A life in pieces
ON SUNDAY, November 5 a new mystery drama series starts on S4C. Un bore Mercher (One Wednesday Morning) promises to take viewers on an emotional journey of love, secrets and lies.
The drama is set in an unassuming and quiet little town in Carmarthenshire. But it’s not long before the characters realise the beautiful area, once a peaceful haven, is actually a melting pot of dark secrets.
The life of the main character, Faith Howells, is transformed when her husband disappears suddenly one Wednesday morning.
As Faith battles to discover the truth behind his disappearance, a host of secrets come to light and she begins to question whether she really knows her husband at all.
Alongside her search for her husband, she struggles to support her young family and keep her law business going.
Faith’s dogged determination on her journey of discovery is mirrored by actress Eve Myles’ efforts to overcome a mammoth challenge while preparing for the part – she had to learn Welsh in order to take on her first Welshlanguage acting role.
Eve was born in Ystradgynlais, but although she heard Welsh around her when she was a child, it wasn’t spoken in her home.
“There was Welsh around but my dad’s Scottish and our family didn’t speak Welsh,” she said.
“When the producers of the series introduced the idea to me and explained the drama was in Welsh, I turned it down. But they contacted me several times and put the script in front of me. I started to read it and I couldn’t put it down. I decided then I’d do anything to get the part,” added Eve, who is well-known for her roles in Torchwood, Broadchurch, Victoria and Little Dorrit.
“It was a huge challenge for me to learn the Welsh-language script but I like a challenge and I certainly got one! There’s no bigger challenge than learning a language in order to get into character.
“Also, I had to stand in front of the cast and crew and convince them I could do it,” recalled Eve, who lives in Cardiff with her husband, actor Bradley Freegard, and their two daughters.
The series’ creator Matthew Hall – who also wrote Kavanagh QC, Dalziel and Pascoe and New Street Law – is himself a former barrister.
Starring alongside Eve are her Broadchurch co-star Matthew Gravelle, who also appears in S4C’s Byw Celwydd, Mark Lewis Jones (Byw Celwydd, National Treasure, Yr Ymadawiad) and Mali Harries and Aneirin Hughes (Y Gwyll/Hinterland).
Un Bore Mercher starts on S4C on Sunday, November 5 at 9pm.