An actor and award-winning director is heading up a new drama hub at a TV production company in North Wales.
The appointment of Martin Thomas to run the newly-created department at Cwmni Da is part of an expansion plan to safeguard and create jobs at the employee-owned company.
He said:
“There is huge potential to develop something really exciting. If giants like Netflix, Amazon and HBO are coming to North Wales to film surely we can also use these locations to make high quality drama for S4C and other broadcasters.”
The move heralds a reset at the Caernarfon-based company following the departure of managing director Llion Iwan who left to become the new chief content officer at S4C after six successful years at Cwmni Da.
It has also seen chartered accountant Anna Roberts being appointed to join the finance team.
Meanwhile, Sioned Wiliam, the former comedy controller at ITV, has returned to the board as a non-executive director after a stint as interim chief executive at S4C.
According to Martin, who hails from Deiniolen and now lives in Caernarfon, he was bitten by the drama bug when he landed a role in a show at the former Theatr Gwynedd in Bangor at the age of 12.
A couple of years later he starred in a high profile S4C drama, Traed Mewn Cyffion, based on the novel of the same name by Kate Roberts.
After studying performing arts at Coleg Menai, he won several TV roles before successfully auditioning for the Welsh language soap Rownd a Rownd.
He played the part of ex-jailbird Eifion for six years and went on to become one of the show’s directors and has more recently directed episodes of another S4C staple, Pobol y Cwm.
Martin is already a familiar face at Cwmni Da having worked for the company as a freelance director and producer for a decade and has been a big part of the success of the popular S4C children’s show, Deian a Loli, that’s scooped a whole host of awards, including a hat-trick of BAFTA Cymru gongs.
More recently he directed two episodes of the Caernarfon-based drama serie, STAD, which will be shown on S4C before the end of the year.
He said:
“I’m fortunate there are so many talented people here, both staff and freelancers, in every aspect of the production, from the scripting to the production crews and actors of course.
“The fact that Deian a Loli is still being nominated and winning awards after 10 years shows the strength of the brand and the quality of our small team’s work.
“I’m now prepping to film the next 10 episodes over the summer with the current family and we’re now on our fifth set of characters because the family regenerates, so to speak, every two years.
“The offer to head up the new drama hub at Cwmni Da came as a huge but very pleasant surprise. We’ve always had a very strong relationship and they have shown faith in me giving me the opportunity to direct and produce Deian a Loli so it feels like a natural progression.
“It’s brilliant that Cwmni Da are showing so much positivity by investing in drama and scripted content, whether they’re short films, films, drama series, standalone dramas – the possibilities are endless.
“It’s really important to have drama anchored in North Wales – there is so much expertise and talent here and there are gripping stories that need to be told about North Wales by the people of North Wales.
“Drama and scripted content cover a broad spectrum – everything from children’s drama to community-driven and character-driven drama and comedy to gritty detective stories all the way to films and so much more in between. We want to unleash our energy and creativity to do something really special.”
Anna Roberts, a native of Nefyn who lives in Llanrug, returned to North Wales after studying and working in Manchester for 12 years before taking up a role with a banking software company.
Anna said:
“I like travelling but I love Wales, there’s nowhere like home. This is where my heart is.
“The offer to come to work for Cwmni Da came at exactly the right time – I couldn’t have wished for anything better. It’s really exciting time to be joining the company.”
The company’s interim managing director Bethan Griffiths said:
“We were already producing and developing drama and Martin was a part of that and we wanted to ensure that drama and scripted content continue to be produced in North Wales and a focus at Cwmni Da.
“We want to retain our critical mass of expertise and talent so creating the new drama hub is a natural and logical progression of what we’re doing already.
“We have a lot of really talented people who love scripted content in all its forms.
“We’ve been producing Deian a Loli for a decade and we’ve made 100 episodes and Martin has been part of that success from the very beginning.
“He is a perfect fit for to drive this forward because he is such a fantastic, passionate and meticulous director.
“These are the qualities that will help us realise our full potential in this area because we have the ability and capacity to do so much more.
“The appointment of Anna is part of that same process of developing and growing as a company, professionalising the company by having a chartered accountant as part of the team.
“Sioned’s experience, knowledge and contacts, here in Wales and farther afield, are also invaluable.
“Losing Llion was a big challenge and we are now putting things in place so we can take the company forward.
“All of this is building foundations for the next chapter in the history of Cwmni Da, safeguarding existing jobs, creating new ones and boosting the local economy.
“It’s a really exciting time and we want to make sure we are best placed to make the most of every opportunity that comes our way.”
