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Rownd a Rownd (English: "Round and Round") is a Welsh soap opera created by Rondo Media (formally Ffilmiau’r Nant) 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.

Rownd a Rownd
Genre	Soap opera
Theme music composer	Jochen Eisentraut[1]
Country of origin	Wales
Original language	Welsh
No. of series	27
No. of episodes	1,782
Production
Executive producer	Bedwyr Rees
Producers	Alaw Roberts Manon Lewis Owen
Production locations	Menai Bridge Bangor Caernarfon Llangefni
Editors	Rhian Evans Geraint Williams
Running time	30 minutes (inc. adverts)
Production companies	Ffilmiau'r Nant (1995–2008) Rondo Media (2008–)
Distributor	BBC
Release
Original network	S4C
Picture format	16:9 (HDTV)
Audio format	Dolby Surround
Original release	11 September 1995 (1995-09-11) – present
Chronology
Related	Pobol y Cwm

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. 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,[2] the show currently averaging around twenty thousand viewers per episode.[3] Two episodes are produced each week; since February 2020 these have been broadcast at 20:25 on Tuesdays and Thursdays (with the previous episode being repeated at 18:30). In addition, a weekly omnibus with in-vision English language subtitles airs on Sunday daytime. Every summer Rownd a Rownd also takes a two-month seasonal break, finishing in mid-July and restarting in September to coincide with the new academic year.

Background

Rownd a Rownd was first broadcast in September 1995 and was originally based on young people who did a paper round[4] (hence the programme's title, based on the wheels of a bicycle). 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, Instagram and TikTok. In 2016, it celebrated its 21st birthday, with S4C broadcasting an anniversary special hosted by Tudur Owen.

The longest-serving cast member was Iestyn Garlick, who played Jim "Gym" Williams, the physical education teacher, who was later the headmaster of the local school. The character first appeared on-screen in September 1995 and left in July 2020 after 25 years.

Production

The series is filmed in Menai Bridge, Anglesey and Caernarfon, North Wales, and is produced by Rondo Media (previously known as Ffilmiau Nant). When it began, the production company converted a disused garage in Dale Street (Welsh name: "Lôn Cilbedlam") in Menai Bridge into a fake row of shops, which includes 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 keeping with the show's style, this usually consists of indie-pop music sung in Welsh.

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.[5] Filming resumed in August 2020 with social distancing guidelines in place. Two additional filming sites were also added to Rownd a Rownd's set in Menai Bridge in order to keep people sufficiently apart; these are located in the near-by towns of Caernarfon and Llangefni.[6]

Cast

Regular characters

Character	Current actor	Duration	Details
Sophie Roberts (née Phillips)	Angharad Llwyd	1997–	Glenda's daughter. Biological daughter of Stephen King. Step-daughter to Terry. Bitchy, quarrelsome character. Mother to Owain, Mair and Nansi. Wife to Dylan. Used to be in a relationship with Martin, Elfyn, Vince, Gavin, Wyn and Mathew. Ex-wife to Eifion Davies (Owain's father). Used to run her own mobile hairdressing business, but lost her driving license after being caught drink driving following a collision with Arthur Thomas.
Glenda Prichard Phillips (née Owen)	Elliw Haf	1997–	Local gossip. She is married to Terry and is the mother of four daughters; twin girls Manon and Menna, Lucy (who is living in Australia) and Sophie. Former school nurse. Known to the locals as 'Glenda BCG'. Worked at Sgram, the local café for almost twenty years, before leaving to set up her own cake business: 'Becws Cacennau Glenda'.
Terry John Phillips	John Glyn Owen	1997–	Owner of construction company. Boss to Kelvin. Glenda's husband, adoptive father of Lucy and Sophie and biological father to Manon and Menna. Has fostered children over the years with his wife.
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.
Kelvin Walsh	Kevin Williams	1999–	Local builder. Only son of Ken and Kay. Ex-husband of Mari and Lowri, whom he both divorced following affairs. Father to Kate (born 2007) and Mia (born 2015), 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.
Kenneth "Ken" Walsh	Idris Morris Jones	1999–	Owner of the local taxi firm K-Kabs with his wife Kay. Father to Kelvin, Klaire and Kylie. A kind man who often finds himself apologising for his wife's actions. Has also served time in prison in the past.
Kay Walsh (née Williams)	Buddug Povey	1999–	Ken's sharp-tongued wife. A chronic cheater, but eventually always goes back to Ken. Previously had an affair with her college lecturer, Gareth Harries, and family-friend Vince Barclay. Daughter of the late Ron. Sister to Meical and paternal half-sister to the late David. Mother to Kelvin, Klaire (who moved away to become a nurse) and Kylie (who's currently studying at Cardiff University).
Dani Keegan	Ffion Medi Jones	2002–	The manager of the salon. Daughter of Michelle and the late Wyn, who died on New Year's Eve 2020. Sister to Jonathan (who is living in Australia), maternal half-sister to Britney and paternal half-sister to Gruff, Sioned and Siwan. Maternal granddaughter to Madam Serena. Ex-girlfriend to Rhodri, Barry and David. Married Jac Thomas in October 2019, but later separated in January 2020 after she was unfaithful.
Britney Keegan	Fflur Davies	2002–	Michelle and Mal's daughter. Maternal half-sister to Dani and Jonathan. Currently studying nursing at Bangor University, but still living at home.
Owain Barclay	Gwern Morus Williams	Unknown	Teenage son of Sophie Phillips and Eifion Davies. Adopted son of Vince. Maternal half-brother to Mair and Nansi. Does the paper round. Best friend to Robbie.
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, Caitlin and Iestyn.
Vincent "Vince" Barclay	Huw Llŷr	2005–	Caretaker at the school. Former postman and taxi driver. Friend of the Ks. Father to Callum (with former partner Julie) and Mair Phillips. Adopted father of Owain, though now separated from Sophie. Ex-boyfriend to Cathryn. Lives with Matthew and Iolo. Was previously in prison for burning his own warehouse for insurance money.
Siân Richards (née Hughes)	Mari Wyn Roberts	Unknown	Detective Inspector at the local police station. Miscarried her first child in a car accident with Vince. Sister to Alwyn (the owner of the garage prior to her eventual husband) and aunt to Nel (who died on New Year's Eve 2015) and Dafydd. Wife of John Richards, whom she married in July 2019. Viciously stalked by former co-worker Mark Harris in 2020, and was held captive before escaping.
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 and prescription drug 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 (the last two of which now live in Spain with his ex-wife Alwena). 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–	A courier who is obsessed with trains. A comical and scheming man. Unknowingly had a daughter, Angharad, whom Terry and Glenda fostered before her parentage was revealed. Grandfather to Dewi, Angharad's son (to whom she had with Dyfan Llywelyn). Long-time partner to Iris, before her death in December 2021.
Lowri Walsh	Lowri Gwynne	2010–	Hard-working mother to Robbie and Mia. Good friends of Dani and Gwenno and often serves as an agony aunt to them. Married Kelvin in 2013 but separated in 2018. Their divorce was finalised in 2020. 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 and cousin to Mathew, Dewi and Sion. Worker at "Yr Iard" and barman at Copa. Ex-boyfriend to Kim, Llio and Cathryn.
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. Son of John and Delyth Richards. Previously struggled from an exercise addiction when his boyfriend died in a car crash in September 2017.
Dylan Roberts	Dafydd Rhys Evans	2018–	ICT teacher from South Wales. Husband to Sophie, after a long on and off relationship. Well liked by the locals, to the chagrin of fellow teacher Mathew. Father to his seven-year-old son, Llew, and newborn Nansi. Widower of Fflur, who died after a short battle with breast cancer in July 2020, whom he married only a month prior to her death.
Gwenno Owen	Elen Gwynne	2018–	Former partner of Carwyn, 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. Suspended from his old school for selling drugs, which meant they had to move to the village. Previously a Bangor University student, but left after his first year. Recently found out that he is biologically not Carwyn's son. His real father, Glenn Jones was discovered to have died prior to his knowledge.
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 and Ian; a vegan. In the same year as Owain and Robbie. Maternal half-sister to Anna and paternal half-sister to Miriam.
Melanie "Mel" Phoebe Roberts	Elain Lloyd	2020–	Daughter of Gloria. Initially introduced as Mathew's one night stand, later girlfriend. Partner to Kelvin since March 2020. Works at Sgram, the local café.
Caitlin Collins	Manw Robin	2021–	A homeless girl found by Siân living rough in a tent in the woods after stealing from Philip's shop. Fostered by Siân and John.
Llŷr Hopkins	Llew Davies	2021–	Rich business tycoon. Owns many of the town's buildings. Father to Efan and Ioan. Both are spoiled by Llŷr partly because of the mother's absence.
Efan Hopkins	Meredydd Rhisiart	2021–	Eighteen year old son of Llŷr and Emma. Brother to Ioan. The two are good friends. He enjoys sports, and captains the Gwynedd football team and is a bit of a hero to Robbie and Owain. At school he is a B / C pupil and never tries very hard to get moderate marks.

Recurring and guest characters

Character	Actor	Duration	Details
Mair Phillips	Gwenno Llwyd Beech	2009–	Quiet and well-behaved daughter of Sophie and Vince.
Mia Walsh	Erin Fflur Owen	2015–	Young daughter of Lowri and Kelvin.
Anna Edwards	Gwenlli Dafydd	2019–	Second daughter of Elen. Maternal half-sister to Mali. Her father died in 2019.
Llew Stevens	Gwion Llwyd	2019–	Seven-year-old son of Dylan and the late Fflur, as a result of an affair - Fflur was married to another man at the time. His mother died in July 2020 after learning her cancer was terminal.
Cai Harris	Noel Davies	Unknown	School friend of Robbie and Owain. Often seen in classes. Work’s part-time at Tŷ Pizza.
Gwawr	Alys Letton Jones	Unknown	School friend of Mali.
Ioan Hopkins	Macsen Stevens	2022–	A selfish and spoiled young man. Twelve year old Ioan fails to communicate with his father to the same extent as he did with his mother. Her absence has had a big, detrimental effect on him.
Nansi Roberts	Cadi Fôn Booth	2022–	Newborn daughter of Sophie and Dylan.

Buildings

Building	Information
Bridge	Kebab house
Copa	Bar (originally Bob Beics, a bike shop, then Q's, a youth centre)
Dani	Salon (formerly called Crib Goch and Nikki's)
Ho Wah	Chinese take-away
Bythol Wyrdd	Shop (formerly called BJ Cabs and Kay Kabs; originally Bryn Jones, a funeral director's)
Llys Menai	Retirement home
Menai Bridge	Suspension bridge
Menai Bridge Post Office	Post office
Parry's	General store (formerly called Mortons)
Penrallt	Church
Richard's	Garage (formerly Alwyn Hughes a'i Ferch)
Sgram	Café
Tŷ Pizza	Pizza take-out restaurant (originally Print Man, a print shop, then Fanna, a jewellery and crockery shop)
Ysgol Glanrafon	Comprehensive secondary school
Ysgol Gymraeg Glanrafon	Primary school
Yr Iard	Shop for nautical supplies and kayaks for rent

References

External links

• Rownd a Rownd at IMDb

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