As Lan a Lawr, the gripping and touching family drama, continues on S4C on Wednesday evenings, one couple in the series is enjoying life to the full.
Heulwen Haf, 71, plays eccentric artist, Magda. During the series, viewers have seen her finding love with Cledwyn, played by John Ogwen, also 71. Heulwen says Magda is a great character to play, with brilliant storylines.
“I’m thrilled with her,” says Heulwen. “And I think I fit better into Magda’s shoes than any other character I’ve played! But above all, the whole series has been woven together perfectly – and the way in which these older characters get funny, good and sexy parts, shows it’s never too late for anything. After all, life doesn’t stop when you start getting a pension. It’s healthy to fancy someone and it’s lovely to see it on screen.”
Heulwen was brought up in Corwen but has lived in Cardiff for over 20 years. She’s over the moon about how things are going these days compared to 2009 when she invited the cameras into her life as she fought breast cancer.
The documentary Blodyn Haul saw Heulwen facing radiotherapy and chemotherapy treatments plus a mastectomy after she was diagnosed with a rare and aggressive form of breast cancer. Her courage and spirit have been an inspiration to many women.
“Things are wonderful now,” explains Heulwen. “Almost perfect in every sense. But the fact I came through that hullabaloo and the way the production company gave me the confidence to go back to acting is brilliant.”
Heulwen, who has acted on Pobol y Cwm and also works as an alternative therapist, feels her career has gone from strength to strength in recent years.
She says, “Isn’t it strange? I got a part in a short film, Fi a Miss World following the cancer, then a part in Casualty and then along came Magda. These roles have given me the strength to see there is life after cancer.”
But what’s next for Heulwen Haf? “What next? Hollywood?” she laughs. “No, I don’t have anything in the pipeline at the moment but I’m ever hopeful that things will keep turning up.”
