Programme will show ‘the real Merthyr’
A PLACE of beauty, love and opportunity – that’s how actress Justine Jones sees her hometown of Merthyr.
Justine, who is the cousin of global fashion designer Julien MacDonald, is fighting to show that Merthyr has a lot more going for it than the Gurnos Estate.
And she’s making a documentary about the best people in town to prove her point.
The show, aptly called My Beautiful Merthyr, has been designed in response to the latest “unbalanced footage” shown on the BBC about Merthyr Tydfil.
Justine, 35, from Cefn Coed, said she was really upset after seeing BBC One’s documentary, Valley Cops.
It’s described as a show that shows what policing is like in the Valleys but Justine doesn’t think it presents her home in the best light.
She said: “The recent TV coverage of our town only demonstrates the negative side. Of course Merthyr has its problems, like any other town in the UK, but it is a very small percentage.
“Everywhere has good and bad but the constant bad is being shown and it’s totally unfair on the hardworking community and it has a detrimental effect on businesses and house prices.”
Justine said she was upset when she first saw Valley Cops as there is “so much beauty and positivity” in the town.
She explained when TV crews show up, they often go straight to the Gurnos Estate and focus on people who have been through tough times or who haven’t had the best start in life.
My Beautiful Merthyr aims to show the inspirational and talented Merthyr people who, when tragedy strikes the community, rally around and go above and beyond to raise money and offer support to each other.
Justine said: “We don’t sit back – we fight for what we believe and the community spirit is unbreakable.
“We come together as a town – that’s what makes the Merthyr community what it is.
“The community spirit in Merthyr is really strong – I don’t think you’ll find a community like it anywhere else. “It’s such a nice place to grow up in.
“The way people support each other and stick together when the chips are down.
“I want to show the Merthyr.”
The actress said a lot of people expressed concern on Facebook when Valley Cops was aired.
She said this was mainly because the show didn’t offer any balance.
Justine spoke of how people from all over the town come together to support causes like the Pearl Black Memorial Fund.
Baby Pearl died when she was only one following a tragic accident earlier this year, and Justine is part of a group of local actors who are preparing to take to the stage of the Theatr Soar to honour her memory.
Stage-stars are taking part in I Could Have Been An Astronaut If It Wasn’t For Malachy McAleer completely free of charge, and all proceeds raised will go to Pearl’s memorial fund.
Justine has started producing My Beautiful Merthyr and says she has already spoken with the BBC about possibly airing it on the channel. real spirit of