Background
The son of a headmaster school teacher, Williams was born in Builth Wells, Powys, but his family moved to Pembrokeshire, before returning to Powys when he was aged five to live in Llanwddyn near Lake Vyrnwy.
The son of a headmaster school teacher, Williams was born in Builth Wells, Powys, but his family moved to Pembrokeshire, before returning to Powys when he was aged five to live in Llanwddyn near Lake Vyrnwy.
Educated at Llanfyllin High School, after gaining two A levels in Biology and French, he almost joined the British Army but instead went to North East London Polytechnic (NELP) now the University of East London in London, graduating with a degree in ecology. After graduation, he worked on a farm and then in the timber trade, before joining the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) in 1985, staying for 14 years working in the field and as a regional co-ordinator. This led to his making regular appearances in the media, making a name for himself as a leading expert on Welsh bird life.
In 1997 he made "Visions of Snowdonia" with British Broadcasting Corporation Wales, which followed the lives of six people living and working on the slopes of the country"s highest mountain.
After making a second series, in 1999 Williams decided to leave the RSPB and pursue a full-time career in the media. He presently makes his main appearances on British Broadcasting Corporation Wales, and with wider Welsh focused programs on S4C in his first language of Welsh made by independent television company Telesgop.
Known for frequently wearing shorts for his work, he has, as a result, become a Welsh cult gay icon. In 2007, Williams was awarded an honorary fellowship of the Bangor University.
Williams is the presenter of Rugged Wales, which aired on British Broadcasting Corporation Two on 13 and 20 March 2012.
Personal life
The couple have two sons (Dewi and Tomos). And two rescue dogs, Ianto and Gwen, who have both appeared in some of his television series. They have a wildlife garden, and grow their own vegetables.
They compost all their food waste, and recycle everything else, whilst always eating organic and local produce.
As a result of this, in a World Wide Fund for Nature survey of carbon footprints of ecology personalities, Williams and his family were found to have a very low rating of 1.81, compared to a Welsh average of 3.0.