AN epic swim across 60 kilometres of some of the wildest water in Wales – including the River Teifi - is no birthday party, as TV presenter Gaz Top discovered.

Gareth Jones: Nofio Adre (Gareth Jones: Swimming Home) – tells the tale of how the star of ITV shows like How 2 and The Big Bang tackled two-metre waves in the Bristol Channel, a Mid Wales reservoir where Dambusters explosives were tested and the lake which swept away a village in the Conwy Valley.

To get the energy to fuel his efforts Gareth, was advised by nutrition experts from Bangor University to gorge on 5,000 calories a day.

His eating regime consisted of a massive breakfast bowl of muesli kicking off a daily intake of carbohydrates and protein that was rounded off by a starter, two main courses and a pud in the hotel each evening.

The project to celebrate Gareth’s 60th birthday was brought to life in a three-part series by Caernarfon-based Cwmni Da.

It will be shown on S4C, with the first programme – in which Gareth tackles eight kilometres of the River Teifi – going out at 9pm on Friday, October 29, and other episodes being shown on consecutive Fridays.

Gareth – whose the nickname Gaz Top came from his early days as a roadie with Welsh rockers The Alarm – had always been a strong swimmer.

“Basically, I’m a frog from the waist down,” he said. “I’ve got flat feet so I can’t run but I can swim and this idea of doing this to mark my 60th came about because I wanted to reconnect with Wales, the land that made me, after so long living in London.”

Cwmni Da producer Huw Erddyn said: “I know Gareth was worried about the swim in the Teifi – over eight kilometres just after recovering from the stomach bug.

“It was slack water and so he had to really swim for the first half which was tough, but we had a good safety team throughout with Dilwyn Sanderson Jones as our lead safety, who does safety work for Bear Grylls.

“We had safety canoes, kayaks or a rib in the water at all times.

“We met some great people along the way too and heard some wonderful stories about Wales.”