upfront
WELCOME
TO SUBURBIA
Where
everyone’s
a suspect
Following the success of its hit detective drama series Y Gwyll/
Hinterland, Welsh language TV broadcaster S4C have introduced their
latest thriller series 35 Diwrnod which will hit the screens this month.
35 Diwrnod, translated as ‘35 days’, promises to be
a completely new mystery series, which will keep us
on the edge of our seats. Set on a suburban housing
estate, it is centred on the fate of a young woman
whose body is seen lying alone in her home in the
opening scene of the series.
After this grim discovery, we’re immediately thrown
back 35 days, to the day the woman moves to the
estate. From that day until her death, 35 days later,
we’ll unlock her past and get to know her new
neighbours, and the secrets they harbour on the
estate of Crud yr Awel.
Life is not all it seems on the cul-de-sac. Sins and
secrets lurk behind the manicured lawns. Gradually,
as the days tick by, normal life begins to unravel and
cracks appear in the perfect facades – all sparked by
the mysterious young woman who has come to live
among them. Who is she? Why is she here? And why
do so many of the neighbours wish her ill?
And as the events unfold, each of the estate’s
residents will come under suspicion. Set in the days
leading up to the murder, it’s the opposite of your
traditional ‘whodunnit’... and the question for the
viewers will be ‘who is going to do it?’
Written by BAFTA Cymru-winning scriptwriter
Siwan Jones and the award-winning novelist and
scriptwriter Wiliam Owen Roberts, their intention
was to create a drama which allowed the viewers to
play the role of detective.
BUZZ 10
Siwan Jones says; “We have tried to create a story
within the traditional detective genre but have
turned it inside out. The viewers are the ones who
will analyse the clues and events.”
“We have tried
to create a
story within
the traditional
detective genre
but have turned it
inside out. ”
Wiliam Owen Roberts adds, “We will sustain the
mystery about the body until the very end and let
the viewers solve the different motives by attempting
to understand the suggestions we’ve planted here
and there. We’ve also mislead and teased with
suggestions and secrets which could be significant –
or then again, not.”
And the truth about the young woman’s death is a
closely guarded secret. Only a handful of people were
told the result of the story, and the truth was only
shared with the cast and crew in the final stages of
filming.
Keeping the actors in the dark was a key factor in
protecting the authenticity of the story, explains
series producer Paul Jones: “It was vital to protect
the identity of the culprit in order to maintain the
authenticity of the story. The events of the drama
take place before the discovery of a body, so the
characters are oblivious to the tragedy that’s ahead
of them.
“In 35 days time, one of them, or even several of
them, will be held responsible for her fate, but
neither of them knows it yet! It’s up to the viewers to
make sense of the circumstances and interpret what
they wish from the clues we lay before them.”
Playing the lead role is the actress Lois Jones, who
starred in Theatr Genedlaethol Cymru’s Y Bont last
year.
The cast also features new and familiar faces including
Ryland Teifi, Beth Robert, Elin Haf Davies, Aled Bidder,
Olwen Rees, Wyn Bowen Harries, Martin Thomas, Ceri
Murphy, Eiry Hughes, Rhys ap Hywel, Rhys ap William,
Catrin Morgan and Broadchurch murderer, Matthew
Gravelle as you’ve never seen him before!
35 Diwrnod, S4C, Sun 23 Mar, 9pm.
English subtitles available on all
transmissions.