Newport councillor suspended after bizarre TV appearance

A Tory councillor who appeared on a Channel 4 documentary about being a "serial dad" has been suspended just days after being elected. Councillor Nick Baneswell, 57, had fathered 10 children by five different women when he appeared on the show Serial Dads in 2018. The pub landlord went on to be selected as a Welsh Conservative candidate in the Newport by-election and won his seat on May 7, becoming a Rogerstone North councillor. He has since been suspended from the party but says no reason has been given for the axing. Locals believe the suspension is linked to his 2021 appearance on the show which has been shared online since his election victory. During the show Cllr Baneswell, who appears under his real name of Nick Portman, brags he has "never carried a condom" and that flirting with women "goes with the job" of running a pub. At the time of the show Cllr Baneswell was in a relationship with his then fiancee Lauren with whom he had a 10-month-old baby. The programme reveals the couple met when Lauren was a teenager and Cllr Baneswell was 27 years her senior. Lauren was 17 at the time they met and the councillor was 44. The couple are understood to have separated shortly after the broadcast. For the biggest stories in Wales first sign up to our daily newsletter here Cllr Baneswell said: "Myself and the Conservative Party in Newport do not know why at the moment we are in the dark and have sent off emails." Fellow Newport Conservative Matthew Evans said: "I’m astonished, especially when he hasn’t been given a reason why and nobody knows the reason why he’s been suspended from the party. He’s been told he’ll know in due course." An official spokesperson for the Welsh Conservative Party said: "Nick has been suspended from the Conservative Party pending an investigation. As this is an ongoing and confidential process it would be inappropriate to comment further." During the documentary Cllr Baneswell said: "The relationship that I’m in now with Lauren, we’ve got a ten month old baby and I’ve got to go work. She’ll want me home and I can’t be home – I like to do my thing. You know, if I want to go out – I’m going out." And he told the cameras despite his 10 children he was open to fathering more. He said: "When do you say having enough children is enough? You can’t say that, because you never know what is going to happen in the future, you never know about the next person that you meet, the person that you’re with, you never know what’s around the corner." During the programme girlfriend Lauren discovered he was receiving texts from other women and had "cheated" on her before. He told the camera: "This is the first time I’ve had somebody stalk me. Because I’m in the public sector I feel that this is what I do for a living. I basically ignore them, like you know, I don’t usually text them back." He said despite his cheating his partner has "no choice" but to stick with him. Inviting her to walk out the door of their home there and then on camera, Lauren replied: "No, I love you too much."