Record-breaking drama Keeping Faith will be shown on BBC One
David Farnor | On 18, Jun 2018
Record-breaking drama Keeping Faith will be shown on BBC One this summer, the BBC has announced.
The eight-part series, which starred Eve Myles (Broadchurch/Victoria), tells the story of lawyer, wife and mother Faith (Myles), as she fights to find the truth behind the sudden disappearance of her husband.
It was jointly-commissioned with S4C and originally broadcast in Welsh as Un Bore Mercher. Recorded in English as well, the show was then broadcast on BBC Wales, but never made it to the UK on BBC One, instead being released on BBC iPlayer. That didn’t stop viewers from discovering the hidden gem, though, with this magazine and other publications highlighting the show as one not to miss.
“Eve Myles delivers a powerhouse performance in this gripping and moving Welsh drama,” we wrote in our review.
The series went on to become a record-breaker on BBC iPlayer, with over 9.5 million requests to view the drama – the highest ever number recorded for any non-network show on the BBC. It was a smash hit on BBC Wales too, with almost 300,000 people watching each of the weekly episodes, the highest audiences for a non-network drama shown in Wales for over 20 years.
Now, the Beeb has announced that the series, made by Vox Pictures and produced and directed by Pip Broughton, will get its much-deserved BBC One debut – the first time a joint BBC Wales/S4C drama commission has been shown on BBC One across the UK.
Nick Andrews, Head of Commissioning for BBC Wales says: “This series has been a real gem from start to finish – and it’s testament to the strength of drama coming out of Wales right now.
“I’m so proud that audiences across the UK will now get to enjoy everything Keeping Faith has to offer. Eve Myles has been utterly brilliant and I know she’d be the first to say she was supported by a remarkable cast and the terrific production team at Vox. The increased investment in English-language programming at BBC Wales has been a total game-changer for us and Keeping Faith is one of a series of hits which can be directly linked to the new funding.”
S4C’s Director of Content Amanda Rees adds: “This is a huge moment for S4C – the first time an original S4C/BBC Wales drama will be shown on BBC One network and it is testament to what is possible when two, national broadcasters come together and make great things happen. That Eve Myles learnt Welsh for the part provides an inspiration for Welsh learners everywhere.”
The drama comes to network television at the same time as BBC Wales and S4C’s co-commissioned Hidden airs on BBC One Wales and BBC Four.