A week today Pobol y Cwm celebrates 50 years of being on air since the first episode was broadcast on October 16th 1974. The series was first aired on the BBC before transferring to S4C after the channel’s launch in 1982. Amongst its collection of BBC scripts, the National Library of Wales is lucky to have the very first episode of Pobol y Cwm, which includes its crew and character list, recording date and time, and rehearsal times.
As well as the first episode itself, the collection includes the rehearsal script, giving the reader an opportunity to experience the episode as it could have been. Many changes were made to the script, some big and some small. The most notable one is the title of the programme itself, as the original title wasn’t Pobol y Cwm, but ‘Pentrefelin.’ The original intended broadcast date for the first episode was October 15th which, had it not been changed, would have meant the 50th anniversary for 'Pentrefelin' would be celebrated a day earlier.
Other changes include differences to character names (and their spelling), particularly ‘Harri Parri’ and ‘Maggie Mathias’ who were originally ‘Arthur’ and ‘Magi Evans.’ They feature in the first scene, which again has a few differences.
‘Bore da Maggie Mathias’ (Good morning Maggie Mathias) were the first words spoken on the programme, by Harri Parri. In the rehearsal script, the first words were ‘Bore da Magi Evans’ (Good morning Magi Evans), spoken by Arthur.
You can come to the Library and see all the changes yourselves and compare the two scripts side by side. It was not routine for broadcasters to keep archival material at that time, so the first complete episode of Pobol y Cwm is not in the Library’s collection. This makes these early scripts all the more important and valuable.
Several events have been arranged to celebrate the half centenary:
On October 16th there will be a special limited exhibition in the Summers Room at the Library showcasing material in the Library’s collections relating to Pobol y Cwm. These include books, photographs, audio visual material and these early scripts, among other items.
Then on October 29th Aberystwyth Arts Centre will host Noson yng nghwmni Pobol y Cwm – Ddoe a Heddiw (A night in the company of Pobol y Cwm - Yesterday and Today) with cast members past and present.
There will also be an event at the National Broadcast Archive of Wales in January 2025, so keep a look out for future information.
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