Spotlight on suburb for new radio comedy
IT’S one of Cardiff’s most famous areas and now Ruth Jones is putting Splott in the spotlight in a brand new radio comedy show.
The Gavin & Stacey actress has written and will star in the six-part BBC Radio Wales comedy, simply titled Splott.
Splott is the story of Mandy, played by Ruth, who is a school cook and single mum to her daughter Cherstey.
When life gets tough Mandy turns to her crazy neighbour Val and her sweet but serial-killer obsessed colleague Kathleen. Bighearted Mandy simply seeks peace, romance and happiness in her life but none of it comes her way without a fight.
Ruth, who was raised in Porthcawl but now lives in Cardiff, said: “Let’s be honest, who can’t help but love the name Splott. A name made more lovable by the fact that it’s a real place nestled in the heart of Wales’ capital. I’m so excited to be playing a strong gutsy Cardiffian in what I hope is going to be a refreshingly daft and silly sitcom on Radio Wales.”
Ruth has made her name playing strong female characters, most famously Nessa in Gavin & Stacey, the comedy she co-created with James Corden.
More recently she’s enjoyed success as the title character in the Sky 1 comedy drama Stella, which she co-created with her husband David Peet.
Splott was built up in the late 19th century on the land of two farms of the same name: Upper Splott and Lower Splott Farms. The area is characterised by its once vast steelworks and rows of tight-knit terraced houses.
Many famous faces were born in Splott, including BBC Radio 4 Today host John Humphrys and BBC Radio 2’s morning traffic presenter Lynn Bowles, who was affectionately nicknamed the “Totty from Splotty” by the late broadcaster Sir Terry Wogan.
While Dame Shirley Bassey was famously born in Tiger Bay, her family moved to Splott when she was just two years old and she attended Moorland Primary School and Splott Secondary Modern School.
The first episode of Splott is on BBC Radio Wales today at 6.30pm.