The popular S4C series has been tackling a topical social issue.
One of the characters in the series Rownd a Rownd has been struggling with a secret battle for six months, and this week, we see things become too much for Mathew as the story reaches its climax.
Following an injury to his foot after falling on the beach, Mathew, the deputy headteacher at Ysgol Glanrafon, took to prescription painkillers. But after the dose finished, he has developed an addiction to the tablets, and has been secretly buying them from Barry and Iestyn. Mathew has recently returned to work at school, but is still taking the drugs as he finds getting back to normality difficult to cope with.
Actor Robin Ceiriog, who plays the part of Mathew, says it’s no surprise that he went down the path of addiction with the character’s history leaning towards being an addict.
“Given that Mathew has a tendency to addiction, taking the strong painkillers, which are opioids, and can be as addictive as heroin, was not a wise choice. But the pain in his foot got the better of him, so it had to be done. Inevitably, he became addicted to them, and has been going through a difficult period of hiding it. As deputy headmaster, he is in a responsible position. It’s pretty easy to hide the addiction from his housemates, but I’m sure it would be a lot harder to do so if he had a wife and children and so on.” – Robin Ceiriog
The problem of dependence on prescription drugs is an important topic that deserves attention on a series such as Rownd a Rownd, Robin says:
“It’s not a story that hasn’t been covered before – in Rownd a Rownd or other soaps – and that underlines how common it is in a way. It’s not just addiction to the tablets, but the knock-on effect on the character’s mental health, which is such an important discussion at the moment, especially in the turbulent times we have been through with Covid and so on. It’s very important for everyone to be open; we’re all flawed, and everyone can suffer from mental health problems. Just one aspect of it is that Mathew uses all sorts of things to escape his demons.” – Robin Ceiriog
While researching the story, several of the production crew have done their share of research ‘The director has looked in detail at how easy it is to get addicted to these tablets,’ says Robin. ‘And I’ve looked into the ’12 Steps Programme’ that those in rehab go through and so on. You have to be true to the experiences that real people have to convey it as accurately as possible.’
Rownd a Rownd, Every Tuesday and Thursday 8.25 pm on S4C
