Pobol Y Cwm - Setting

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. By no means all of the cast speak with local, Carmarthenshire accents, however. Indeed, the fact that there are "incomers" from other Welsh-speaking parts of Wales in the village is one of the programme's features. Much of the activity centres 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, namely Llanarthur and Cwrt Mynach.

While most of the cast are largely unknown to the English-speaking world, Ioan Gruffudd – who later became an international film star – played the part of Gareth Wyn Harries between 1987 and 1994. Other well-known faces who have appeared include Rachel Thomas, Huw Garmon, Gillian Elisa, Ieuan Rhys, Aneirin Hughes, and Gwenno Saunders (of The Pipettes). In October 2006, Imogen Thomas made a cameo appearance.

Gareth Lewis (who played pub landlord Meic Pierce) is the seventh longest-serving actor in a continuous role in British television soap history, while Gwyn Elfyn played the part of village shopkeeper Denzil Rees continuously for nearly 28 years from 1984, making him in January 2012 the tenth longest-serving actor still appearing in a United Kingdom soap opera role.