Wales has a television culture as distinctive as its language and landscape. From the rolling hills of the Valleys to the dramatic coastline of Pembrokeshire, from the post-industrial communities of the South to the Welsh-speaking heartlands of the North and West, Welsh television reflects a nation with its own stories to tell.
The establishment of S4C (Sianel Pedwar Cymru) in 1982—the Welsh-language television channel—was a landmark moment that followed years of campaigning, including a hunger strike threat by politician Gwynfor Evans. S4C’s creation ensured Welsh-language programming would have a dedicated home, while English-language Welsh production has also flourished through BBC Wales, ITV Wales, and independent producers.
Welsh television encompasses both languages and spans every genre: from Pobol y Cwm’s decades as a Welsh-language soap to the global success of Doctor Who produced in Cardiff, from gritty dramas about mining communities to supernatural thrillers set in the Welsh landscape. The common thread is a distinctively Welsh perspective—stories that could only come from this particular place and culture.
Here are 25 television shows that represent the best of Welsh television, whether made in Welsh, made in Wales, or both.
1. Doctor Who (2005-present)
Network: BBC One
Produced: BBC Wales, Cardiff
Showrunners: Russell T Davies, Steven Moffat, Chris Chibnall, Russell T Davies
Significance: Wales
Russell T Davies’s decision to base the revived Doctor Who at BBC Wales transformed Cardiff into a major television production center. The Roald Dahl Plass became the Torchwood base, Welsh landmarks featured regularly, and the industry that grew around the show has made Wales a significant player in British drama production. While Doctor Who travels everywhere, its heart is in Cardiff.
2. Torchwood (2006-2011)
Network: BBC Three/BBC One/Starz
Seasons: 4
Starring: John Barrowman, Eve Myles, Burn Gorman, Gareth David-Lloyd
Setting: Cardiff
This Doctor Who spin-off established Cardiff as its setting, with Captain Jack Harkness leading a team investigating alien activity from their base beneath the Millennium Centre. The show used Cardiff locations extensively, making the city a character in its own right. Eve Myles’s Gwen Cooper brought Welsh sensibility to the increasingly dark narratives.
3. Gavin & Stacey (2007-2019)
Network: BBC Three/BBC One
Seasons: 3
Starring: Mathew Horne, Joanna Page, James Corden, Ruth Jones
Setting: Barry and Essex
Ruth Jones and James Corden’s comedy centered on the romance between Essex boy Gavin and Barry girl Stacey, bringing Welsh culture into mainstream British comedy. Barry Island became famous beyond Wales, while the show’s affectionate portrayal of Welsh family life charmed millions. The 2019 Christmas special drew over 18 million viewers.
4. Pobol y Cwm (1974-present)
Network: S4C
Episodes: 6,000+
Setting: Cwmderi, Wales
Language: Welsh
Europe’s longest-running television soap after Coronation Street has chronicled life in the fictional village of Cwmderi for five decades. As essential to Welsh-speaking audiences as Coronation Street is to English viewers, Pobol y Cwm addresses universal themes through a specifically Welsh lens. The show has launched careers and tackled issues relevant to Welsh communities.
5. Hinterland/Y Gwyll (2013-2016)
Network: S4C/BBC One Wales
Seasons: 3
Starring: Richard Harrington, Mali Harries, Hannah Daniel
Setting: Aberystwyth
This bilingual noir (shot in both Welsh and English versions) placed a brooding detective drama in mid-Wales’s spectacular landscape. Richard Harrington’s DCI Mathias investigated crimes against the backdrop of hills, sea, and isolation. The show’s atmosphere—bleak, beautiful, utterly Welsh—earned international sales and critical acclaim.
6. Keeping Faith/Un Bore Mercher (2017-2021)
Network: S4C/BBC One Wales
Seasons: 3
Starring: Eve Myles, Bradley Freegard, Mark Lewis Jones
Setting: Carmarthenshire
Eve Myles starred in this thriller about a solicitor investigating her husband’s disappearance, filmed simultaneously in Welsh and English. The show became a phenomenon, with the English version drawing huge iPlayer audiences beyond Wales. The Carmarthenshire setting showcased West Wales while the drama delivered gripping mystery.
7. Stella (2012-2017)
Network: Sky1
Seasons: 6
Starring: Ruth Jones, Patrick Baladi, Craig Gallivan
Setting: Pontyberry (fictional Valleys town)
Ruth Jones created and starred in this warm comedy-drama about a single mother in a fictional Valleys community. Stella celebrated Welsh working-class life with humor and heart, featuring a large ensemble of eccentric characters. The show’s affection for its setting and characters made it beloved viewing for six seasons.
8. Belonging (1999-2009)
Network: BBC One Wales
Seasons: 10
Starring: Eve Myles, Steve Speirs, Di Botcher
Setting: Valleys town
This long-running drama about three generations of a Valleys family ran for a decade, addressing issues from domestic violence to economic decline within its specific Welsh context. Eve Myles emerged from the cast to become Wales’s most prominent television actress.
9. Crash (2023-present)
Network: BBC One Wales
Seasons: 1+
Starring: Mark Lewis Jones, Aneurin Barnard, Siân Phillips
Setting: Welsh town
This drama about a car crash and its aftermath showcased Welsh acting talent including screen legend Siân Phillips. Set in Wales with a Welsh cast, Crash represented BBC Wales’s commitment to distinctively Welsh drama.
10. Hidden/Craith (2018-2019)
Network: S4C/BBC One Wales
Seasons: 2
Starring: Sian Reese-Williams, Rhodri Meilir, Gwyneth Keyworth
Setting: North Wales
Another bilingual production, this crime drama followed investigations in Snowdonia, using the dramatic North Wales landscape as backdrop for dark mysteries. The show demonstrated that Welsh noir could sustain multiple seasons while showcasing areas beyond the familiar South Wales settings.
11. 35 Diwrnod/35 Days (2014-2018)
Network: S4C
Seasons: 3
Starring: Richard Harrington, Mark Lewis Jones
Setting: North Wales
Language: Welsh
This Welsh-language thriller followed events leading up to and following from significant events across 35-day periods. The show proved Welsh-language drama could deliver sophisticated, serialized storytelling with production values matching any English-language equivalent.
12. Mine All Mine (2004)
Network: ITV1
Episodes: 3
Starring: Griff Rhys Jones, Ruth Madoc, Simon Callow
Setting: Swansea
Russell T Davies’s comedy about a family that discovers it owns most of Swansea showcased the city and its culture. While brief, the show demonstrated Davies’s affection for Wales before his Doctor Who success brought Welsh production to global attention.
13. The Indian Doctor (2010-2013)
Network: BBC One
Seasons: 3
Starring: Sanjeev Bhaskar, Ayesha Dharker
Setting: 1960s Valleys
This drama followed an Indian doctor and his wife arriving in a 1950s-60s mining village, exploring culture clash and community through engaging mysteries. The show examined Welsh-immigrant relations with warmth while showcasing Valleys settings.
14. Y Pris/The Price (2020)
Network: S4C
Seasons: 1
Starring: Iwan Rheon
Setting: Cardiff and Wales
Language: Welsh
This Welsh-language crime thriller starred Welsh actor Iwan Rheon (Game of Thrones) in a homecoming role. The show attracted attention for bringing an internationally known actor to S4C while delivering noir drama in Welsh.
15. The Pembrokeshire Murders (2021)
Network: ITV
Episodes: 3
Starring: Luke Evans, Keith Allen, David Fynn
Setting: Pembrokeshire
This true crime drama about the investigation of serial killer John Cooper starred Welsh Hollywood actor Luke Evans. The show brought attention to a terrifying Welsh case while showcasing Pembrokeshire’s landscape and Evans’s return to Welsh storytelling.
16. A Poet in New York (2014)
Network: BBC Two
Format: Television film
Starring: Tom Hollander
Subject: Dylan Thomas
Andrew Davies’s drama about Dylan Thomas’s final days in New York starred Tom Hollander as the Welsh poet. The film explored Thomas’s Welsh identity even while depicting his American downfall, serving as tribute to Wales’s most famous literary export.
17. Under Milk Wood (various adaptations)
Network: Various
Format: Multiple television adaptations
Source: Dylan Thomas
Dylan Thomas’s “play for voices” has been adapted for television multiple times, most notably with Richard Burton and with a 2014 version directed by Pip Broughton. The material is quintessentially Welsh, Thomas’s language capturing a timeless Welsh village.
18. Ryan and Ronnie (2017)
Network: BBC One Wales
Format: Television film
Starring: Matthew Rhys, Steffan Rhodri
Subject: Ryan Davies and Ronnie Williams
This biopic told the story of beloved Welsh comedy double act Ryan and Ronnie, with Matthew Rhys playing Ryan Davies. The film celebrated Welsh entertainment history while addressing the personal struggles behind public success.
19. Cwm (1987-1989)
Network: S4C
Format: Children’s drama
Setting: Welsh countryside
Language: Welsh
This Welsh-language children’s drama built loyal audiences and helped establish S4C as producer of quality original content across all genres.
20. Parch/Parch (2015-present)
Network: S4C
Seasons: Multiple
Starring: Eiry Thomas
Setting: Rural Wales
Language: Welsh
This Welsh-language drama about a female vicar in rural Wales has developed loyal audiences over multiple seasons, addressing community life through the lens of the church.
21. Bang (2017-2018)
Network: S4C
Seasons: 2
Starring: Catrin Stewart, Jacob Ifan
Setting: Port Talbot
Language: Welsh
This Welsh-language thriller set in Port Talbot followed a forensic scientist drawn into criminal investigation in her hometown. The show used the industrial town’s distinctive atmosphere while delivering crime drama in Welsh.
22. Y Llyfrgell/The Library Suicides (2016)
Network: S4C
Format: Film
Starring: Catrin Stewart
Setting: National Library of Wales
Language: Welsh
This Welsh-language thriller set in the National Library at Aberystwyth brought genre filmmaking to Welsh-language cinema, demonstrating S4C could produce contemporary thriller content.
23. Teulu/Family (2017-present)
Network: S4C
Format: Drama series
Language: Welsh
This Welsh-language drama has addressed family and community issues for Welsh-speaking audiences, maintaining S4C’s commitment to original drama across genres.
24. Coalhouse (1995-1998)
Network: BBC One
Seasons: 3
Setting: Welsh mining village
This drama set in a Welsh mining community during and after the industry’s decline addressed the human cost of deindustrialization. The show tackled issues specific to Welsh experience while finding universal themes in communities facing economic devastation.
25. Twin Town (1997)
Network: Film (Theatrical)
Starring: Llŷr Ifans, Rhys Ifans, Dorien Thomas
Setting: Swansea
While a film rather than television, Twin Town’s influence on Welsh screen culture earns inclusion. The Lewis twins (Rhys and Llŷr Ifans) created an anarchic vision of Swansea that contrasted with stereotypical Welsh imagery. The film announced a new Welsh cinema unafraid to be edgy and contemporary.
Conclusion
Welsh television has come of age in the 21st century. The establishment of S4C preserved Welsh-language production, while BBC Wales’s expansion—particularly around Doctor Who—created infrastructure that serves both languages. Welsh actors from Eve Myles to Matthew Rhys to Luke Evans have achieved international recognition while maintaining connections to Welsh production.
What distinguishes Welsh television is the combination of two television cultures—Welsh-language and English-language Welsh—serving overlapping but distinct audiences. S4C productions like Pobol y Cwm and Hinterland serve Welsh speakers while often reaching broader audiences through bilingual production or subtitled export. English-language Welsh production serves the majority English-speaking Welsh population while maintaining Welsh perspectives and settings.
The landscape itself is a recurring character—the Valleys, the coast, the mountains of Snowdonia—providing visual distinctiveness that marks Welsh production immediately. Combined with Welsh accents, Welsh concerns, and Welsh stories, this creates television that couldn’t come from anywhere else.
For Anglophiles interested in the diversity of British television, Welsh production offers a distinctive voice worth seeking out. From the global phenomenon of Doctor Who to the intimate Welsh-language dramas of S4C, Wales produces television that enriches the broader British landscape while maintaining its own identity.
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