Welsh language soap opera, Pobol y Cwm, has announced a new and groundbreaking storyline involving childhood sexual abuse. The storyline, developed in collaboration with Greater Manchester-based male sexual harm charity, We Are Survivors, has been met with critical acclaim.
Last night’s episode saw Mathew, played by Mark Stuart Roberts, return to his childhood home and confront his past traumas. The powerful performance shed light on the lasting effects of childhood sexual abuse and the importance of bringing these issues to light.
Chief Executive Officer of We Are Survivors, Duncan Craig OBE, worked closely with the writers and producers of Pobol y Cwm to ensure the authenticity of the storyline. Craig, whose previous work includes consulting on popular dramas such as Hollyoaks, Coronation Street, Eastenders, and Casualty, expressed his gratitude for the opportunity to collaborate on such an important storyline.
“The whole experience of working with the team at Pobol y Cwm has been incredible. Right from the start, from the first email I received from them asking if I would be interested in working with them on this story to emails, texts and WhatsApp messages we had last night after the big episode aired, they have been 100% committed to telling this story with as much authenticity as possible,” said Craig.
Working closely with writer Gareth Owen, story producer Osian Edwards, line producer Rheinallt Rees, director Gwion Tegid, and series producer Dafydd Llewelyn, Craig provided insight into the psychological, physical, and emotional aspects of Mathew’s experience. Drawing from his own experiences as a survivor of child abuse, Craig worked to ensure the accuracy and sensitivity of the storyline.
“Gareth and Osian were amazing, never once did they make me feel like what I was saying wasn’t useful or that I was being critical. Gareth took everything I said over time and crafted one of the most powerful pieces of drama I have seen for ages,” said Craig.
We Are Survivors, founded and led by Craig, has previously worked on similar projects, including the Hollyoaks John Paul (James Sutton) rape storyline and the drug-facilitated rape of David Platt (Jack P Shepard) in Coronation Street. The charity has also consulted on the Hollyoaks grooming abuse storyline, based on the real-life events of the football sexual abuse scandal, and the recent Casualty storyline involving Cameron Mickelthwaite (Barney Walsh) and his past childhood sexual abuse.
Actor Mark Stuart Roberts, who plays Mathew in the show, shared his experience of working on such a sensitive and important storyline in the latest edition of We Are Survivors’ Beyond the Silence magazine.
“I don’t know what I was expecting when Duncan came on screen during our initial online meeting, but he just burst onto the screen! You almost have a pre-conceived idea of what a ‘victim’ is. But what I saw in Duncan was someone who had taken everything horrific that had happened to him and just turned it on its head. And that’s an absolute triumph,” said Roberts.
Roberts, who has thrown himself into the challenging role, expressed his hope that the storyline would spark important conversations and bring awareness to the issue of childhood sexual abuse.
“There’s more to this story than entertainment, and whether it’s received positively or negatively, the point is to create the discussion. It’s a big, difficult storyline. I’ve lost sleep at night. Coming off set, there have been times where I’ve just sat in a room for about six hours afterwards really trying to process everything. Because I’m doing this 14-16 hours a day, you almost become so connected to Mathew that you forget to be Mark,” said Roberts.
He also praised the power of using familiar characters and settings to explore difficult issues, stating, “There’s something incredibly powerful about seeing difficult issues explored in a familiar setting, with characters people have grown up watching. It breaks down barriers. It reminds us that these things don’t just happen ‘somewhere else’ – they happen in our towns, our streets, even within our own families. I think drama has a responsibility, not just to entertain, but to inform and to create space for empathy and change. And the work being done here shows how important and transformative that can be.”
The collaboration between Pobol y Cwm and We Are Survivors has been a successful one, with Roberts becoming the latest ambassador for the charity. He joins other notable ambassadors, including Hollyoaks’ James Sutton, entrepreneur Charley Lester, RuPaul’s Drag Race legend Cheddar Gorgeous, DJ Sam Thompson, and Emmy Award-winning actor and writer Richard Gadd.
“I’m proud of what we’ve achieved and created,” said Roberts, reflecting on his new role with the charity. “This will and has been one of the most emotionally demanding and deeply important experiences of my career. But it’s a drop in the ocean compared to
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