Rownd a Rownd
Rownd a Rownd is a Welsh soap opera created by Rondo Media and shown on S4C since 11 September 1995. It was claimed to be the first Celtic-related language soap specifically directed at a youth audience. It is set in the fictional harbour town of Glanrafon in Anglesey.
At its inception, the soap was targeted towards an adolescent and young adult audience, but it now has broadened its appeal to all age groups. It has famously covered many taboo subjects ranging from arson to cancer. Beginning with a small cast of characters, the serial now has upwards of forty cast members.
The soap is consistently in the top 20 most watched programmes of the week on S4C. The show currently averages around twenty thousand viewers per episode. Two episodes are produced each week. Since February 2020 these have been broadcast at 20:25 on Tuesdays and Thursdays. In addition, a weekly omnibus with in-vision English language subtitles airs on Sunday daytime. Every summer Rownd a Rownd takes a two month seasonal break; finishing in mid July and re-starting in September to coincide with the new season.
Background
Rownd a Rownd was first broadcast in September 1995 and was originally based on young people who did a paper round. It has since grown to include both their daily school life and their family life. Phil Redmond, creator of Grange Hill, Brookside and Hollyoaks, acted as a consultant to the series on its launch in 1995, and again on its tenth anniversary. Rownd a Rownd also has a presence on social networking sites Facebook, Twitter and Instagram on which they post weekly. In 2016, it celebrated its 21st birthday, with S4C broadcasting an anniversary special hosted by Tudur Owen.The longest-serving actor is Iestyn Garlick who has played teacher-turned headmaster Jim "Gym" Williams since 1995.
Production
The series is filmed in Menai Bridge, Anglesey and Caernarfon, North Wales, produced by Rondo Media. When it began the production company converted a disused garage in Dale Street in Menai Bridge into a fake row of shops, which include a café, a hairdresser, a newsagent, a taxi firm, a pizza place and a bar. There is a sign outside this set informing the public that the shops are not real. School scenes are filmed in Ysgol Gyfun Llangefni and Ysgol David Hughes. Hospital scenes are often filmed in nearby Ysbyty Gwynedd, Bangor, usually in one of the staff hostels. The soap also regularly makes use of incidental music in their program.On 18 March 2020 it was announced that filming for Rownd a Rownd would be suspended in the light of the spread of COVID-19 until further notice. The decision was made after the latest government update.
Cast
This includes characters who have been in the habit of returning after a long absence.| Character | Actor | Duration | Details |
| Jim "Gym" Williams | Iestyn Garlick | 1995– | Former physical education teacher. Headmaster of the local school between 2004-2019. Although retired from the position, he still makes occasional appearances in the soap. |
| Glenda Prichard Phillips | Elliw Haf | 1997– | Local gossip. She is married to Terry and is the mother of four daughters: a pair of twin girls, Manon and Menna, Lucy and Sophie. Works at Sgram, the local café. |
| Terry John Phillips | John Glyn Owen | 1997– | Owner of construction company. Boss to Kelvin. Glenda's husband and father of four daughters. Has fostered children over the years with his wife. |
| Sophie Phillips | Angharad Llwyd | 1997– | Terry's and Glenda's daughter. Bitchy, quarrelsome character. Mother to Owain and Mair. Used to be in a relationship with Martin, Elfyn, Vince, Gavin, Wyn, Mathew and Dylan. Ex-wife to Eifion. Works as a hairdresser in Dani's, the local salon, with Lowri and Dani. Used to run her own mobile hairdressing business, but lost her driving license after being caught drink driving following a collision with Arthur Thomas. |
| Vincent "Vince" Barclay | Huw Llŷr | Caretaker at the school. Former postman and taxi driver. Friend of the Ks. Father to Callum and Mair Phillips. Adopted father of Owain, thought now separated from Sophie. Ex-boyfriend to Cathryn. | |
| Edwin Lloyd | Phylip Hughes | 1998– | Resident of Glanrafon for many years. Respectable chapel organist. Known as 'Mr Lloyd' and is rarely called by his first name. Widower of Lena; who died in 2014. Retired driving instructor. Once a regular, he is now a recurring character. |
| Kenneth "Ken" Walsh | Idris Morris Jones | 2000– | Owner of the local taxi firm K-Kabs with his wife Kay. A kind man who often finds himself apologising for his wife's actions. Has also served time in prison in the past. |
| Kay Walsh | Buddug Povey | 2000– | Ken's sharp-tongued wife. Daughter of the late Ron and sister to Meical and the late David. Mother to Kelvin, Klaire and Kylie. |
| Kelvin Walsh | Kevin Williams | 2000– | Local builder. Ex-husband of Mari and Lowri. Father to Kate and Mia, and adopted father to Robbie. Dating Mel since March 2020. Works with Terry. Jailed for 18 months in 2017 for unknowingly smuggling drugs after a lads' holiday in Spain. |
| Dani Keegan | Ffion Medi Jones | 2001– | The manager of the salon. Michelle's and Wyn's daughter, sister to Jonathan, maternal half-sister to Britney and paternal half-sister to Siwan. Ex-girlfriend to Rhodri, Barry and David. Married Jac Thomas in October 2019, but later separated in early 2020 after she became unfaithful. |
| Kylie Walsh | Leisa Gwenllian | 2002– | Ken and Kay's teenage daughter. Best friend and cousin to Britney. Works at Tŷ Pizza. Diagnosed with an unnamed heart disorder when she was a toddler. |
| Britney Keegan | Fflur Davies | 2002– | Michelle's daughter, Meical's step-daughter. Half sister to Dani and Jonathan. Finished her last year of A Levels in 2020 with Kylie, her best friend and cousin. Cleaner at Copa. |
| Owain Barclay | Gwern Morus Williams | Teenage son of Sophie and Eifion. Adopted son of Vince. Maternal half-brother to Mair. Does the paper round. Best friend to Robbie. | |
| Wyn Humphries | Dewi Rhys | Brother to Alwena, Philip's ex-wife. Rich business tycoon. Owns many of the town's buildings. Owner of the local bar, Copa. Father to Jonathan, Dani and Siwan. Dislikes Barry Hardy due to their conflicting business interests. | |
| Iris Hardy | Karren Wynne | 2005– | Mother to the Hardy boys. Arthur's long-suffering partner. Separated from the boys' father, Ben. Worked in Sgram, the local café for years, but quit in 2019 in order to set up a nannying business at home. |
| Barry Hardy | Gwion Tegid | 2005–2010, 2013– | An evasive and violent man, though looks after his brothers and mother well. Runs Tŷ Pizza and mobile business Y Tŷ Pizza Bach. Has one child, Tom, with girlfriend Carys. Formerly in relationships with Dani and Kim. Diagnosed with testicular cancer in 2015. |
| Jason Hardy | Iwan Fôn | 2005–2015, 2017– | Currently lives in Tŷ Pizza's flat. Has a share in Barry's pizza shop after winning £10,000 on a scratchcard in 2018, although he is often accused by his brother of not taking the business seriously. Used to be in a relationship with Angharad Thomas and Erin Richards. Now dating Anest Owen. Good friends with his workmates, Kylie and Iestyn. |
| Siân Richards | Mari Wyn Roberts | Detective Inspector at the local police station. Miscarried her first child in a car accident with Vince. Sister to Alwyn and aunt to Nel and Dafydd. Wife of John Richards, whom she married in July 2019. | |
| Mathew Parry | Robin Ceiriog | 2006– | The oldest son of Phillip. Deputy headteacher and formerly a physical education teacher at the local school. Ex-fiancé to Siân; which ended as a result of an affair with fellow teacher Llio James. Ex-boyfriend to Sophie and Mel. Previously struggled from a gambling addiction. |
| Philip Parry | Maldwyn John | 2007– | Owner of the salon, shop and café which he bought against Terry and Glenda. Father of three boys, Mathew, Sion and Dewi. His first marriage finished after his wife died of cancer. In a relationship with Lowri, much to the shock of the locals owing to their age difference. |
| Arthur Thomas | Gwyn Vaughan Jones | 2007– | Iris' partner, a courier who is obsessed with trains. A comical and scheming man. Owner of a parcel delivery company. Unknowingly had a daughter, Angharad, whom Terry and Glenda fostered before her parentage was revealed. Had an affair with Julie in 2013 but went back to Iris after realising his mistake. |
| Mair Phillips | Gwenno Llwyd Beech | 2009– | Quiet and well-behaved daughter of Sophie and Vince. |
| Lowri Walsh | Lowri Gwynne | 2010– | Hard-working mother to Robbie and Mia. Good friends of Dani and Carys and often serves as an agony aunt to them. Married Kelvin in 2013 but divorced in 2018. In a relationship with Philip. |
| Robbie Walsh | Tomi Llywelyn | 2010– | Teenage son of Lowri and Griff. His father was abusive, and left when he was younger. Best friends with Owain. |
| Iolo Davies | Tudur Lloyd Evans | 2013– | Philip's nephew. Worker at "Yr Iard" and barman at Copa. Ex-boyfriend to Kim, Llio and Cathryn. |
| Carys James | Ceri Lloyd | 2015– | Llio's sister from South Wales. Was an art student in London, but left after her second year. She has a child, Tom, with Barry and runs her own tailoring business. Had an addiction to prescription drugs. |
| Mia Walsh | Erin Fflur Owen | 2015– | Young daughter of Lowri and Kelvin. |
| John Richards | Huw Garmon | 2016– | Local businessman who owns the garage. Father to Rhys and twins Wil and Erin, who have all since moved out. Wil now lives in Toronto, studying mechanics, and Erin lives in Magaluf working as a barmaid. Married Siân in July 2019. |
| Rhys Richards | Meilir Rhys Williams | 2016– | Glanrafon's mechanic. Old friend of Barry. Openly gay. Previously struggled from an exercise addiction when his boyfriend died in a car crash in September 2017. |
| Tom Hardy | Mason Samuel Moncur | 2016– | Son of Barry and Carys, born on New Year's Eve 2016. Thought to be Jac Thomas' child at first after a one-night stand with his mother. Later revealed to be Barry's child. |
| Dylan Roberts | Dafydd Rhys Evans | 2018– | ICT teacher from South Wales. Dated Sophie for a while, but separated after Sophie refused to have a child. Well liked by the locals, to the chagrin of fellow teacher Mathew. Father to his six-year-old son, Llew. Widower of Fflur, who passed away after a short battle with breast cancer in July 2020,. |
| Carwyn Owen | Meilyr Siôn | 2018– | Owner of the Iard shop for nautical supplies and kayaks for rent. Family originally from South Wales. |
| Gwenno Owen | Elen Gwynne | 2018– | Carwyn's wife, helps out in the shop and supply teacher at the school. Cousin to Lowri. |
| Anest Owen | Heledd Roberts | 2018– | The daughter, helps out in the shop. Suffers from epilepsy. Dating Jason. |
| Iestyn Owen | Josh Morgan | 2018– | The troublesome member of the family, is a secondary school student in the same year as Kylie and Britney. Suspended from his old school for selling drugs, which meant they had to move to the village. Works part-time at Tŷ Pizza. |
| Elen Edwards | Catrin Mara | 2019– | Headteacher of Glanrafon, the local school. Tough upbringing, with both parents abusing drugs. |
| Mali Edwards | Luned Elfyn | 2019– | Environmentally conscious teenage daughter of Elen; a vegan. In the same year as Owain and Robbie. Her father left when her mother fell pregnant when they were teenagers. Maternal half-sister to Anna and paternal half-sister to Miriam. |
| Anna Edwards | Gwenlli Dafydd | 2019– | Second daughter of Elen. Still in primary school. Maternal half-sister to Mali. Her father died in 2019. |
| Aled Campbell | Daniel Lloyd | 2019– | Formally a drug dealer in Liverpool. Manager of Copa. Blackmailed by Barry to take the manager's job to eventually buy the business from Wyn. His brother, Lewis suffered an injury after a fight at a football match, which resulted in him being brain damaged and needing twenty-four hour care. Living with Mathew and Iolo. Currently having an affair with Carys, unbeknownst to Barry. |
| Llywelyn "Llew" Roberts | Gwion Llwyd | 2019– | Six-year-old son of Dylan and the late Fflur, as a result of an affair.. His mother died in July 2020 after learning her cancer was terminal in 2018. |
| Mel | Elain Lloyd | 2020– | Initially introduced as Mathew's one night stand, later girlfriend. Dating Kelvin. Works at Sgram, the local café with Glenda. |
| Ceri Harrison | Kate Ellis | 2020– | Wife of Ian, and mother to Miriam. First to make contact with Mali after it transpired Miriam had ADPKD; which meant she would eventually need a new kidney. Neither herself, Ian or Mali are a match. |
| Ian Harrison | Rhodri Siôn | 2020– | Father to Miriam and Mali, the latter whom he had with Elen whilst in university. Initially tried to pay Elen to have an abortion. |
| Miriam Harrison | Erin Fflur Jones | 2020– | Daughter to Ian and Ceri. Paternal half-sister to Mali. Suffers from Autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease. |