A Child's Christmases in Wales was a 2009 one off period comedy written by comedian Mark Watson, starring Ruth Jones, Paul Kaye, and Steve Speirs.[1] It was shown on BBC Four in December 2009, and repeated on BBC Two.
An adaption of Dylan Thomas's story, the comedy, set in South Wales, and filmed in the small mining town of Ferndale focuses on the character Owen's reminiscing on three separate Christmases, 1983, 1986 and 1989. Every Christmas Owen's uncle Huw (Steve Speirs), a successful but now divorced man, his son (who he is over protective of) Maurice, and Uncle Gorwell (Paul Kaye), an alcoholic and rather comedic character come to Owen's family house to stay. As we follow the family through the 1980s, the boys grow into men, whilst Owen's dad and his uncles seem to regress into childish behaviour and sibling rivalry. Owen's father Geraint (Mark Lewis Jones) and his brothers Huw and Gorwell bicker and undermine each other and Owen's mum Brenda tries to stop everything falling to pieces. Despite all the petty rows and rivalries, eventually the members of the family learn to appreciate each other and realise Christmas wouldn't be the same without each other.[2]
The show was directed by Chris Gernon, and produced by Steve Doherty and Juliet Charlesworth