‘O’n i mewn carchar tywyll...’

MAE Eilir Owen Griffiths wedi mwynhau gyrfa ddisglair fel cyfansoddwr, arweinydd corau a chyfarwyddwr cerddorol.

Ond y tu ôl i’r wên a’r persona cyhoeddus, roedd Eilir, yn ei eiriau ei hun “mewn carchar tywyll, du.”

I nodi Wythnos Iechyd Meddwl fe fydd Eilir Owen Griffiths yn agor ei galon am ei brofiadau dwys mewn rhaglen arbennig o Dechrau Canu Dechrau Canmol nos yfory.

Dyma’r tro cyntaf iddo siarad mor agored a theimladwy am ei broblemau iechyd meddwl ac yn ystod y rhaglen, fe fydd yn rhannu ei brofiadau gyda’r cyflwynydd Lisa Gwilym.

Yn ystod y sgwrs ddirdynnol, mae Eilir yn rhannu ei brofiad o gyrraedd ymyl y dibyn – argyfwng mwyaf ei fywyd, pan oedd yn barod i droi cefn ar y cyfan.

Aeth at y doctor am help ond pan fyddai’n teimlo’n well roedd yn “pwsho’r help i ffwrdd.”

Daeth argyfwng arall yn ystod Eisteddfod Ryngwladol Llangollen yn 2014 pan oedd Eilir yn Gyfarwyddwr Cerdd ar yr ŵyl – “a wnes i jest torri lawr a dw i’n credu bo fi wedi cael mini breakdown.”

I’w wraig Leah a’i rieni y mae’r diolch ei fod wedi goroesi’r profiad yna, ac fe lwyddodd i barhau gyda’i waith yn yr Eisteddfod y diwrnod canlynol.

Ac ynghanol y cyfnod clo ym mis Rhagfyr 2021, daeth at ymyl y dibyn unwaith eto. Leah oedd wedi delio gyda’r sefyllfa, eglura, gan fynd gyda’i gŵr at y doctor.

“A dyma fo’n dweud ‘you have to stop everything’. A wnes i feddwl ‘Na’. Oedd y syniad yna bod rhywun yn dweud bo fi ddim yn cael arwain côr yn ddinistriol i fi. Yr elfen gerddorol oedd yn cadw fi fynd.”

Ar ôl seibiant dros y Nadolig fe ail-daniodd ei fywyd cerddorol gan arwain CF1 i’r brig yn rownd y corau cymysg yng Nghystadleuaeth Côr Cymru. Fe ddefnyddiodd y cyfnod clo i gyfansoddi Lux (Diolch i Ti) – “sef gosodiad o pan o’n i mewn carchar tywyll, du. Y syniad ydy bod yr Haleliwia yn dechrau’n bell i ffwrdd ac yn raddol mae’n dod yn nes ac yn nes ac, yn y diwedd, yn chwalu waliau’r carchar i lawr.”

Erbyn hyn mae Eilir “mewn lle gwell” ac yn obeithiol am y dyfodol. Mae’n awyddus i helpu eraill drwy siarad am ei brofiadau.

“Siarad – hwnna oedd y wers bwysica’ i fi ddysgu. Ro’n i’n cau lawr, cau lawr, masg i fyny a doeddwn i erbyn y diwedd ddim yn siarad efo’r bobl agosa’ ata’i ac mae mor, mor bwysig alla’i ddim pwysleisio ddigon. A sicrhau bod yna rywun yna i wrando, hyd yn oed pan dach chi’n meddwl bo chi’n hollol ar ben eich hun.”

■ Dechrau Canu Dechrau Canmol, S4C, yfory, 7.30yh

WE’VE long had a soft spot for our Australian cousins and vice versa. The ties that bind our two countries run deep and, between 1945 and 1972, more than one million British residents chose a new life Down Under as part of the Assisted Passage Migration Scheme.

They were affectionately known as ‘Ten Pound Poms’ and they are at the heart of a new six-part drama, starring Michelle Keegan and Warren Brown, created by Bafta-winning Danny Brocklehurst.

It follows a group of Brits who, for just £10, were promised a better house, better job prospects and a better quality of life by the sea in sun-soaked Australia.

After two decades writing contemporary Tv series, Danny says he was keen to “embrace the challenge” of working on his first ever period drama.

“So I sort of dived into it,” the Bafta-winning screenwriter, 51, says of the new BBC1 drama.

More than a million Brits made the journey to embark on a new life in sunnier climes. But, for many, reality didn’t match up to the dream, as they found themselves placed in basic migration hostels, job prospects not as readily available as hoped and navigating the challenges of trying to fit in and start from scratch in a new country, thousands of miles from home.

“I’ve got to be honest, I didn’t really know that much about this period. It is one of those things that was sort of on the edge of my consciousness,” says Danny, whose previous credits include Brassic and Ordinary Lies.

When production company Eleven (the team behind the Netflix smash hit Sex Education) sent him a documentary about the real Ten Pound Poms, he got stuck in researching the history further, quickly realising there was rich “potential” for turning it into a drama.

The resulting six-part series centres largely on husband and wife Annie (Faye Marsay) and Terry (Warren Brown), who are hoping for a fresh start and a chance to leave behind their struggles. Then there's young nurse Kate (Michelle Keegan), who it eventually becomes clear is trying to “rewrite a devastating past”.

Like Danny, the actors were also fascinated to learn more about the stories that inspired the script.

“[It is] such a massive part of Australian and British history that I certainly didn’t know much about,” says 44-year-old Warren (The Responder, Luther). “But then once we were in Australia filming, so many people we were talking to, you would hear of connections – ‘oh, my parents were Ten Pound Poms’ or ‘I knew a Ten Pound Pom’.”

He says the “scripts were brilliant” and the chance to explore something “different” with the character also appealed.

“We see very early on that Terry may have issues with alcohol,” the actor reflects. “As the series progresses, we learn some of the reasons that that’s there. Terry was a soldier, he’s seen some things and he’s very possibly suffering from what

[It is] such a massive part of Australian and British history that I certainly didn’t know much about