A BBC television director killed a retired grammar school teacher by pushing him in the street after an argument about Welsh independence, a court heard.
Hywel Williams, who works on a long-running Welsh language soap opera, shoved grandfather Peter Ormerod, 75, after the pair had cross words in a pub, a jury was told.
The 40-year-old accepts calling the respected teacher a ‘fat little ****’ after he hit his head on the ground – with Mr Ormerod dying four days later in hospital from severe head injuries.
Williams is a director working on Pobol Y Cwm – which means People of the Valley – and is made by the BBC for S4C, Swansea Crown Court heard.
The show has been running since 1974 and launched the career of Hollywood star Ioan Gruffudd.
Retired teacher Peter Ormerod, 75, was pushed over by BBC television director Hywel Williams after a row over Welsh independence
Williams (pictured) admitted to pushing Mr Ormerod but insisted it was for self-defence
A jury heard Williams and Mr Ormerod argued over Welsh independence in a pub in Burry Port, West Wales last September.
Williams, who denies manslaughter, is said to have pushed the ex-maths teacher to the ground outside.
The two men had expressed ‘opposing views’ on whether Wales should leave the UK before they left the pub at around the same time, jurors have been told.
Giving evidence in his defence, Williams said he had been fed up with the row over politics but that this angered Mr Ormerod.
He said he told Mr Ormerod: ‘I don’t have time for this mate… I don’t want any of this.’
Williams said the retired teacher replied: ‘Don’t you ever speak to me like that again.
‘How dare you speak to me like that?’
Williams said the two men swore at each other before he pushed Mr Ormerod to the floor in self-defence.
Read Related Also: Dramatic moment Japanese rocket engine explodes in a huge fireball a minute into testing
‘I felt scared and pushed him,’ he said.
He said he hadn’t meant to hurt Mr Ormerod, but just to push him away.
‘I thought he was going to get back up,’ he said.
Williams dialled 999 and tried to seek medical assistance, and admitted to police that he had pushed him.
‘I did everything I could to help him,’ he told the court.
Mr Ormerod previously taught maths at Queen Elizabeth’s Grammar School for Boys in Carmarthen and at Welsh language school Ysgol Bro Myrddin
Mr Ormerod died in hospital four days later on September 28 last year having suffered traumatic head and brain injuries.
Williams told the jury he didn’t remember calling Mr Ormerod ‘a fat little ****’ or ‘f***ing ****’ moments after the alleged push, but accepted that he had.
Prosecutor Ian Wright KC previously told how the row flared when the pair were drinking nearby in the Portobello pub.
He said conversation ‘turned to Welsh independence and Welsh politics generally’, with a ‘disagreement’ resulting from their ‘opposing views’.
Mr Wright said there was CCTV of the two men coming together outside a coffee shop a short distance away before Williams allegedly pushed the older man to the floor.
Williams, of Grangetown, Cardiff, denies manslaughter saying he acted in self-defence.
Mr Ormerod previously taught at Queen Elizabeth’s Grammar School for Boys in Carmarthen, and at the Welsh language Ysgol Bro Myrddin.
In a tribute following the widower’s death, his family said he had been a ‘well-respected teacher and member of the community’.
The trial continues.
