on BBC Radio 3, Classic FM, and BBC One Wales.
He is taking part in the 2024 series of Strictly Come Dancing with professional partner Katya Jones.
Wynne has been very open in the last year or so about his mental health issues. Following his divorce in 2016, Wynne hit rock bottom, leading to the start of a deep depression. At the start of Mental Health Week, he explained the split felt “almost like grief, but you can’t grieve for somebody that’s still there, so it really affected my mental health, my confidence, and my ego.” After seeking help, Wynne started to use exercise as a remedy, and has since lost more than 40kg in a hope to feel brighter. “My anxiety and my mental health is my superpower. Thanks to anxiety, I know exactly what to do when things go wrong.”
Wynne is now a confident live performer, corporate event host, awards presenter, and events speaker. Previous events include:
– Celebrating 10 years of Cân Aderyn Singers
– The Spirit of Christmas at Shrewsbury Abbey
– The Morriston Orpheus Choir Annual Gala Concert in Swansea
– Cor Meibion Trelawnyd Male Choir 90th Anniversary Concert
– SaundersFest Musical Extravaganza in Pembrokeshire
– Tenby Male Choir Gala Concert
He is also a trustee of Grange Park Opera, as well as Patron of Ty Cymorth. He is also a trustee of The Elizabeth Evans Trust; Elizabeth Evans was Wynne’s mother, who founded and ran the Carmarthen Youth Opera and The Lyric Theatre in Carmarthen.
Not only is a fabulous singer but a real show man who kept them entertained and laughing throughout. Also, a genuinely lovely person to work with.
SJP
Wynne Evans was a superb host. He is warm and accommodating with everyone, helped our event flow smoothly, is a great entertainer and I would certainly recommend him for anyone considering taking their event to the next level.
Sean, Director of Marketing & Communications, Shaw Healthcare
“Just wanted to say how impressed we were at the Servicesure of the year awards attendance by Wynne Evans, he was by far the best after dinner speaker /entertainer I have had the pleasure to meet, he is ultra talented, very engaging with everyone in the venue and delivered more than we wanted for the night, it was an exceptional event this year in fact our best yet which I am sure topped off with Wynne’s appearance.
Paul, Servicesure Autocentres
We held our very first ball to celebrate the opening of Maggie’s in Cardiff and Wynne Evans really did help us make it a celebration! He absolutely brought the fundraising event to life. Wynne was determined to help us raise as much money as possible, not only was he a great host, keeping all 430 of our guests engaged, but he was also a fantastic auctioneer, getting the most out of people during the auction. He helped make the event run smoothly and ensured everyone had a great night. I would highly recommend Wynne as a host.
Maggie’s Cardiff
Wynne Evans was an absolute joy in the famous Maesteg Male Choir Annual Concert. He captivated the capacity audience with an exceptional performance, not only his wonderful singing voice, but anecdotes personal to him demonstrating both his wit and charm. Singing a programme designed to show off the many aspects of his voice, Wynne sang in a variety of genres encompassing Opera, Folk Songs, Musical Theatre and of course some Ivor Novello. He was also more than accommodating in joining with the choir in the Finale, to bring the house down.
Côr Meibion Maesteg a’r Cylch
We had the pleasure of welcoming Wynne as our after-dinner speaker at our awards dinner of our annual conference. Like many I only knew of Wynne as Mr GoCompare and I was absolutely blown away with his performance from start to end. Wynne certainly knows how to entertain his audience and had the whole room filled with laughter from the offset. Not only is he a talented speaker, he is also a talented opera singer. He ended the evening with his version of “The Impossible Dream” and he certainly didn’t disappoint. It was an honour to meet such a down to earth, funny and talented man.
Shared Services Forum