Beyond The Hub A Sad Farewell to Faith Howells by DJ Forrest

 

There’s never been a dull moment in the Howell’s household, from its early beginnings to its final tragic outcome in season three, with kidnappings, murder, secrets and lies, yep, there’s definitely nothing quiet about the lives of the Howell’s.   

In the first season of Un Bore Mercher/Keeping Faith, Evan Howells is keeping too many secrets from his wife, and one Wednesday morning, disappears. She sees him as usual pulling the car away from the front of the house, and the next instant, he’s gone, and for a long while it seems, never to return. A search is on for details of Evan’s disappearance, and a substantial amount of money from the company accounts which has cleaned them out, leads Faith to discover that Evan has bitten off more than he can chew with the likes of the Vaughan’s and the Reardon’s. 

Evan may have appeared the model citizen, but when he worked with the Vaughan’s and Gael Reardon, he was anything but a saint. It led to Faith to discover what her husband had been up to before he disappeared. It put them all in danger, including young Alys, her eldest child. It led to Steve Baldini, who she had acted as solicitor for, who had promised to look out for her and her family, who knew things about Evan that even Faith didn’t know about. It led to her falling for this rugged bad boy Baldini, and towards the end of the season, you really, really hoped she would… 

Season One introduced us to a wealth of characters. The extended family including Evan’s sister and her policeman husband. Evan’s mum who came clean as to who his biological father was, after a DNA test put Tom nowhere in the picture. 

When Evan finally returned, when the truth came out about his involvement with the Vaughan’s and Reardon’s, that level of trust that Faith had had for him was well and truly lost. It also brought with it corrupt police activity in the form of the Police Sergeant who was determined to connect Faith with the disappearance of her husband, and the death of a dentist. 

Season Two saw Evan in prison, but the investigation was still ongoing and Gael Reardon was putting the pressure on Faith with packages and envelopes and handovers, that were caught on camera. Alys had reached the obnoxious teenager stage and who can blame her with the craziness of family life. Arthur, the down and out drunk in the first season, who came into his own towards the end, and became a firm friend of Faith’s and became the new childminder, and the whole family appreciated his help, even when Evan was released from prison. 

Evan hadn’t properly adapted to family life and was still tracking Faith, uncovering her investigation, the photos and paperwork from deals and contracts which had led to them almost going under in the first season. Tom had separated from Marion, and was living on his boat in the harbour. His secretary declared her undying love for him, which was very sweet, and Marion developed a limp and a walking aid and had aged incredibly after the trauma of losing her son and then her husband in swift succession. I’m not sure if Evan truly forgave his Mum for lying to him about his father. 

In Season Three, a newcomer came to town, stirring up trouble and looking for revenge. Faith’s estranged mother came for a visit, to stir up trouble, and cause untold mayhem and chaos for Faith and her family. Her concern for daughter and her grandchildren was a mask for why she was really in town and the final showdown was the icing on the cake. Her swansong. 

The final episode was a true heart breaker and tear jerker. Hankies were definitely required. Staring down the barrel of a handgun, Faith saw the darkness of the mother scorned. Her revenge was to eliminate everything her daughter truly loved, to make her feel as bad as her own life had become. But Faith, was a different person when she left home and left the clutches of her mother – a woman she never loved, or trusted. It unnerved her that she was in town, and home truths had to be laid on the table when Faith finally owned up to some things in her past, she had hoped would remain buried. When Tom learnt the truth, he ended his business relationship with Faith’s mother, who had come in to put some business his way. 

Matthew Hall, writer and creator of Keeping Faith has a way of drawing you into a character and their lives, bringing them to life before your eyes. Introducing a character who for much of the story is a regular kind of Jo, with a family, living in a small Welsh coastal town, and everything is pretty much, normal, but then taking the normal, and turning it into something bigger, stronger, brasher and introducing us to characters who you want to root for. Some you want to slap, and others you might want to hit in the face with a chair. But certainly, you find yourself humming the theme tune while working, see character scenes opening up in your head. It’s been a wonderful series and I’m only disappointed that it’s come to its natural end, but what an ending. 

It’s going to take some time to find a series that will fill the void of Un Bore Mercher/Keeping Faith. 

We Will Miss You, Faith Howell’s.

 

 

Interviews The Nathan Wyburn Interview by DJ Forrest

 

 

Have you always made portraits from bits and pieces of anything? 

Nathan: For the past decade yes! I love using everyday items that anyone kind of has laying around or are easily accessible in a supermarket! 

Were you always interested in alternative art? What or who got you into alternative art? It's really impressive.

Nathan: Thank you! It was always portraits; Andy Warhol was a huge inspiration. The alternative (weird) art began with a toast and Marmite portrait of Simon Cowell! Then I was hooked! 

Do you create your pieces in a controlled area? (As in, if you're working with soil and it's a windy day outside, would that hamper your work, and so you'd work indoors?) 

Nathan: There’s a lot to think about! Wind, birds stealing my toast... haha! Things many artists wouldn’t have to consider but I find that’s the fun of it! I love location pieces but also my studio, is my happy place! 

When you're working with any piece of art, especially when you're creating your toast and marmite portraits, do you work from a sketch first, or do you know exactly which piece is going to go where? 

Nathan: I pretty much go straight for it, if I’m filming, I’ll sketch some outlines if it’s on a canvas for guidance - but if it’s food, generally just dive right in! 

Where did your imagination begin for art work? 

Nathan: A newspaper headline about Simon Cowell that said you love him or hate him... I thought MARMITE! Then began the journey... pizza, chocolate, make up etc it all happened! 

Did you ever expect it to take off into, say a full-time job? 

Nathan: Not at all. I think that’s always a worry for creatives, I use social media as my gallery and I think that’s helped a lot along the way - as well as a good few TV appearances. 

How much preparation time do you do between each portrait? 

Nathan: Next to nothing to be honest - I work so fast and I have to be on the ball with what current events I’m depicting. It’s very impulsive and reactive to world events and celebrity stories. 

Have you been commissioned to create artwork for anyone in the Who/Torchwood world? 

Nathan: Not for the specially but by fans or events such as Wales Comic Con etc!I’ve created portraits of Russell T Davies using fake blood fingerprints based on his latest series It’s a Sin. I’ve made John Barrowman by literally torching wood... several Eve Myles artworks, Billie Piper in lipstick, David Tennant on a pizza... the list goes on! 

What is the biggest challenge when you're creating art pieces? What challenges have you experienced or faced when putting together an exhibition of your work for the public? 

Nathan: Every day is a new day on the job for me. I love trying out new things. Mostly it’s just weather challenges or kids trying to steal the food haha! Nothing too serious but that’s part of the fun!! 

Aside from the art work, do you work in any other capacity? 

Nathan: Yes, I have a radio show on Radio Cardiff, I do a lot of charity work and also sing a little bit too. I’d love to present my own art show! 

Who is your inspiration for your artwork? 

Nathan: Andy Warhol mostly - but my ideas come from world news and current affairs. 

As I'm sure you're a big fan of Torchwood, or of Eve Myles, have you ever met any of the stars of the show - with living in Wales, you must have seen a few, out shopping maybe :D I loved your Keeping Faith art of Eve. That was amazing. 

Nathan: Thank you! Eve has become a good friend, which is so lovely to be able say. Also, I converse with Russell a lot online - he’s such an incredible talent! I’ve met all of the cast at different points, at the BAFTA’s, in theatre or whilst working at Con’s. 

When you're not working on any project, how do you relax? Or are you always planning your next project? 

Nathan: Always thinking and planning! But I’m a big fan of long walks and a good hot bath!!! 

For many, the lockdown's have been pretty hard. I'd imagine for yourself; Lockdown has been a kind of blessing - plenty of projects to keep you going - but have there been any dark days when you've felt pretty low - how did you resolve them? 

Nathan: Yes. More so at the start it was just such a worry with all my travelling and work getting cancelled. But I locked myself in my studio - and created work about the world changing! There was nothing else to do! I’m proud to say I’ve made some of my favourite work in this time and kept myself going pretty well!! People needed ART! 

What are you looking forward to once Lockdown is lifted and we're all vaccined? 

Nathan: Travelling! Making art all around the world and having a good ole party! 

With your images of John Barrowman, Russell T Davies, and Eve Myles, I have to ask - are you a fan of Torchwood? 

Nathan: Of course!! I loved it the first time round and watched it all again on BBC iPlayer during lockdown!!! 

Eve Myles holding a baby whilst shooting guns... perfection! 

What advice would you give someone who wanted to start creating artwork today? 

Nathan: Just be true to you! Make work that means a lot to you and you can’t go far wrong. 

If you could meet your 12-year-old self, what advice would you give him? 

Nathan: Keep working! You’re in for a hell of a ride if you just believe in yourself!! 

Did I hear that you're going to be in a film about one of your events? Can you tell us more about that? 

Nathan: Sure, it’s already been press released last year which is exciting. Eve Myles is writing a Christmas movie about one of my events I put on with my best mate and radio co presenter Wayne. It was called Dragged To Church. It’ll be based upon how the church approached two members of the LGBTQ community (us) for help to raise money for essential repairs. We gathered local drag queens to put on a festive show like no other. It was joyous and ground-breaking! We are so excited to be working with Eve. She’s an icon! 

And finally, what would be your biggest ambition as an artist? 

Nathan: To have my own art show and to make a difference. 

Diolch yn fawr Nathan.

If you want to find out more about Nathan and his artwork or follow him on social media, here are a few links you might need. Also look out for him in the Cardiff Life Magazine and tune in to Radio Cardiff. 

www.nathanwyburn.com

Twitter, Facebook & Instagram @NathanWyburnArt

www.youtube.com/wyzynathan

 

Columnist at Cardiff Life Magazine

Presenter at Radio Cardiff

Connections We Hunt Together

In the classic tale of Cat and Mouse, Freddy Lane joins forces with Baba Lenga, after she's assaulted outside a nightclub alleyway, and beat a murderous path through the city, while DS Lola Franks and her new boss DI Jackson Mendy, set out to track them down.

Stars Babou Ceesay as Jackson Mendy and Eve Myles as DS Lola Franks.

Written by Gaby Hull for 6 full episodes.

We've done the research so you don't have to.

Cast 

Eve Myles played DS Lola Franks for 6 episodes. Played Gwen Cooper for 41 episodes of Torchwood from 2006 - 2011, voiced Gwen Cooper in Miracle Day: Web of Lies series for all 8 episodes in 2011. Also played Gwen for 2 episodes of Doctor Who in 2008 and was introduced to us in The Unquiet Dead as Gwyneth Cooper in 2005.

Revived her character for Big Finish Audios - Torchwood Range

Check out our 2013 interview with Eve on our Interviews Page.

Connor Calland played Leo for 2 episodes. Played Security Guard Richard in Doctor Who episode Resolution in 2019, and also voiced Grimble in Torchwood audio The Sins of Captain John for Big Finish in 2019. Along with adding his voice to David, Sammy and Crowd Member for Torchwood, series 6, Volume 1 Big Finish audio in 2018, and voiced Blue, Sabre and Tank in Doctor Who: Vanguard, episode 2 for Big Finish also in 2018.

Check out our Interview with Connor on our Interviews Page.

Nick Malinowski played Sergeant Grady for 2 episodes. Played Eric in Doctor Who episode A Christmas Carol in 2010.

Michael Bertenshaw played Martin for 2 episode. Played Mr Cole in Doctor Who episode The Next Doctor in 2008.

Martyn Mayger played a Teacher for 1 episode. Played a UNIT soldier in Doctor Who episode The Day of the Doctor in 2013, uncredited.

Cinematography

Oli Russell was cinematographer for 3 episodes.  Was camera operator for 6 episodes of Doctor Who Confidential from 2007 - 2010. Was camera operator for Doctor Who Greatest Moments for 1 episode in 2009.

Production Management

Radford Neville was head of production: BBC Studios for 6 episodes. Was head of production for 20 episodes of Doctor Who from 2018 - 2020.

Sound Department

Doug Sinclair was supervising sound editor for 6 episodes. Was sound editor for 41 episodes of Doctor Who from 2005 - 2009, and dialogue editor for 1 episode in 2009.

Was supervising sound editor for 26 episodes of Torchwood from 2006 - 2008 and sound supervisor for 5 episodes in 2009.

Was supervising sound editor for 8 episodes of SJA in 2007, audio post production for 2 episodes in 2007 and audio post production for 1 episode in 2007.

Was also music editor for Doctor Who: The Adventure Games - Blood of the Cybermen and City of the Daleks in 2010 and Dreamland for the first episode in 2009.

Music Department

Goetz Botzenhardt was score mixer for 6 episodes. Mixed music for 10 episodes of Doctor Who in 2020, was score mixer for 5 episodes in 2018, recording engineer for 1 episode in 2018, music mixer for 2 episode in the same year and score engineer and mixer for 1 episode in 2018.

Who Reviews The Unquiet Dead by Tony J Fyler

Tony’s neither quiet nor dead

There are many ‘types’ of Doctor Who story. The contemporary Earth in danger of invasion or destruction. Outer space drama. Base under siege.

And there’s the Hinchcliffe-style story, the horror-tinged, supernatural-creatures-revealed-to-be-alien story.

The Unquiet Dead absolutely fits into that category, with angels and demons and walking corpses in Victorian London.

Dickensian London.

Because that’s another thing – there had been rare occasion in Classic Who when the Doctor and friends came close enough to famous people to qualify as a ‘celebrity historical’ story – Hello, Mark of the Rani, mmm, not quite, City Of Death – but The Unquiet Dead feels like a deliberate attempt to stamp celebrity historicals into the DNA of New Who. If you have a time machine, after all, why would you not meet your heroes?

There’s so much that’s tonally joyous about The Unquiet Dead – Dickens on tour, in Cardiff, in a story of gaseous ‘spirits’ and their impact for good or ill on the lives of the living. Gwyneth, the psychic servant-girl who determines to give her angels the bridge they need to come through from their wraith-like existence into our world. The tension between Rose Tyler, who believes letting aliens inhabit human corpses is fundamentally wrong, and the Doctor, the alien with an unsentimental approach to life and death, who sees the corpses as simple resources, lifeboats for a species who are drowning, the results of the war between the Daleks and the Time Lords. His view of the universe is bigger than Rose’s, but it’s also tinged with survivor-guilt, with the oppressive sense of responsibility that brings with it, the determination to do anything he can to appease his species’ responsibility for the displacement of the Gelth.

There are classic chills in the form of screaming old dead ladies full of gas-creatures and the almost vampiric ‘dead rising from their coffins’ sequence, and no less an actor than Simon Callow follows in the footsteps of Zoe Wanamaker, bringing series dramatic chops to Doctor Who, in the way the show always used to do, but updated for the 21^st century – John Nathan-Turner would absolutely envy Russell T Davies’ ability to secure star names in major Doctor Who roles, the difference possibly being that where JN-T frequently relied on celebrities to bring viewers to the show, Davies regularly gave them crucial things to do, crucial arcs to follow, which not only attracted actors on the basis of the acting challenge, but made it actively interesting to watch them as characters, rather than as simple pawns in a game of celebrity-bingo (Kenn Dodd, Hale and Pace, we’re looking at you. Nicholas Parsons, not so much). Wanamaker was the chief villain of her story, and Callow steps into the shoes of Dickens to give us a human story of a man unsure he had anything left to give, unsure he had any stories, any capacity to believe in the goodness of humanity left. In fact, he’s on record as saying he took the role in the story because he believed the Dickens role was written as truly to character as could be given the circumstances. That was a mark of what was to come in New Who – character, plot and adventure would take precedence over stunt casting.

Well, OK, Kylie Minogue, but even then, she was given a real role to play.

The Unquiet Dead mixes aliens-as-supernatural-horror, Dickens, the new Doctor’s survivor-guilt and above all, the performance of relative newbie Eve Myles as Gwyneth, who’s no genius, who has few advantages in life, but who embodies the capacity of people to show compassion to those unlike themselves, to reinvigorate the tired old man with a sense of hope and humour, and the impossible made real. And while we fear, early on, that the Doctor’s alien perspective in this story is tinged with guilt and that he may be wrong in giving the Gelth the chance to use human corpses, that he may be letting his instincts for saving people cloud his judgment of motives, and while that fear of course is ultimately justified, there’s something that resonates between Gwyneth’s simple human compassion and his complex alien version, and gives us hope.

Compassion, self-sacrifice, and the ability to be surprised by the world, the universe and its people all thrum through The Unquiet Dead, either in spite of or in tandem with its creepy space-possessing gas-zombies, misty Victorian streets, and the obvious red-blue, demons-and-angels deception. In essence, it both eats its cake and has it, scaring the younglings with a credible horror narrative, taking the Doctor and Rose back in human history and letting them meet a celebrity, giving that celebrity a strong narrative of evolution in his own right, and showing the difference between guilt-based compassion and the simple urge to help the homeless souls who ask for aid. It’s a stunning balancing act, and more than either of the first two stories in Series 1, it highlights the level of storytelling that viewers could expect of this new version of an old favourite – storytelling that includes sophisticated moral lessons, silliness, character arcs, sacrifice and the power of compassion and acceptance to change both people and the world around them.

And importantly, it worked. It worked so well that celebrity historical stories have become a regular feature of New Who – from Dickens, through Queen Victoria, Shakespeare, Agatha Christie, Winston Churchill and on to Rosa Parks, Ada Lovelace and Noor Inayat Khan, to Nikola Tesla and Thomas Edison, celebrity historicals could have died a death with The Unquiet Dead had it been less great than it is. But instead, it proved that the Doctor bumping into famous people and having adventures with them, solving problems with the help of some of history’s best or most complicated human beings, could restore at least some of the show’s initial 1960s ethos of both entertaining through science-fiction and educating its young audience on particular episodes or periods in history.

The Unquiet Dead stands up fifteen years after broadcast because it’s written, like the best of the Classic era, as Doctor Who for children, not in the sense that it condescends, but inasmuch as it teaches the lessons that can help children become better, more engaged, compassionate adults.

Plus, y’know – Dickens!

Reviews Smashed by Tony J Fyler

Tone’s nnno’drunk…honesht. S’just…just…Thing.

Alcohol, like fire, is a good servant, and merciless evil bastard of a master. It can help you shut out the voice of insecurity in your head, it can lower your inhibitions, it can make the unthinkable feel like the easiest thing in the world. And it can steal away your borderlines, can turn you inside out, can make that voice come roaring back, and out, and take everybody down with you.

Alcohol is powerful, for good and for ill.

In Torchwood – Smashed, many of the characters, and most especially Gwen Cooper, played by Eve Myles, spend the majority of the run-time getting increasingly drunk. 

Hammered. Plastered. Shitfaced. Smashed.

As a dramatic exercise, that sounds rather like fun. But it’s the reasons…ohhh the reasons…behind the increasing intoxication that give Smashed both its social and political currency and the vein of darkness running right through the centre of the funny drunk people.

Glynteg was a town once. A community. But its heart, its soul, its reason for being and its ability to function as a town has been stripped. Sliced. Peeled away, layer of funding cut by layer of business closure, until Glynteg is little more than a smudge on the map where a town used to be, and where those who can’t afford to go anywhere else live.

Then the frackers came. Drillpak came.

There were refused permission to actively frack in Glynteg, but using the defunct old refinery as a way to sluice off fracking water…surely no-one could object to that?

Except things are not right in Glynteg. People are oddly ill. People who’ve drunk the water out of their own taps.

Once.

Just once.

People hear a voice in their head, a thirsty, dark, insistence voice. And then they give in.

Or, if they want to survive, they drink. Alcohol – when the water of Glynteg gets into your system, you drink, or you’re done. And once you’ve begun, you have to keep going. Once you’re drunk, you have to stay drunk, to keep the voice, and the pain, and the change at bay.

The thing about a James Goss script is he’s never afraid to pick elements of genuine science and smash them together to make something new and terrifying. The reason behind the Glynteg terror is part-fracking, part-something-else-in-the-news that locates this story in a very modernistic era of Torchwood. What’s more, Gwen’s being there at all, and the reason she’s investigating Drillpak is not classic Torchwood, but rebuilding, desperate, clawing-back-from-the-brink Torchwood – it’s a job done for the money, rather than because of the fear of alien intervention. It’s Drillpak who are paying her to investigate the complaints of the locals, to see what, if anything, needs to be done.

Gwen does encounter some fairly classic enviro-disaster tropes though: a protestor who refuses to move on and give up, Martyn (played by Omar Austin), who becomes her companion on this adventure despite having no head for alcohol himself; obstreperous locals who absolutely don’t have pitchforks or dire warnings about going up to the castle, but who nevertheless add a chorus of dark foreboding to the piece; and a smooth site manager whose reassurances are a little too slick for comfort.

What’s happening to the sluice-water at Glynteg? Mmmm, that would not only be telling, it would be to rob you of the increasing heartbeat-throb of genuine fear that invests the piece. Ultimately though, the story becomes a battle between the ever-increasingly intoxicated Gwen, who gets louder and less coherent as she goes on, and both the forces of the underground Other and those on the surface who’ve succumbed to them, as well as one particular person who knows more about what’s going on than they initially admit.

Gwen Cooper’s a Welsh Valleys girl – she can hold her drink. But how much, and how long, before her preventative drunkenness overwhelms her ability to save the world?

Smashed is absolutely an odd idea for a story, but some solid performances from the principle actors, (it’s worth listening out for Omar Austin here, he gives good companion and never falls into the inherent plot-serving traps of such a role), as well as some truly unnerving sound design, help turn what must have been either a hellishly complex or a hellishly freewheeling script into something that pulses with human realism and a creepy sense of increasing fear as control over events slips away beneath a fog of alcohol.

Give Smashed a listen – as Gwen says, ‘It’s like a Saturday night in Neath out there.’ Which, for the non-Welsh among us, means it’s wild, dangerous, absolutely off its face and not without the imminent threat of danger – but fantastic fun into the bargain.

Beyond The Hub Un Bore Mercher/Keeping Faith, Series 2 by DJ Forrest

Un Bore Mercher returned to our screens on May 12^th, 2019 with a continuation of the story arc from the first series, only with a dash of a murder trial of a young disabled woman, Madlen Vaughan, played by Aimee-Ffion Edwards, accused of killing her husband. As with the first series, the twists and turns appear to connect with not just Faith’s husband, Evan, but with a blonde bombshell who is still ruffling feathers, and is determined to get what she wants, in whatever way she can.

Gael Reardon returns but not as you remember her, and she’s a lot feistier than her predecessor. The actress who played Gael in the first series was unable to continue as the character in this series, and so in to take her place is Anastasia Hille, who really turns on the Reardon charm, and I’d be more inclined to mistrust this Gael than the previous. In fact, I wouldn’t want to bump into her in a dark alley, or one in daylight – she's scary!

Things have changed in the police house too. Matthew Gravelle does not appear in this series, sadly. I miss him! And in his place, demoted down to black uniform and riding a push bike, is Susan, his former boss, who in the last series we saw carted off for all manner of offences against Faith in the previous series. Could this be a better Susan we see? Will we be able to trust her judgement? Will Faith trust it?

Demi Letherby is one to watch. I just love her performance as young Alys. Although we’re not sure who was driving the car in the episode of the ‘hit and run’ it’s fair to say that, the Reardon’s are not far from the scene.

This season we see that Evan is not as squeaky clean as he first appears to be. His dealings with the Reardon’s have driven a wedge between his family, to the point that eldest daughter Alys is just not ready to have him back in her life. Everything is happening too fast for her to cope with. The memories of the first season where she was held at gunpoint, still fresh in her memory.

Happy to see that down and out, ex-Army, Arthur is part of the family now, by managing the children while Faith works. Evan also has no qualms about the young man looking after his family, but he draws the line at Steve Baldini, and strong threats are issued when they meet at the hospital.

Whereas the first season centred around Faith’s search for the truth of her husband’s disappearance and the fake identity he had used, for whatever reason, she was still trying to uncover. Series Two explores more of the continued relationship that Gael Reardon has with Evan Howells and how she manipulates both to get what she wants.

Although, new Police involvement, by DI Laurence Breeze played by Rashan Stone, blows trouble back towards Faith and her family, and the knowledge that the secret deals in garden centres, and watches handed over to jewellers hasn’t gone unnoticed.

Season 1 set the scene for Evan’s disappearance, and Faith’s search for the truth. Season 2, has discovered the truth and the lies, which continue to grow throughout, and by so many, and leaves Faith reeling from it all, feeling extremely exhausted and unable to hold it all together. 

You feel for her character, not just because it’s Eve Myles playing the role, but because Faith has been a character you’ve seen go through the mill and come out the other end, a far stronger person for it. But by god, what a struggle she’s had.

Keeping Faith is a brilliantly well casted series, full of terrific background scenery, and aerial shots. Full of Welsh accents and Welsh language. Full of tension and high drama, and laughter and silliness, and fun, and sadness, and edge of the seat stuff and oh, so many familiar faces, and finger pointing at the screen, and whoops of delight.

I’d love to see a third series but I guess we’ll have to wait and see if that is at all possible.

Interviews Matthew Hall by DJ Forrest

Helo Matthew, thank you so much for following us. I'm loving the series, I hadn't realised that the initial launch of the drama was in Welsh, and that it was called One Wednesday Morning. I'd been waiting for Keeping Faith to appear on my screen for some time, so was at first, a little confused.

The new series for BBC 1 Wales comes out next year I believe, how will that play out? Will the series be dubbed in English, or will the same scenes be played out in English?

Matthew: The English version comes out from mid Feb. Initially on BBC Wales, but we hope it will be shown on BBC 2 soon after and are currently talking to the BBC about that.

There were five co-producers involved, including the S4C, BBC Wales, Pinewood Studios, a US distributor and a distributor for the rest of the world. We are intending for the show to travel far and wide!

The English episodes will be 10 minutes longer at 60 minutes each. Each scene was shot in both English and in Welsh, so you will see literally nothing of the Welsh version in the English one. The Amy Wadge songs are also different. It will be a substantially different experience and for my money will hang together a bit better. Quite a few difficult cutting decisions have been made in order to get the show down to 50 minutes.

When you said it took 5 years from outline to screen - why was the reason for that?

I wrote the first treatment for Keeping Faith / Un Bore Mercher in late 2012 and shared it with Pip Broughton, the show’s co-producer and director. She showed it to a number of broadcasters and in 2013 it was S4C who responded. They commissioned all 8 scripts for series one. Then the fun began. I wrote the scripts between writing my novels and other scripts. There was a lot of editorial to and fro and a long process of getting the broadcaster to move to production. S4C is a small broadcaster with only a few slots and productions are scheduled years in advance.

Pip finally pitched the show at a European Convention of TV producers and financiers in Paris in May 2016. The idea for Keeping Faith attracted a lot of attention. Out of this we attracted  French distribution company which wanted to invest in the series. Pip and her co-producer Adrian Bate then built confidence in the show by attracting more investment and critically by tempting Eve Myles to accept the part. We finally got the go ahead in early 2017. The production is not high budget, but it has a lot of participants – S4C, BBC Wales, French distributors, About Premium Content and US distributors, Acorn.

They say to write about what you know, and you certainly know about being a barrister - did that help in some way in creating the drama series?

I was a barrister for about five years before I became a writer and I have written a lot of legal drama over the years. I guess I am interested in the law because it always takes you to fraught, dramatic and morally difficult situations.  I never wanted Keeping Faith to be a legal show, though. It’s all about a woman discovering and using inner strength she never knew she had. Her role as a solicitor in a small community is dramatically helpful because it links her to all sorts of people and also means that she might know their secrets!

The series is in Welsh primarily - are you fluent Welsh, or was the dialogue translated into Welsh for you?

My family is Welsh, I live in Wales, but the everyday use of the language stopped with my grandparents. I am now learning and am determined – inspired by Eve Myles – to be conversationally proficient by the end of 2018. It has been a long term project of mine and I am under way. Welsh is a beautiful, lyrical language and I think we should do our best to preserve and promote it. I wrote the scripts in English and they are translated by Anwen Hughes, who is a prolific screenwriter in the Welsh language.

Was it your decision for Eve and Bradley to play husband and wife in the series, or did you not have much say in who was cast? Or had you an idea who you wanted in the drama series? I know sometimes it is based on who is available at that time from what I’ve come to learn in the past.

Bradley’s casting was a happy accident. Any successful production needs their fair share of them! Bradley originally read for the part of Steve Baldini, but the director, Pip, suggested he try the part of Evan. She liked what she saw and heard. Bradley had to change his image, cut his hair and shave off a beard, apparently, to give him the clean cut unassuming look we needed for Evan. He has pulled it off magnificently. The fact that he and Eve are real life husband and wife adds a whole new dimension – they are so natural with each other in a way it would be hard for two actors who didn’t know each other so well to emulate.  This is one of the many blessings we have had in the production.

You write about a character called Jenny Cooper, is she a similar character to Faith?

I have written seven novels featuring coroner, Jenny Cooper. She’s a tough independent woman who is determined to get to the truth, and does, but emotionally she is rather different from Faith.  Jenny is recently divorced and her 13 year old son, Ross, has chosen to stay with his dad when we meet her in the first novel, The Coroner.  While she is brilliant in her work she is quite lonely and has mixed fortunes finding a relationship. She is a compassionate and determined woman, though, and like Faith, uncompromising.

I don’t set out to write female characters but have found that they are often the most interesting. Women have to fulfil so many different roles and expectations and never feel they have performed any of them as well as they would like. They often feel they can’t win, which makes perfect material for story telling.

You have a passion for trees and preservation - where did this stem (no pun intended) from or have you always been a strong believer in protecting the woodlands?

I love the countryside, the wilder the better.  Until I was 10 my parents lived in London and Manchester for work and I was desperate to get to my grandparents’ in Wales at every holiday. From age 11 we moved close to them and my love of the countryside grew deeper. From my early 20s to mid-30s I lived in London with my wife and kids and was never happy living in the city. When I came back to live in Wales in 2003 I knew it was home for good. I live surrounded by trees and adore them. They live for hundreds of years which makes them far older (and probably wiser) than us. They provide oxygen, habitat and food for wildlife and if you build something out of timber like oak it can last more than 1000 years. We now understand that trees aren’t individuals but connected by a fantastic underground network of fungi through which they transfer nutrients to one another. A woodland is a whole living organism. Without trees there would be no human beings, so I think we should all love them a little more!

Is this a one off series or will it be a regular series? I'm totally enjoying Un Bore Mercher, the setting, the characters, I'd love it if it were a regular, but obviously, not knowing the outcome of the story, and perhaps given it took 5 years to come together - perhaps you're not wishing for another 5 years of your life going into a second series. Maybe?

I have started work on writing a series 2 which we hope to be filming from August 2018 for broadcast Spring 2019. And then we hope for a series 3. I am really looking forward in going deeper and deeper into the lives of our central characters in the next series with lots more unexpected revelations.

What lies ahead after Keeping Faith? Will you bring out more dramas like these or are you working on already developed series' such as John Deed style or other?

While the series has been filming I have written a new stand-alone novel called, The Black Art of Killing, which will be published in 2018. In 2018 I will be writing series 2 of Keeping Faith and working on developing several new TV projects. I am also hoping that a Canadian TV adaptation of my Jenny Cooper novels will get underway. With a bit of luck, I will be very busy.

Thank you for an awesome interview, Matthew.

You can find out more about Matthew and his work by copying and pasting or clicking on the link to his website. There you will find out more about his novels, and how and where to buy them.

http://www.m-r-hall.com/

Connections Un Bore Mercher/Keeping Faith by DJ Forrest

Written by Matthew Hall, produced and directed by Pip Broughton and Andy Newbery, Keeping Faith or Un Bore Mercher for those of us watching the series at the moment with or without English subtitles, is all about Faith Howells, played by Eve Myles, who returns early from maternity leave, to manage the family law firm, because her husband, Evan, played by Bradley Freegard, has disappeared.  

With the Police suspicious that Faith might know more than she is letting on, Faith does a little digging of her own, when local man Steve Baldini, reveals deep and dark secrets that leaves Faith wondering if she knew Evan at all.

With brilliant scenery, and familiar landscapes making an appearance in episode 4, and outstanding performances from the entire cast, there’s something worth watching again, on a Sunday evening – and over the coming weeks, thanks to iPlayer (and subtitles).

Keeping Faith – the English version – will be out next year. So, you’ll get to watch it all over again.

As we’ve got an interview planned for next month, with writer and creator of this fantastic series, we thought we’d kick off that by discovering just how many of the cast and crew we’ve met before – and you’ll be surprised at just how many there are.

We’ve done the research, so you don’t have to.

Director

Andy Newbery was director for 2 episodes in 2017. Was third assistant director for Doctor Who episode Time Crash in 2007.

Cast 

Eve Myles played Faith Howells for 8 episodes in 2017. Eve really needs no introduction, but for those who don't know - Eve has played Gwen Cooper for 41 episodes of Torchwood from 2006 - 2011 and continues to play her with Big Finish Audios. Check out our interview with Eve Myles from a few years back.

Matthew Gravelle played Terry Price for 8 episodes in 2017. Played a Doctor in Torchwood episode End of Days in 2007. Has voiced the Security Guard in Radio 4 Torchwood play: Asylum and as Bob in The Dead Line both in 2009.

Mark Lewis Jones played Steve Baldini for 8 episodes in 2017. Played John Ellis in Torchwood episode Out of Time in 2006.

Check out our interview with Mark Lewis Jones.

Eiry Thomas played DI Williams for 8 episodes in 2017. Played Carol in Torchwood episode Sleeper in 2006.

Mali Harries played Bethan Price for 8 episodes in 2017. Played Cathy in Doctor Who episode Boom Town in 2005.

Alex Harries played Arthur Davies for 7 episodes in 2017. Played Burglar 2 in Torchwood episode Sleeper in 2008. 

Richard Elfyn played DCI Huw Parry for 7 episodes in 2017. Played the voice of the Knights in Doctor Who episode Robot of Sherwood in 2014.

Menna Trussler played Eira Jones for 4 episodes in 2017. Played the old woman at the traffic lights in Torchwood episode Kiss Kiss Bang Bang in 2008. Check out the interview we had with Menna.

Nia Roberts played Saran James for 2 episodes in 2017. Played Ambrose in Doctor Who two parter The Hungry Earth and Cold Blood in 2010. In two Doctor Who documentary's appeared uncredited as Ambrose from 2012 - 2016. Nia also voiced Bragnar in Big Finish audio story The Wrath of the Iceni for Doctor Who audio.

Morgan Hopkins played Gareth for 1 episode in 2017. Played Mervyn in Torchwood episode Something Borrowed in 2008, and Sergeant Price in Doctor Who episode World War Three in 2005.

Helen Griffin played Maggie Talbot for 1 episode in 2017. Played Mrs Moore in Doctor Who two parter The Age of Steel and Rise of the Cybermen in 2006, uncredited for her appearance in Journey's End in 2008.

Cinematographer

Steve Lawes was cinematographer for 4 episodes in 2017. Was focus puller for 5 episodes of Doctor Who in 2005.

Rory Taylor was cinematographer for 1 episode in 2017. Was cinematographer for 2 episodes of Doctor Who in 2014. Was director of photography for 23 episodes from 2006 - 2010.

Was director of photography for all 5 episodes of Torchwood: Children of Earth in 2009. Was cinematographer for 13 episodes of SJA from 2007 - 2008, and director of photography for 8 episodes in 2007.

Was director of photography for Doctor Who: Attack of the Graske video game in 2005. Was camera operator for 16 episodes of Doctor Who from 2006 - 2009, and appeared as himself in the Doctor Who Confidential series for 4 episodes from 2007 - 2008.

Film Editor

Mike Hopkins was editor for 3 episodes in 2017. Was off-line editor for 4 episodes of Doctor Who in 2013. Was editor for 6 episodes of Doctor Who from 2007 - 2012. Was editor for SJA for 9 episodes from 2007 - 2009. Was editor for four episodes of Torchwood from 2006 - 2008.

Art Director

Tim Overson was art director for 4 episodes in 2017. Was art director for 13 episodes of Doctor Who from 2016 - 2017.

Makeup Department

Emma Cowen was makeup supervisor for 8 episodes in 2017. Was makeup supervisor for 6 episodes of Doctor Who in 2014 and makeup artist for 2 episodes from 2013 - 2014.

Claire Pritchard was makeup designer for 8 episodes in 2017. Was makeup designer for 14 episodes of Doctor Who and makeup artist for 9 episodes from 2005 - 2006, and makeup supervisor for 1 episode in 2013. Was makeup supervisor for 14 episodes from 2006 - 2008 and makeup designer for 7 episodes in 2011, makeup designer for 2 episodes in 2011 and makeup supervisor for 2 episodes in 2006, or Torchwood.

Check out our interview with Claire, what an insight it is to her work.

Production Manager

Medyr Llewelyn was production manager for 4 episodes in 2017. Was production secretary for 4 episodes in 2014, and production assistant for 1 episode in 2014. Was production manager for 2 episodes of Doctor Who in 2017.

James DeHaviland was production manager for 3 episodes in 2017. Was second assistant director for 74 episodes of Doctor Who from 2009 - 2017. Was assistant director for The Five(ish) Doctors Reboot film in 2013. Was second assistant director for 13 episodes of Torchwood from 2006 - 2009. Was production manager for 2 episodes of Doctor Who in 2015. Played himself in The Five(ish) Doctors Reboot, and was drama events manager for Doctor Who at the BBC Proms (Prom 2: Doctor Who at the Proms) in 2013. Appeared as himself and 2nd Assistant Director in 3 episodes of Doctor Who Confidential from 2010 - 2011.

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director

Michael Curtis was second assistant director for 8 episodes in 2017. Was assistant director for 12 episodes of Doctor Who from 2010 - 2011 and third assistant director for 1 episode in 2011.

Lauren Pate was assistant director for 2 episodes in 2017. Was assistant director for 13 episodes of Doctor Who from 2016 - 2017.

Geraint Havard Jones was first assistant director for 1 episode in 2017. Was unit manager for Torchwood, for 7 episodes from 2006 - 2008.

Was unit manager for 1 episode of Doctor Who in 2007.

Art Department

Anwen Haf was stand-by art director for 8 episodes in 2017. Was standby art director for 1 episode in 2015.

Matthew Ireland was stand-by props for 8 episodes in 2017. Was standby props for 10 episodes of Doctor Who from 2014 - 2017 and props for 6 episodes in 2011. Was set dresser for 12 episodes of SJA in 2009. Was set dresser for Torchwood for 10 episodes from 2006 - 2007.

Julia Jones was assistant art director and draughtperson for 8 episodes in 2017. Was draughtsperson for 13 episodes of Doctor Who from 2014 - 2017, draughtsman for 13 episodes in 2011 and model maker for 1 episode in 2010. Was standby props for The Five(ish) Doctors Reboot in 2013.

Vicki Male was prop buyer for 8 episodes in 2017. Was prop buyer for 3 episodes of Doctor Who in 2015.

Dafydd Shurmer was supervising art director 8 episodes in 2017. Was supervising art director for 1 episode of Doctor Who in 2015. Was stand by art director for 4 episodes, from 2007 - 2011, and supervising art director for 3 episodes from 2015 - 2017.

Was standby art director for 3 episodes of Torchwood in 2006, and standby art director for 5 episodes in 2006.

Jack Bowes was graphic designer for 6 episodes in 2017. Was graphics assistant for 3 episodes of Doctor Who in 2017.

Christina Tom was graphic designer for 6 episodes in 2017. Was graphic artist for 46 episodes for Doctor Who from 2008 - 2017, graphic designer for 4 episodes from 2008 - 2010, stand by art director for 3 episodes from 2016 - 2017, and props buyer for 2 episodes in 2008. Was graphic designer for 18 episodes of SJA from 2007 - 2008. Was trainee: Cyfle for 2 episodes of Doctor Who in 2007.

Mark Painter was studio construction manager for 4 episodes in 2017. Was carpenter for Doctor Who for 5 episodes from 2005 - 2015.

Colin Toms was stand-by rigger for 4 episodes in 2017. Was stand by rigger for 5 episodes of Doctor Who from 2015 - 2017.

Sound Department

Tam Shoring was boom operator for 8 episodes in 2017. Was boom operator for 23 episodes of Doctor Who from 2014 - 2015 and sound maintenance engineer for 9 episodes from 2013 - 2017.

Was boom operator for 1 episode of Torchwood  in 2006.

Special Effects

Dominic Allan was special effects technician for 8 episodes in 2017. Was Doctor Who special effects technician for 6 episodes from 2012 - 2013 and special effects for 1 episode in 2013.

Dave Kneath was special effects technician for 8 episodes in 2017. Was special effects technician for 16 episodes of Doctor Who from 2014 - 2015.

Camera and Electrical Department

Sion Davies was electrician for 8 episodes in 2017. Was electrician for 3 episodes of Doctor Who from 2016 - 2017.

Llyr Evans was gaffer for 8 episodes in 2017. Was best boy for 7 episodes of Torchwood from 2006 - 2007.

Gawain Nash was electrician for 8 episodes in 2017. Was electrician for 19 episodes of Doctor Who from 2009 - 2017 and best boy for 2 episodes in 2017.

Peter Lowden was second assistant camera for 4 episodes in 2017. Was camera assistant for 1 episode of Doctor Who in 2013.

Charlie Cowper was camera operator: steadicam/"b" camera operator, additional cinematography for 2 episodes in 2017. Was jib camera grip for 2 episodes of Doctor Who from 2007 - 2009 and steadicam for 1 episode #11.1

Cai Thompson was second assistant camera for 2 episodes in 2017. Was camera assistant for 33 episodes of Doctor Who from 2012 - 2015. Was camera assistant on The Five(ish) Doctors Reboot in 2013.

Jonathan Vidgen was first assistant camera for 2 episodes in 2017. Was focus puller for 42 episodes of Doctor Who from 2011 - 2017, and camera assistant for 19 episodes from 2008 - 2010. Was camera assistant for 5 episodes of Torchwood series 3: Children of Earth in 2009. Was camera assistant for Doctor Who: Music of the Spheres in 2008.

Elliot Hale was first assistant camera for 1 episode of Keeping Faith in 2017. Was camera assistant for 1 episode of Doctor Who in 2011.

Adam Lincoln was camera operator: "b" camera for 1 episode in 2017. Was clapper loader for Doctor Who episode Blink in 2007.

Scott Waller was second assistant camera for 1 episode in 2017. Was camera assistant for 13 episodes of Doctor Who in 2015.

Costume and Wardrobe Department

Leila Headon was costume stand-by for 8 episodes in 2017. Was costume assistant for 4 episodes of Doctor Who from 2016 - 2017.

Editorial Department

Kurt Williams was on-line editor for 6 episodes in 2017. Was an on-line editor for 1 episode of the web series Whovians TV in 2016.

Matt Mullins was colourist for 3 episodes in 2017. Was assistant editor for 7 episodes from 2006 - 2007 of Doctor Who and on-line editor for 2 episodes of the series from 2011 - 2012.

He was on-line editor for 14 episodes of SJA from 2010 - 2012 and colourist for four episodes in 2011.

He was colourist also for Doctor Who Confidential for 20 episodes from 2009 - 2011 and one episode as an on-line editor in 2008. In 2009 was an on-line editor for 6 episodes of Doctor Who: Dreamland, and assistant editor for 17 episodes of Torchwood from 2006 - 2008 and on-line editor for 4 episodes from 2008 - 2009. He was a visual effects editor for 1 episode of Doctor Who in 2009.

Location Manager

Paul Davies was location manager and location scout for 8 episodes in 2017. Was location manager for 7 episodes of Doctor Who from 2010 - 2014 and location manager for 9 episodes of Torchwood from 2006 - 2007. He was unit manager for 4 episodes of Torchwood Miracle Day (UK unit) in 2011.

Iwan Roberts was location manager for 8 episodes in 2017. Was location manager for 28 episodes of Doctor Who from 2010 - 2017. Was location manager for SJA episode Enemy of the Bane, part 1 in 2008, and assistant location manager ffor Torchwood episode Adam, in 2008. In Doctor Who Extra in 2014 he appeared as himself for 2 episodes, and as Location Manager he appeared as himself in Doctor Who Confidential episode Open All Hours in 2011.

Beccy Jones was unit manager for 6 episodes in 2017. Was unit manager for 2 episodes of Doctor Who from 2016 - 2017 and production manager for 1 episode of Doctor Who in 2008. Was location assistant for Doctor Who episode The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe in 2011.

Script Supervisor

Heulwen Jones was script supervisor for 4 episodes in 2017. Was continuity for 2 episodes of Torchwood in 2008.

Llinos Wyn Jones was script supervisor for 4 episodes in 2017. Was continuity for 7 episodes of Doctor Who from 2005 - 2009. Was continuity for 1 episode of Sarah Jane Adventures - Enemy of the Bane, part 1 in 2008.

Was continuity for 12 episodes of Torchwood from 2006 - 2008. Was production assistant for 2 episodes of Doctor Who in 1985.