The original cast of Rownd A Rownd: What happened next and where are they now?
OSeptember 11, 1995, the first Celtic-language soap opera aimed at a young audience was broadcast on S4C. Rownd A Rownd (Round and Round) was Wales’ answer to the likes of Brookside and Grange Hill; a soap opera aimed at teenagers and young adults.
Based in the fictional harbour town of Glanrafon in Anglesey, Rownd A Rownd was a truly groundbreaking programme when it first aired.
The show is North Wales through and through, with the series filmed at locations in Menai Bridge, Caernarfon, Llangefni and Bangor.
Having recently celebrated its 26th anniversary, we thought it was time to look back its original cast and check in on them.
This is the full cast of Rownd A Rownd as it was back in 1995 when episode one of the soap’s first season aired –and what they did next.
Dyfrig Evans - Arwell ‘Ari’ Jones
Since appearing in that first episode of Rownd A Rownd as a fresh-faced 15-yearold, Evans has enjoyed several starring TV roles in Wales, even making moves into English-speaking programmes. He played alongside his Rownd A Rownd cast-mate in the series Emyn Roc A Rol, about four men in a rock band, before featuring in Hinterland, Darren Drws Nesa and Hidden.
Dyfrig was part of the Indie group Topper during the 1990s. The band called it a day in 2000 but Dyfrig has since kept up something of a successful solo project running parallel with his acting career. Emyr Prys Davies - Dylan
Dylan, one of the two Parri kids, was played by Emyr Prys Davies.
Emyr grew up in Llangefni and enjoyed his first acting role on Rownd A Rownd when he was just a teenager.
He studied law at Aberystwyth University in 1999, and later played the role of Kevin in the series Emyn Roc A Rol, alongside Dyfrig Evans.
Whether the role inspired his passion, or vica versa, Emyr is now a longstanding member of the Welsh rock band Yws Gwynedd, playing bass for the outfit who regularly sweep the Welsh Music Awards.
Davies voices the Welsh dub of Thomas The Tank Engine for the programme Thomas And Friends.
Fflur Medi Owen - Ffion
Playing Dylan’s annoying and persistent younger sister was Fflur Medi Owen, who was just 12 when she was cast in the role.
Like Emyr Prys Davies, she has been a long-term presence on Rownd A Rownd but has also enjoyed a flurry of high-profile roles in Welsh cinema and TV since her first appearance on the soap in 1995.
Following in the footsteps of co-star Dyfrig Evans, she has appeared on Darren Drws Nesa and more recently 35 Diwrnod.
She received plaudits for her portrayal of Elin in the series Pili Pala, charting the life of a woman who discovers her unborn child has a rare genetic disorder.
Owen also appeared in It’s My Shout, a collection of Welsh short films for TV and has started doing standup comedy.
She is currently an advocate for Welsh independence.
Dafydd Dafis - Glyn
Glyn Parri (Ffion and Dylan’s father) was played by Welsh musician Dafydd Dafis, who had already made a name for himself as an accomplished saxophonist by the time he joined Rownd A Rownd.
He left Rownd A Rownd in 1997 and went on to enjoy roles in Township, Flowers, Pen Talar and Herring Gate.
Dafis was ruled to have taken his own life in 2017 after he was found dead by Bangor University staff in Menai Bridge. He was 58.
Dewi Morris - Islywn
This Swansea native was already a veteran of Welsh TV by the time he appeared as Islywn in Rownd A Rownd, having earned credits with Hawkmoor, Off To Philadelphia In The Morning and Taff Acre.
He was a mainstay of the soap, playing the proprietor of the newsagent Ffion worked at, before leaving in 2007.
A huge rugby fan, Morris often appears in TV docs about the game and appeared in a TV documentary about BBC Wales on its 50th anniversary in 2014.
He was award an honorary degree by Swansea University in 2019.
Morris’ most recent role was in the indie film Toll, released earlier this year, when he acted alongside Game Of Thrones star Iwan Rheon.
Ifan Huw Dafydd - Bryn
Perhaps one of the most high-profile thespians to ever grace the Rownd A Rownd set, Ifan Huw Dafydd played the role of Bryn, the town funeral director and father to Ari.
Ifan has made numerous TV appearances in both Wales and England since 1995, most notably starring in Foyle’s War, Midsomer Murders and The Last Detective.
Since he appeared as Neil Jenkins in the third season of Gavin And Stacey, he has starred in a string of vastly popular shows including Netflix’s The Crown and Sherlock alongside Benedict Cumberbatch.
He also does the Welsh voiceover for Fireman Sam. Bethan Dwyfor - Ann Playing Ann Parri, mother to Ffion and Dylan, was Bethan Dwyfor, a regular on the show since its inception in 1995.
Like co-stars Dyfrig Evans and Emyr Prys Davies, she appeared in 2004’s Emyn Roc A Rol and has also
enjoyed roles in Talcen Caled and Tipyn O Stad.
Her most recent TV roles include 2017’s Living a Lie.
Dwyfor is also a major player in Welsh film and theatre, where she has most notably featured Arwyr and Living Cellar. Nia Williams - Nia
Familiar face at the town cafe, Nia was played by namesake Nia Williams. The actress hasn’t featured in anything else
since the soap opera began in 1995.
Arwel Roberts - Roger
Arwel Roberts played another of the show’s many loveable rogues – Roger, son of Islywn. Roberts left the show in 1999, deciding to step back from acting and focus on his musical career with the band Mega, although he did return to Rownd A Rownd briefly in 2000.
As with pretty much everyone else on this list, he starred in 2004’s Emyn Roc A Rol, after which he has worked mainly in the production side of TV as a cameraman.
In 2006 he released a solo EP entitled In A Big World. He is also a children’s TV presenter in Wales.
Tirion Roberts and Tudur Roberts Mal and Sneips
Delinquents and bullies Mal and Sneips were depicted by Tirion Roberts and
Tudur Roberts.
Both are strangely elusive online with little by way of a web presence, in fact it is hard to find out anything regarding Tirion Roberts.
However Tudur Roberts appeared (alongside a myriad of Rownd a Rownd cast members) in 2004’s Emyn Roc a Rol, playing the role of a policeman.
Owain Arwyn Owen - Mei
Mei was known as being involved in the series’ first love triangle – with Awel and Lowri Mai. The role was played by Owain Arwyn Owen.
He has since enjoyed several roles on English TV, including Coronation Street, Hinterland, Craith and Hidden.
Owen’s most recent role was on the groundbreaking show It’s A Sin, where he starred alongside Ollie Alexander of Years & Years. The thespian is also a regular on BBc Radio Wales.
Sian Arfon - Awel
Sian Arfon played the role of Awel, one of the cafe regulars and a member of a gaggle of schoolgirls at the centre of the show’s gossip.
She was also the main part of the MeiLowri Mai-Awel love triangle.
Though Sian Arfon later told BBC Wales that her experience on the show was enjoyable, she decided to completely turn her back on acting after leaving the show in 1996.
She’s now a fully qualified doctor who worked throughout the pandemic.
Bethan Ellis Owen - Lowri Mai
The final part of that teenage love triangle, Lowri Mai, friend of Awel, was played by Bethan Ellis Owen.
She is yet another Rownd A Rownd actor to have appeared in Emyn Roc A Rol and was in the 1999 film Solomon and Gaenor. In 2004 she joined S4C cornerstone Pobol Y Cwm, portraying Ffion Morgan (later Llywelyn) and has been there ever since.
She is a regular theatre actor and has been treading the boards in a National Theatre production of The Nurses since 2018.