IT HAS launched the careers of a host of famous faces including giving Big Brother star, model and tabloid regular Imogen Thomas her acting debut.
The first episode of Pobol y Cwm was broadcast on 16th October 1974, and to mark its 40th birthday, some familiar faces will return to the village of Cwmderi with shocking storylines that will knock some of the series' key characters sideways.
To mark Pobol y Cwm's historic milestone, the Clucker thought it would look back at some famous faces who have starred in the soap.
We managed to uncover footage of Welsh stars Imogen Thomas (pic below) and Hollywood star Ioan Gruffudd who have both starred in the long-running show.
Former Miss Wales, Imogen, 31, a fluent Welsh speaker, made a cameo appearance in the soap back in 2006.
She made her acting debut, appearing as herself, when she was invited as a VIP guest at the opening of a car garage run by entrepreneur Ronald Steadman and his trophy wife Lucy.
Imogen said at the time: "It's great to be asked to appear on Pobol y Cwm. My family watch it, and I used to watch it when I was living at home."
Watch Imogen's acting debut in the clip below.
The soap also launched the career of Ioan Gruffudd, 40, who played Gareth Wyn Harries between 1987 and 1994.
Soon after, Ioan's acting career took off when he landed the lead role in the TV remake of Poldark in 1996.
He went on to become Lancelot in King Arthur and Mr Fantastic in Hollywood superhero blockbuster Fantastic Four.
He is now playing Dr Henry Morgan, an immortal medical examiner, in up-coming American drama series Forever.You can see Ioan in Pobol y Cwm in the clip below.
Another famous face that is making waves in the world of showbiz is Alexandra Roach, who played troublesome teen Elin Owen. Her character Elin had an affair with the vicar in the soap.
Alexandra, 26, (pic below) from Ammanford, left the series in 2005 after being accepted to study at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, and went on to to star in The Iron Lady as a young Margaret Thatcher.
She can currently be seen in the second series of Channel Four's conspiracy thriller Utopia.
Alexandra ended up landing the role in Pobol y Cwm after visiting a friend's house.
She said:"I was about 11, and I just went over to my mate's house on a Saturday and knocked on her door to see if she wanted to come out and play.
"And she said she was going to a drama club with her sister, and did I
want to go?
"So I went along, and that day they were doing an open
casting for Pobol y Cwm.
"I'd never really acted before, and I just gave
it a go and got the part. I think that's why I'm so comfortable on sets
now, because of all the hours I put in as a child. "
As part of the 40th birthday celebrations, some lucky fans will get the chance to visit the Pobol y Cwm set in Roath Lock, Cardiff Bay.
Siân Gwynedd, Head of Welsh Programmes and Services, BBC Wales, said: “Pobol y Cwm has been an important and integral part of Welsh life
since it first appeared in 1974.
"During this time the series has
entertained and fascinated viewers with compelling, emotional and
memorable stories.
"Thanks must go to the cast, writers and production
crew who have ensured the series' success for so long, and to the
current team who will lead the series to the next 40 years.”
Dafydd
Rhys, S4C Content Commissioner, said: "It's hard to believe that four
decades have passed since we met the Cwmderi characters for the first
time.
"From the early days of the channel Pobol y Cwm has claimed a
prominent place in the S4C schedule as one of our major drama series,
and it will continue to be at the heart of our future broadcasts.
"Congratulations to all those who have been part of the production from
the very beginning - forty years is quite an achievement.
"This is an
important milestone for broadcasting in Welsh and we look forward to
birthday celebrations in the autumn."
Further events will be announced soon to celebrate the four decades of the series. To keep up-to-date with all the latest showbiz and celeb gossip from Wales, follow the Weekly Clucker on Twitter @weeklyclucker.
"I'M SORRY PEOPLE OF WALES, I've gone a bit weird," Charlotte Church said to camera on her fly-on-the-wall documentary showcasing her dramatic change in musical direction. The Weekly Clucker watched gobsmacked as Voice of An Angel Charlotte Church showcased her new brand of experimental science-infused music in BBC One Wales documentary Charlotte Church: In Her Own Voice. Charlotte (pic below) has taken an incredibly gutsy step in performing this material with an image that we've never seen before, with UV make-up, a metal-cage jellyfish-type light dress and tentacles that reach out into the audience.
She's on a mission - without the financial backing of a major record label - to make sure her music doesn't fall on deaf ears. "I want to do some things on my own terms from my own weird creative brain which has developed rather weirdly due to my crazy life,' she said on the documentary.
"I sort of got disillusioned with music and stuff and the whole shebang and I was thinking about moving away to a hut in Nepal and then I sort of thought 'No', I have to do music. I have to sing. I just have to. It's not really a choice, it's a compulsion."
Charlotte, 28, from Cardiff, revealed how she discovered her confidence to write her own music after she met her partner, muscian and co-writer Jonathan Powell in 2010. She described her new sound as "jam-packed full of rhythms and funk and loads of riffs and lots of hooks." She said: "It's really intense music and it's an assault on the senses a lot of the time and you have to think about it. It's not really just chuck it on in the background, a bit of easy-listening." Charlotte revealed her recent interest in science and physics influenced her songwriting on her latest EP called EP Four. She said: "I've got massively into science and physics recently. I say 'massively', I read the New Scientist and I have dreams of going to university to do a degree in physics. And anyway there's a lot of songs on EP Four which are a little bit scientific in nature, for example, there is a song called Entanglement, which is about entanglement theory...." She added: "I've never ever considered myself really a very creative entity before. I bloody well do now but that's only because I've really pushed myself I feel, and it's been an incredible thing to do."
Watch the video below for her song Little Movements from EP Four, which was filmed in Cardiff.
Charlotte's homecoming gig in Cardiff where she showcased her new sound featuring songs from EP Four followed the documentary (watch the trailer for the Entanglement concert below).
The Clucker was so absorbed by her visually striking and vocally expressive performance, we've been listening to EP Four in the office. And there's so many layers to the EP, the more you listen to it, the more it grows on you. Charlotte said: "I still feel like I'm sort of on a bit of a musical journey, which is really cheesy, but I can't think of any other way to say it. "It's exploratory. I'm still finding exactly what it is that I want to do but I haven't finished yet."
Charlotte's on a mission, and we wish her all the best. Hats off to you, Charlotte Church! Find out more about Charlotte Church and EP Four on her official website http://charlottechurchmusic.com/ EP Four Track Listing: 1. Entanglement 2. Love Alone 3. Little Movements 4. Death and Mathematics 5. Hood Shade 6. Love If you thought this blog post was a ruddy good read, why not follow us on Twitter @weeklyclucker.
THE CHILTERN FIREHOUSE seems to have taken over as the number one London restaurant for celebrities to dine out and get themselves papped at the same time. The cream of Welsh A-listers have also been drawn to the exclusive hangout with their photos ending up in the next day's tabloids after being snapped by the paparazzi at the Chiltern Firehouse's imposing black gates. Mezzo-soprano Katherine Jenkins, 34, from Neath, who was most recently photographed at the star-studded Nordoff Robbins O2 Silver Clef awards (pic below) has dined out on more than one occasion in the last couple of months at the restaurant.
She appeared with her husband-to-be Andrew Levitas following a day at the races at Royal Ascot on 19th June and then arrived for dinner again just over a week later. Meanwhile, model Danielle Lineker, 35, from Cardiff, stepped out alone at the trendy eatery at the end of last month, without husband Gary, who is currently in Brazil, hosting the BBC's coverage of the World Cup. Danielle, who was invited to Prime Minister David Cameron's Best of Britain's Creative Industries event last week (see pic below), was also papped at the Chiltern Firehouse as she joined Carly Cole, wife of Aston Villa football star Joe Cole, for a girls dinner.
And back in May, Danielle was pictured leaving the restaurant with husband Gary just two weeks after their first visit.
Kelly Jones, 40, from Cwmaman, lead singer of the Stereophonics, dined at the restaurant with his wife Jakki Healy on June 3.
So, what is the big deal about The Chiltern Firehouse, and why is it a magnet for the celebs from Wales? The Clucker's first stop was to visit the restaurant's website http://www.chilternfirehouse.com/ .
This restaurant is so exclusive, the website only has one page. There's a picture of the restaurant, details of the address at 1 Chiltern Street in Marylebone, London, and a phone number and email address to make a reservation. And the name of André Balazs at the foot of the page. Who is André Balazs? The Clucker did more digging. Mr Balazs is a Hungarian-born hotel magnate who owns the Chiltern Firehouse. The hotelier, who also owns the Chateau Marmont Hotel in Los Angeles and The Mercer Hotel in New York, revamped the Grade II listed former purpose-built fire station into a swanky New York-style brasserie, opening its doors last year. The 200 capacity restaurant's clientele are greeted by top-hatted doormen and escorted through a garden courtyard to their tables.
Once inside, they are able to see a busy open kitchen, high ceilings, large mirrors and low-hanging lights. Tracey MacLeod, The Independent's restaurant critic, described the inside of the restaurant in her review.
She said: "There's a NYC vibe to the place, with its sharply-costumed greeters and throngs of beautiful rich people (no place here for the unconventionally
shaped). "The dining room, too, doesn't look like anywhere else in town. They've kept the huge firehouse doors, giving an almost rustic feel, while cleverly-placed mirrors create the illusion of infinite space. "And there's a theatrically open kitchen, in which the full spectrum of cheffly beards are on display."
Who might you clock sitting at the next table?
David Beckham, Simon Cowell, the One Direction boys, Lindsay Lohan, Nigella Lawson, Kate Moss, Rita Ora, Bradley Cooper, Paloma Faith, Naomi Campbell and Ellie Goulding have all been spotted at the eatery.
So, what's on the menu?
The kitchen is led by Portuguese head chef Nuno Mendes.
Celebs can choose from culinary delights such as crab-stuffed doughnuts, chargrilled Iberico pork, steak tartare, fried chicken, blackened salmon, the Firehouse Caesar salad, sweet potato pureéd with bourbon, and frozen apple panna cotta with toasted meringue and a herb granita. How much do the celebs have to fork out for a meal? Clearly, it's not cheap to eat out at the Chiltern Firehouse but apparently it's not over-the-top expensive either.
The Telegraph estimates a main course costs £25 while three courses will set you back about £41.
According to Tracey MacLeod of the Independent, you can expect to pay around £200 for a dinner for two including wine and service while brunch costs £20 a head.
The Guardian reckons it will cost you £75 a head with drinks and service.
You might think this all sounds pretty affordable, and you may be tempted to reserve a table. Well, unless you're a celeb or able to date a celeb, you may as well forget about it.
The Telegraph reported that the Chiltern Firehouse has a strict screening policy that puts famous faces to the front of the queue before us ordinary civilians.
Tom Parker-Bowles of the Daily Mail, in his review, summed up how difficult it is to get a table. He said: "The place is hotter than the surface of the Sun. I reckon even God would have to wait for a table." You can keep up-to-date with all the latest celebrity and showbiz tittle-tattle from Wales by following the Weekly Clucker on Twitter @weeklyclucker.
