Cardiff schoolyard, 2018: Gabrielle Creevy's Bethan cracks jokes sharper than the railings she vaults to escape Aled ap Steffan's bully, her uniform hiding domestic chaos that starts at the kitchen table where Jo Hartley's Katrina ricochets between mania and silence while Rhodri Meilir's father self-medicates with lager. Creator Kayleigh Llewellyn keeps the camera tight on faces so the laugh lines arrive seconds before the wince; a stolen kiss with popular Zadeiah Campbell-Davies' Poppy lights Bethan up, then leaves her abruptly alone, the same rhythm her mother performs nightly.
Five-week shoots on Cardiff estates meant local kids drifted behind the lens, their accents unchanged, their streets unfiltered. BBC Three, fresh to online-only, gambled on a 27-minute pilot shot for Wales that became two series totalling ten episodes, each instalment lengthening as Bethan's lies grow heavier, the final episode stretching to 48 minutes when she finally speaks the truth to Alexandria Riley's English teacher, the only adult who never asked for perfection. The show ended in 2021 with Bethan walking away from the house, rucksack packed, no destination offered, just the sound of the city carrying on without her.
Production Details
BBC Three / 2 Seasons / 10 Episodes / 2018
Created by: Kayleigh Llewellyn
Showrunner(s): Nerys Evans
Writer(s): Kayleigh Llewellyn
Producer(s): Gina Lyons
Cinematography: Benedict Spence
Music: Tommy Gray
Main Cast
Gabrielle Creevy as Bethan Gwyndaf
Poppy Lee Friar as Lydia
James Wilbraham as Travis
Jo Hartley as Katrina Gwyndaf
Rhodri Meilir as Dilwyn Gwyndaf
Leilah Hughes as Poppy
Aled Ap Steffan as Stan Priest
Alexandria Riley as Ms Morgan
Di Botcher as Nana
Jac Yarrow as Jamie
