Seeking the TRUTH

JOANNA SCANLAN on playing a grieving mum in a Welsh noir thriller

- HANNAH DAVIES

SHARON ROBERTS

JOANNA SCANLAN

Haunted by the murder of her teenage daughter, Ela, 18 years ago, the grieving mum finds her life unravelling when Ela’s killer is released on parole.

Y GOLAU

NEW SUNDAY, 9PM, S4C (WEEKLY, BBC IPLAYER) DRAMA

Joanna Scanlan is one of our finest and funniest actors. But now The Larkins and Gentleman Jack star is taking on a very different challenge by learning Welsh to play a grieving mum in S4C and BBC iPlayer’s brand-new psychological thriller Y Golau.

Filmed in both English and Welsh with English subtitles (the English-language version, will air on C4 and All 4 later this year), the six-part series sees Joanna as Sharon Roberts, whose teenage daughter, Ela, was murdered in mysterious circumstances by local gardener Joe Pritchard ( star Iwan Rheon).

Now, 18 years on, Joe is about to be released on parole. But with nobody and Joe claiming he has no memory of the crime, both Sharon and Ela’s childhood friend Cat ( ’s Alexandra Roach) are determined to get to the truth. But at what cost?

Here, in an exclusive interview, Joanna, 60, who recently won Best Actress at the BAFTA Film Awards for her role in the movie tells TV Times more…

How would you describe Sharon and the journey she goes on throughout the series?