Caerdydd is a Welsh language television programme set in Cardiff made by Fiction Factory[1] for Welsh public service television station S4C. The series is "a stylish, new drama about modern, urban Welsh-speakers living in a bilingual city"[2] following "a group of modern urban twenty- and thirtysomethings"[2] with "their complex friendships and relationships [set] against a backdrop of relentless socialising".[2] First commissioned by S4C's drama editor Angharad Jones in 2005,[3] as part of a drive by S4C to reach a younger audience,[4][5] the third series of Caerdydd started its run on S4C on 30 March 2008. A fourth series was commissioned[6] and went into production in Spring 2008.[7] It started broadcasting on 14 June 2009.[8]
Awards and nominations
Caerdydd (2nd series) has received three nominations for the 2008 Bafta Cymru awards: Best Screenwriter for Ed Talfan, Best Design for Hayden Pearce and Best Director of Photography (Drama) for Richard Wyn.[9][10] The second series was also nominated at the Celtic Media Festival 2008 for best drama series.[11]
The third series has been nominated for Best Drama Series at the 2009 Bafta Cymru awards; Roger Wiliams as Best Screenwriter, and Ryland Teifi as Best Actor.[12]
Criticism
Criticism of the series focuses mainly on three topics:
the series was originally set in Dublin and only transferred to Cardiff when commissioned by S4C.[citation needed]
the large amount of English spoken, not just as some characters are non-Welsh speakers, but also English words in Welsh dialogue.[5]
explicit sex scenes of both a heterosexual and homosexual nature.[5]
A row started after the broadcast of episode three in series III as it emerged that a sex scene was actually filmed on location in a toilet room of the Senedd, the Welsh National Assembly building, and not in a television studio.[13][14][15] Officials of the National Assembly for Wales Commission who approved the filming for the Neuadd area, the corridors of the building and for one scene in the baby-changing room, were not made aware of the nature of the scene.[13][16] The scene itself, filmed on 14 March 2008,[13] involves Lea Kennedy (played by Alys Thomas) who is working for an unnamed party group and her much older boyfriend Stephen James (Dewi Rhys Williams) having sexual intercourse.[17] As a result, S4C announced that it was investigating the matter and had contacted producers.[13][18] One AM, William Graham (Conservative) called for scripts to be vetted more closely in the future.[13][19]
S4C's investigation came to this conclusion: S4C has looked into the circumstances surrounding the filming of drama series Caerdydd at the Senedd and is satisfied that the production company followed the correct procedures. We are confident that Senedd personnel who dealt with this issue were not misled.[19]
The National Assembly's investigation came to this conclusion: The National Assembly has carried out a full internal review of the circumstances of the filming of Caerdydd. We can confirm that at no stage of the negotiations about the use of the building for filming, or during the filming itself, was the content of the scene disclosed by the programme makers. Despite this setback, the Assembly is committed to being open and accessible to all, including programme makers, and we sincerely hope that this does not prevent us from working with responsible companies in future.[19]
Series 4 has been commissioned[6] and is currently in production.[7]
Episodes are available (with on-screen English subtitles) on S4C's website for streaming for 35 days after initial broadcast. The first series went online each Saturday following the initial TV broadcast, without any restrictions to availability.[24]
All episodes are fully subtitled, in Welsh and English. The Welsh subtitles are available for download.[25]
