8.2 /10 1 Votes
Country of origin Wales | 8.2/10 IMDb First episode date 16 October 1974 Program creator John Hefin Cast Ioan Gruffudd | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Running time 19 minutes exclusive of commercial breaks Original release 16 October 1974 – present Similar Rownd a Rownd, Gwaith/Cartref, Newyddion, Hinterland, Cyw Profiles | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Pobol y Cwm (People of the Valley; [ˌpɔbɔl ə ˈkʊm]) is a Welsh-language television soap opera which has been produced by the BBC since October 1974. The longest-running television soap opera produced by the BBC, Pobol y Cwm was originally transmitted on BBC Wales television and later transferred to the Welsh-language station S4C when it opened in November 1982.
Contents
Apart from Rugby specials, Pobol y Cwm is consistently the most watched programme of the week on S4C, and in 1994 was briefly shown across the whole of the United Kingdom on BBC2 with English subtitles. Five episodes are produced each week, normally broadcast at 20.00 every weeknight, with a repeat (subtitled in English) shown at 18.30 on the following weekday evening.
From September 2014, following a budget cut of £1m to the programme, the Sunday omnibus ceased broadcasting, and it was announced that the show would be taking two one-week sabbaticals every year. From January 2015, the Wednesday episode was dropped. However, after receiving additional funding later in the year, the Wednesday episode will be restored on 16 December 2015 – seeing Pobol y Cwm resume airing five episodes a week.
Pobol y cwm short random clip
Setting
The setting for the show is the fictional village of Cwmderi, located in the real Gwendraeth Valley – an area lying between Carmarthen and Llanelli in south-west Wales, however unlike other British soaps, little effort is made to create an authentic reflection of the intended locality – only a few of the characters speak with a Carmarthenshire accent. Whilst much of the show's early activity took place at a nursing home, storylines are currently centred on the village pub, Y Deri, and its adjacent small businesses and houses. Other frequent settings for storylines include the comprehensive school, Ysgol y Mynach, and a local farm, Penrhewl. There are two other imaginary villages close to Cwmderi, named Llanarthur and Cwrt Mynach.
Since 2012, the programme has been filmed at Roath Lock in Cardiff Bay, other than a few on-location shoots around Cardiff. The exterior outdoor high street of Cwmderi was recreated from scratch, while many interiors are shot inside the Roath Lock studios.