Sun, Surf And Sex

Zanzibar, S4C's new sun, surf and sex comedy drama, begins tomorrow night. It tells the story of how eight vastly different young people, all with issues they are trying to avoid, cast their troubles aside for a summer of debauchery. Their paths cross in the bar Zanzibar, which is the setting for the show.

It’s a "sexy, raw, funny, dark drama" writes the Post's Wendy Jones, and much like Skins each of the episodes will concentrate on one of the characters. Tom and Danny are under increasing pressure from their parents, Rhian’s the broke student, and Huw is a fitness fanatic with a burning secret. Mirain is tasting freedom for the first time, Dai Donkey is the joker and Gwenno is having an affair with a married lecturer. Then there’s Kate – a girl who lives above the bar and, to be blunt, is a bit of a nymphomaniac.


She is played by Catrin-Mai Huw, who says her character is “independent, she’s got no family and she supports herself.” The bubbly 23-year-old actress is no stranger to darker drama – her first big TV role was in S4C drama Alys, in which she played Alys’ friend Ceri, an 18-year-old with a grim outlook on the world. She’s keen not to give away too much about Zanzibar’s storyline so as not to spoil the suspense, but said the on-screen friends got on just as well together away from the cameras. “We all shared a flat in Dinas Dinlle, when we filmed the interior scenes in Caernarfon, and again in Aberystwyth, where we did the exterior scenes. “It was working with a fab group of people. We were all so different but we managed to play to our strengths as actors and as people. “We’re all still in touch – still talking to each other.”

Mirain is a young girl who finds herself away from her parents for the first time and is played by Ellen Ceri Lloyd. "She's one of the youngest characters and is a bit of a madam. Her parents go away for three months and while they're gone she gets herself into a lot of trouble," said Ellen. The 23-year-old, who now lives in London, believes the drama breaks new territory for the Welsh-language channel. "The show is trying to break the boundaries of the typical S4C programme," said the former Strade pupil. "It's being aired later at night and is really trying to appeal to young people — 16 to 25 year olds. It's got lots of sex and nudity — it should be really exciting. It's been compared to Skins, or Hollyoaks."



According to Beth Angell, producer and one of the series’ authors, each of the characters are trying to escape something. “Zanzibar is a sanctuary where they can forget their problems – an escape from responsibilities, their parents and the past. It’s a place where they create their own urban family,” she explains. “We see stories of individuals from their perspective, and follow them as they plough their own furrow over one summer in their lives. We’re drawn into their world.”

Most of the talented young cast are fresh from drama colleges and are new to the small screen. Many have spent several summers in each other’s company on the National Youth Theatre of Wales’ residential courses. Among the other cast members are Ellen Ceri Lloyd, Dafydd Llyr Thomas, Meilir Rhys Williams, who comes from Llanuwchllyn, Elin Phillips, Siôn Ifan, Hanna Jarman and Gwydion Rhys.

Back to the programme – what did Ms Huw's family think of her frankly rather racy role? “They are trying to stop my grandmother from watching it,” laughed Catrin-Mai.