A MUCH-LOVED actor from the Wrexham area looks unrecognisable as he stars in a new S4C film.

'Y Sŵn' (The Sound) aims to remind people of the sacrifices made to establish the Welsh language channel in the first place.

The punky, energetic film written by Roger Williams and directed by Lee Haven Jones tells the story of one of the most important events in the history of Wales in the twentieth century.

That is, Gwynfor Evans' stand for the establishment of a Welsh language television channel and his threat to go on hunger strike to ensure that.

As well as receiving many glowing reviews, the film has sparked conversations about the influence of protest, the future of broadcasting in Wales and the Welsh language.

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There will be another opportunity to watch the film on the channel that’s central to its story as it broadcasts on S4C on Sunday, April 9 at 9pm.

Set in 1979 and the turn of the 1980s, Y Sŵn is a feature film inspired by the events that led to the establishment of S4C, the world’s only Welsh language television channel.

Margaret Thatcher’s first government was swept to power with a manifesto that included a promise to establish a dedicated Welsh language television channel, only for the Home Secretary, William Whitelaw, to renege on the promise and spark a wave of civil disobedience across Wales.

A key opposition figure was Gwynfor Evans, the leader of Plaid Cymru who vowed to starve himself to death unless the government kept its promise and established the long-awaited channel.

The story focuses on three factions - civil servants in the Welsh Office, Welsh nationalists and members of Margaret Thatcher's first government, and the dramatic scenes are interwoven with archive clips of original news items, protests and interviews from that period.

Among the cast that brings the story to life are several familiar faces to the screen including Wrexham's Mark Lewis Jones (who plays William Whitelaw).

The Leader:

PIC: Mark Lewis Jones as William Whitelaw in 'Y Swn'.

Mark has starred in the likes of 'Stella', 'Keeping Faith', 'Outlander' and even huge titles like Star Wars and Game of Thrones during his successful career to date.

Born and raised in Rhosllanerchrugog, the 58-year-old has also just recently been announced as part of the 'Dal Y Mellt' cast - which will be the first-ever Welsh language only drama yet to be shown on Netflix when it's released this month. 

The idea of telling a slice of history that is relatively unfamiliar to many young Welsh today was the trigger for Y Swn's author Roger Williams: “I enjoy watching dramas by people like James Graham - he specifically makes political history dramas, but his work is about real people and real events that happened quite recently. I've been thinking for a while, why we don't we go after those stories?

“S4C was about to celebrate its 40th birthday, and I was interested more than anything else regarding the decisions that were made in Westminster. As a Welsh speaking Welshman I was aware of the story of Gwynfor Evans and Cymdeithas yr Iaith, but didn’t know why the Government had been so reluctant to provide a television channel - so that’s where the journey began for me creatively.

“It’s interesting that so many people under the age of 45 are unaware of the story, or don't know much about it, so it is important that we remind people of the sacrifice that was made.

You can watch Y Sŵn on S4C at 9pm on Sunday, April, 9 or on BBC Iplayer or S4C Clic.