Pobol y Cwm at 50: The TV soap where Hollywood stars are born

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.”