'Cwm' pips 'Enders to mental health gong

Welsh soap Pobol y Cwm has beaten EastEnders, Hollyoaks and Doctors to this year's Mind award for 'Soaps and Continual TV Drama'.

Mental health charity Mind's annual ceremony, held at the British Academy of Film and Television Arts last night, honoured Pobol y Cwm's portrayal of single mum Nesta's (Catrin Mara) battle with post-natal depression.

The storyline fought off competition from EastEnders' ongoing Stacey Slater (Lacey Turner) bipolar plot, Newt's (Nico Mirallegro) struggle with schizophrenia in Hollyoaks and Doctors' personality disorder story.

Pobol y Cwm producer Ynyr Williams said: "It means a great deal for the series and shows that our storylines are dealing with difficult and important issues that concern society today."

BBC Wales head of Welsh language programmes Keith Jones added: "This is a great honour for the BBC's longest-running TV soap. It is important that our programmes reflect real life and issues affecting real people.

"Against such strong competition this award is a great testament to the quality of the team working on Pobol y Cwm."

The Welsh-speaking soap - the title of which translates as 'People of the Valley' - began in 1974 and is shown daily on S4C.

BBC soap EastEnders was awarded the evening's top honours, as Lacey Turner (Stacey Slater) and Gillian Wright (Jean Slater) accepted the 'Making A Difference' trophy for the show's portrayal of Stacey's bipolar disorder.