09.01.20

Cathryn Ings Cyswllt Contact Ffôn Phone 03305 880450

Erthygl i'r Wasg Press Article

Mae Ruth Jones yn ymweld â Chwmderi ac yn gofyn am help - yn y Gymraeg!

Mae’n siŵr bydd nifer o bobl yn gyfarwydd iawn â gweld yr actores a’r awdures Ruth Jones yn brasgamu lawr strydoedd y Barri fel Nessa yn y sioe hynod o lwyddiannus Gavin a Stacey ar y BBC. Felly, byddai ei gweld hi yng Nghwmderi yn yr opera sebon Pobol y Cwm yn dipyn o sypreis!

Ond ar ddydd Mawrth, Ionawr 21, fe fydd Ruth yn ymddangos fel hi ei hun yn chwilio am garej ar ôl i’w char dorri lawr ar y ffordd i Gaerdydd.

Mae ymweliad Ruth i’r Cwm yn rhan o gyfres newydd sbon ar yng Ngwanwyn 2020 sef Iaith ar Daith.

Mae Ruth yn un o bump seleb sy’n mynd ar daith i rannau gwahanol o Gymru gyda mentor adnabyddus sy’n gallu siarad Cymraeg i geisio dysgu Cymraeg, neu yn achos Ruth, i wella ei Chymraeg llafar.

Fel rhan o Iaith ar Daith, mae rhaid i bob un o’r selebs gyflawni nifer o sialensau - ac un o rheini i Ruth oedd dysgu sgript a chael rhan ar Pobol y Cwm - opera sebon mwyaf hirhoedlog a fu ar S4C.

Ac er waetha’r ffaith ei bod hi’n nerfus iawn, fe wnaeth Ruth fwynhau’r profiad yn fawr.

“O Jiw, o’n i mor nerfus - wir nawr! Yn rhannol, yn amlwg, oherwydd y Gymraeg - actio mewn iaith newydd, rhywbeth wi heb ei wneud o’r blaen ond hefyd oherwydd bod Pobol y Cwm yn chwedlonol, trysor cenedlaethol teledu Cymraeg!”

“Roedd cymeriadau yna ar y diwrnod hwnnw o’n i wedi gwylio dros y blynyddoedd a dyma fi yn gorfod actio gyda nhw. Roedd e’n sefyllfa anghyffredin i fod ynddi. Mae rhaid imi ddweud roedd Pobol y Cwm yn help mawr i mi rai blynyddoedd yn ôl pan ddechreuodd fy niddordeb mewn dysgu Cymraeg. O’n i arfer gwylio’r omnibws gyda’r isdeitlau - er dysgais i sawl ymadroddiad eitha’ lliwgar fel ‘yr hen ast’!”

“Ar y set, roedd Richard Lynch (Garry Monk) - yr un o’n i’n actio gyda – roedd e mor garedig ac amyneddgar ac fe wnaeth e wneud imi deimlo’n gyfforddus iawn. Roedd pob aelod o’r cast a’r cyfarwyddwr yn arbennig. Rwy’ mor ddiolchgar iddynt am fod mor groesawgar. Ac o’n i wrth fy modd yn troedio strydoedd Cwmderi.”

Yn ôl Ruth, peth rhyfedd iawn oedd actio yn y Gymraeg ar ôl arfer actio yn Saesneg. “Roedd hyn oherwydd o’n i’n chware fi fy hunan, nid cymeriad, a dydw i ddim wedi gwneud hyn o’r blaen, felly efallai byddai chwarae cymeriad yn wahanol eto?”

Felly, tybed a allwn ni ddisgwyl gweld Ruth yn actio yn yr iaith Gymraeg yn y dyfodol?

“Well, watch this space. Mae’n beth da i herio dy hunan ond yw e? Never say never…”

Dywedodd Ruth ei bod hi wedi bod yn dysgu Cymraeg mewn ffordd anffurfiol am flynyddoedd. Ac ar ôl ymuno â’r cwrs Cymraeg Say Something in Welsh, roedd gwneud Iaith ar Daith yn teimlo fel y cam nesaf naturiol.

Dewisodd Ruth yr actores a’r comediwraig Gilian Elisa fel mentor i’w helpu ar ei thaith i ddysgu Cymraeg.

“Dw i wedi nabod Gillian ers bron i 30 mlynedd, mae hi’n ffrind annwyl iawn ac yn gymaint o hwyl. Cawsom ni wythnos bleserus iawn,” meddai Ruth. “Dros y blynyddoedd mae hi a fi wedi ceisio siarad Cymraeg gyda’n gilydd. Mae Gillian yn amyneddgar iawn ac yn mwynhau rhannu ei gwybodaeth a helpu fi wella.”

Cadwch lygaid allan am fwy o newyddion ar Iaith ar Daith (Cynhyrchiad Boom Cymru) dros yr wythnosau nesaf pan fydd pedwar wyneb cyfarwydd arall yn cael eu datgelu ynghyd â’u mentoriaid.

Pobol y Cwm Llun & Mercher (dwbl bil) 8.00, Mawrth & Iau 7.30; S4C Isdeitlau Cymraeg a Saesneg Omnibws bob dydd Sul gydag isdeitlau Saesneg ar y sgrin Ar alw: S4C Clic; BBC iPlayer a llwyfannau eraill Cynhyrchiad BBC Cymru

Nodiadau:

Mae Iaith ar Daith yn rhan o ymgyrch Iaith2020 S4C. Bwriad yr ymgyrch yw sbarduno’r drafodaeth am yr iaith Gymraeg ymysg pobl Cymru i gyd - siaradwyr Cymraeg o bob lefel a’r di- Gymraeg. Bydd yn gyfle i drafod hanes yr iaith, ei phwysigrwydd a’i dyfodol.

Bydd cyfres o raglenni yn ystod y 12 mis nesaf gan gynnwys Iaith ar Daith a chyfres newydd sy’n edrych ar hanes yr iaith Gymraeg.

09.01.20

Cathryn Ings Cyswllt Contact Ffôn Phone 03305 880450

Erthygl i'r Wasg Press Article

Ruth Jones visits Cwmderi and asks for help - in Welsh!

Viewers are used to seeing the actor and writer Ruth Jones stride the streets of Barry in her role as Nessa in the smash hit BBC show Gavin and Stacey – but seeing her pop up in Cwmderi in Welsh soap Pobol y Cwm will be quite a surprise!

But on Tuesday, January 21, Ruth will appear as herself, looking for a garage after her car breaks down on the way to Cardiff.

Ruth’s visit to the Cwm is part of Iaith ar Daith (Welsh on Tour) - a brand new series on S4C this Spring 2020.

She is one of five celebrities who will be taking to the road with a famous Welsh-speaking mentor in a bid to learn Welsh, or in Ruth’s case, improve upon her spoken Welsh.

As part of the series, each of the celebrities have to undertake a number of challenges. And one of Ruth’s challenges was to learn a script and have a part in the BBC’s longest running soap Pobol y Cwm.

And although Ruth said she was very nervous – she enjoyed the experience enormously.

Ruth said: “Oh my God I was so nervous - partly, obviously because of the Welsh - acting in a new language which I had never done before, but also because Pobol y Cwm is such an institution, a national Welsh televisual treasure!

“And there were characters there that day who I've watched over the years and now I was going to be acting with them. It was an unusual position to be in. I must say that Pobol y Cwm helped me enormously a few years ago when I first started to be interested in learning Welsh. I used to watch the omnibus edition with the subtitles - though I did learn some rather choice phrases such as 'yr hen ast' (the old bitch)!”

“On set, Richard Lynch (Garry Monk), who I was mainly acting with, was so kind and patient and put me at ease. All the cast were great as was the director. I'm very grateful to them for being so welcoming. And I loved walking along the streets of Cwmderi!”

Ruth said it was very strange acting in Welsh after being used to acting in English. “This was partly because I was playing myself, not a character, and I don't think I've done that before, so maybe a character would feel different again?”

“I was trying to be as natural as possible and to make my Welsh sound as natural as possible, but inside I was terrified.”

So, can we expect to see Ruth pop up in any more roles in the future?

“Well watch this space. It's good to challenge yourself isn't it? And I'd never say never...”

Ruth said that she has been trying to learn Welsh in an informal way for years. And after joining the Say Something in Welsh course, doing Iaith ar Daith felt like a natural next step.

Ruth chose the actor and Gillian Elisa to help her on her Welsh learning journey.

“I have known Gillian for nearly 30 years, she is a dear, dear friend and such brilliant fun. She made what was already an incredibly enjoyable week, even better,” said Ruth. “She and I have, over the years tried to speak Welsh when we can - Gillian is very patient and enjoys sharing her knowledge and helping me improve.”

Look out for more news on Iaith ar Daith, produced by Boom Cymru for S4C, over the next few weeks when five more well-known faces will be announced along with their mentors.

Pobol y Cwm Monday & Wednesday (double bill) 8.00, Tuesday & Thursday 7.30; S4C English and Welsh subtitles Omnibus on Sunday with on-screen English subtitles On demand: S4C Clic; BBC iPlayer and other platforms A BBC Wales production

Note to editors:

Iaith ar Daith is a part of S4C’s Iaith2020 campaign. The aim of the campaign is to spark conversations about the Welsh language among the people of Wales – Welsh speakers of all levels and those who don’t speak Welsh. It will be an opportunity to discuss the history of the language, its importance and its future.

There will be a series of programmes over the next 12 months including Iaith ar Daith and a new series which looks at the history of the Welsh language.