'It's rare to see Wales portrayed like this - opulent, ambitious, creative'

Welsh star Eve Myles speaks to Kathryn Williams about her role in new BBC thriller The Guest

- 

IF THERE'S one thing you can say about Eve Myles, it's that the Ystradgynlais actress is rarely typecast.

The 47-year-old star is due to take over our TVs this September at the front and centre of prime-time dramas The Guest and Coldwater - both thrillers, both quite different.

We caught up with Eve ahead of The Guest's BBC One debut tomorrow night, and she told us why the role of Fran took her completely out of her “stratosphere” and how she hopes she “never feels safe”.

Known to millions as Torchwood’s Gwen Cooper, Eve's captivating screen presence was no better harnessed than as Faith Howells - a small-town solicitor whose husband captured the nation in Keeping Faith.

The characters of Gwen, Faith and now Fran Sharp were built on the foundation of Eve’s roles as strong Welsh women in beloved localised dramas such as Belonging and Baker Boys.

Now, away from the Doctor Who universe in which she arse-kicked aliens, and the fictional Carmarthenshire town where Faith Howells arse-kicked plenty too, comes Fran: a seemingly independent, successful businesswoman who falls into an obsessive co-dependant relationship with Ria, played by Gabrielle Creevy of In My Skin fame.

Stepping into the role of millionaire Fran was a shock to the system, even for a seasoned drama pro like Eve.

She explained: “When those clothes were put to me, I came out in a sweat, not in those clothes because they were too expensive. I was like, ‘how do you wear those things?!

“The hair, how do you, how, how do you begin with that?

“The nails. The swearing that went on in the house, because I couldn't do my buttons and zips and make packed lunches because of these damn nails.

“And the house, the cars, the luxury, the whole kind of brandness of it all was so out of my stratosphere that I had to get it quick and own it quick.

“Swallow it up and keep it there until they shout the golden wrap”