John Hefin (Q57475)

John Hefin (1941-2012), director, producer and head of drama at BBC Wales, began his career in television in 1960, where he would go on to be one of the co-creators of the long-running Welsh soap opera Pobol y Cwm. His subsequent credits include co-... »John Hefin (1941-2012), director, producer and head of drama at BBC Wales, began his career in television in 1960, where he would go on to be one of the co-creators of the long-running Welsh soap opera Pobol y Cwm. His subsequent credits include co-writer and director of the 1978 comedy rugby film Grand Slam and director of the 1981 nine-part drama series The Life and Times of David Lloyd George, as well as the production and directing of numerous other Welsh- and English-language television series, dramas and documentaries. In 1988 he became artistic director of Ffilm Cymru, in which role he was responsible for utilising S4C funds in the commissioning of films from independant Welsh producers. He also worked in the Department of Theatre, Film and Television Studies at Aberystwyth University and served as Chair of both Film Commission Wales and of Welsh media journal Cyfrwng. He retired from the BBC in 1993. In 2009 he was awarded an MBE for services to Welsh film and drama and, in 2012, a BAFTA Cymru Special Award for his outstanding contribution to television drama. At the 2003 National Eisteddfod, he was honoured with the white robes of the Gorsedd of Bards.