The Welsh TV soap where Hollywood stars are born

A young Ioan Gruffudd (right) as Gareth Wyn Harries in Pobol y Cwm

A Welsh-language soap opera where a number of Hollywood stars have made names for themselves is marking its 50th anniversary.

Pobol y Cwm, about the fictional village of Cwmderi in south-west Wales, was first broadcast on the BBC in 1974.

A number of well-known actors and actresses have appeared on the show over the years, including Ioan Gruffudd, Iwan Rheon, Michael Sheen and Alexandra Roach.

"[Pobol y Cwm] has been instrumental in the career of several notable individuals," said series producer Dafydd Llewelyn.

"And - perhaps more importantly - it has been pivotal in the upbringing of individuals and families over the decades."

Ioan Gruffudd was still at school when he first landed a role in Pobol y Cwm

Pobol y Cwm, which translates into English as People of the Valley, is the BBC's oldest television soap.

First broadcast on BBC Wales on 16 October 1974, the first episode started with a greeting from a customer in the village post office - and a discussion about the post being delivered late.

It moved to the Welsh-language channel S4C in 1982, where it currently airs three times a week.

The early cast included a number of well established actors and actresses, including Rachel Thomas, who had appeared in the 1971 adaptation of Dylan Thomas's Under Milk Wood alongside Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor.

Joining her in the first episode was Lisabeth Miles, who plays Megan Harries, and is still in the show today.

"Megan and I have been living side by side for 50 years now," Miles said.

Lisabeth Miles as Megan Harries, on her wedding day in Pobol y Cwm in 1988

"What makes Pobol y Cwm special are the stories, the characters and the collaborations.

"It's important to me because it's an essential part of broadcasting in Welsh and for Wales - for the Welsh speakers and non-Welsh speakers."

Others who started their acting careers on Pobol y Cwm include Iwan Rheon, now best known for Game of Thrones, who made his screen debut on the show at 17.

Ioan Gruffudd, whose acting credits now include Titanic and Fantastic Four, was still at school when he got a job on the show as Gareth Wyn Harries in 1989.

Alexandra Roach, best known for her roles in Utopia and No Offence, also landed a role on Pobol y Cwm as a teenager.

Iwan Rheon, best known as Ramsay Bolton in Game of Thrones, made his screen debut on Pobol y Cwm at the age of 17

Others who have made cameo appearances include Michael Sheen in 2019, Ruth Jones in 2020, and Russell Grant in 2017, when he appeared to help with the village's dancing competition - Strictly Cwm Dancing.

There has also been wrestling in Cwmderi, with 1980s star of the ring Giant Haystacks taking on Welsh competitor El Bandito in an episode in 1990.

Which famous people have been on Pobol y Cwm?

• Ioan Gruffudd

• Iwan Rheon

• Alexandra Roach

• Michael Sheen

• Ruth Jones

• Russell Grant

• Giant Haystacks and El Bandito

• Michael Aspel

• Sir Dave Brailsford

• Glyn Wise and Imogen Thomas

In 1988, Pobol y Cwm became the first daily soap opera on UK television, with some scenes filmed on the day of broadcast.

The work rate for cast and crew remains intense, said actor Rhys ap Wiliam, who first appeared on the soap in 1996.

"It used to be 12 months of the year and you'd be filming for 50 weeks," he said.

"Now it's 27 weeks of the year that you work for, but your output is still high, so it is a pressure cooker.

"150 episodes in 27 weeks, the mathematics doesn't work, but somehow it does.

"You need a pretty sound ship to be sailing on, or it could all sink pretty quickly."

Magi Post, played by Harriet Lewis, who became one of Pobol y Cwm's most familiar faces

In the 1970s, the series was shown on BBC One during lunchtime without English subtitles.

To this day, some people can remember watching it despite not understanding the language.

During the early 1990s, Pobol y Cwm was broadcast on BBC Two with on-screen English subtitles.

And for a period in 1992, the series was even broadcast in the Netherlands on the Nederland 3 channel under the title De vallei [The Valley].

The original Pobol y Cwm opening titles

Matthew Batten, from Cardiff, said watching Pobol y Cwm helped him to learn Welsh.

"I love how they've captured the spirit of Welsh community," he said.

"You don't see it on any other soap opera or any other TV show.

"I feel like an affinity, an identity to it.

"But also because the plots are exciting and some of them are completely bonkers as well and so funny, I love it."

The present-day cast of Pobol y Cwm, on location at BBC Studios in Cardiff Bay

Fifty years since the first episode, the comings and goings of life in Cwmderi are still drawing in the viewers.

But TV viewing habits are changing.

Other soaps such as the BBC's Doctors have come to an end, while Channel 4's Hollyoaks is taking the unusual step of jumping the storyline forward by a year to cut the number of episodes and cast members.

So what is the future for Pobol y Cwm?

"I think there is a challenge to draw in audiences," said Dr Elain Price from Swansea University.

"The answer to that is to try and appeal, and bring new audiences in, to keep them with the soap, as it grows and develops."

The BBC's drama studios in Cardiff Bay, where Pobol y Cwm is filmed, will be open for tours throughout October to mark the anniversary.

A special hour-long episode will also air on S4C at 20:00 BST on Wednesday.