ECHOES of the past

ELEN RHYS on swapping solving crimes in Spain for a murder mystery in her native Wales

- SEAN MARLAND

THE ONE THAT GOT AWAY (CLEDDAU)

SUNDAY, 9PM, S4C DRAMA (BOX SET, BBC iPLAYER)

Elen Rhys has been protecting the sun-soaked streets of Palma as no-nonsense detective Miranda Blake in crime drama The Mallorca Files for over four years. But now the Aberystwyth-born actor will be pounding a very different beat, as she takes on her first major TV role in her mother tongue for new Welshlanguage noir Cleddau.

Landing this week as a box set on BBC iPlayer in Welsh with English subtitles and airing weekly in Welsh on S4C, the thriller is ? set during a bleak winter in Pembrokeshire and blends a complex murder mystery with a tale of lost love.

‘It certainly made a big change to be filming in Wales,’ says Elen, 41, as she joins TV Times for an exclusive chat about donning an anorak to play DI Ffion Lloyd in the six-part series. ‘But after the 40-degree heat of Mallorca, it was nice to wear some layers on set. Plus, it’s a dark story, so the wind, rain and moody sky just added to the drama!’

Written by Catherine Tregenna (Law & Order: UK), the plot sees Cardiff-based Ffion called to Pembroke Dock to investigate the murder of a young female nurse – a case that has eerie similarities to a spate of killings that Ffion and her then-fiancé, DS Rick Sheldon (Hinterland’s Richard Harrington), investigated in the picturesque town 12 years ago.

With scared locals starting to question the guilt of Paul Harvey (The Bay’s Ian Puleston-Davies), who was convicted of the original crimes, Ffion and now-married Rick must work together to unravel the clues, all while fighting their feelings for each other.

Here, Elen tells us more…

The premise sounds very intriguing, Elen. How would you describe the series?