Famous names who have appeared in Pobol y Cwm

Over the years stars have shone bright down with the people of the valley…

Some of the famous people that have appeared in Pobol y Cwm includes Ioan Gruffudd who was a school pupil when he started on Pobol y Cwm as Gareth Wyn Harries, the adopted son of Reg Harries. The soap was Ioan Gruffudd’s first appearance as an actor. He was part of the cast between 1989 and 1994.

Despite being a young boy continuing his education alongside his acting career, the budding star appeared in several important stories, including illness and his birth mother coming back to the village to search for him.

In June 2019, Hollywood star, Michael Sheen, appeared on the programme as a doctor following a fight on the edge of the old coal mine. Michael’s scenes were filmed on the set of Casualty, which is also filmed at BBC Roath Lock Studios while Iwan Rheon made his screen debut in Pobol y Cwm at the age of 17, in the role of Macsen White. He went on to train at LAMDA and embarked on a successful acting career.

Among several theater productions, Iwan has also acted in the series Misfits, Game of Thrones, Y Golau/The Light in the Hall and the film Men Up.

Alexandra Roach appeared in the series while she was a teenager before going on to study at RADA. She acted the role of Elin Owen, daughter of Rob and Alison Owen. The family came to
Cwmderi in 2001 and moved to the police station flat. Since then, she has starred as Becky in Utopia and DS Joy Freers in No Offence. She has also appeared in Being Human, Inside No. 9, Black Mirror, Killing Eve and Y Golau/The Light in the Hall.

Ruth Jones took part in the first series of Iaith ar Daith, with Gilian Elisa, who played Sabrina in the S4C thrice weekly saga, joining her on her journey to learn Welsh. One of Ruth’s tasks was to act in a scene of Pobol y Cwm in Welsh. In the episode, her car breaks down and she goes to look for help. She meets Garry Monk at a party in the valley and he offers to give her a hand.

Ruth Jones (far right) of Gavin and Stacey fame has appeared in the S4C soap. / BBC

Russell Grant waltzed down to the valley following his appearance on Strictly Come Dancing, Russell came to Cwmderi in 2017 to help with the village’s version of the famous dancing competition, Strictly Cwm Dancing.

Giant Haystacks and El Bandito… The wrestlers Giant Haystacks and El Bandito (Orig Williams) came to the valley in 1990 to take part in a wrestling match. Years later, Orig Williams’ daughter, Tara Bethan, played Angela Probert in the series.

Chat show host and This is Your Life presenter Michael Aspel (pictured top) appeared in the soap back in 2004 when Diane was confident that a jewellery box left to her in Reg Harries’ will was worth a fortune and decided to discover its value through the Antiques Roadshow valuation programme. At the time Michael Aspel was overseeing proceedings on the BBC One series and appeared as himself as its host within the soap.

In 2016 the head of Team Sky Sir Dave Brailsford came to Cwmderi to open the Awyr Iach (Fresh Air) centre. In the episode he compared the close community of Cwmderi to the one in Deiniolen, the village where he grew up.

Big Brother contestants Imogen Thomas & Glyn Wise appeared in the saga a few months after leaving the Channel 4 BB house in October 2006, Imogen went to Cwmnderi to open a new car garage. Glyn appeared later in a separate scene while in 2022, Beti George – a well known Welsh newsreader – appeared in several episodes of Pobol y Cwm but not as herself instead cast as a fictional character called Eunice Gwenhwyfar Griffiths, mother of Ieuan Griffiths.

Beti had never acted before, but as a fan of the series, she accepted the offer as a new challenge.

In 1975 Ray Gravell appeared in the Valley. And a few other rugby stars have also appeared in Cwmderi including Jonathan Davies and Robin McBryde.

In 2017, tenor and presenter Rhys Meirion came to Cwmderi to sing his famous song, Anfonaf Angel, to Anita at a surprise birthday party in the Deri while presenter Lisa Gwilym came to the valley in March 2019 to unveil the village’s new defibrillator.