Pitching In

EastEnders veteran Larry Lamb takes the lead in this gentle, week-long daytime drama, first shown on BBC One Wales. Set in a Welsh holiday park run by cockernee widower Frank (Lamb), it opens with the surprise return of a long-lost family member. Hayley Mills co-stars. Continues tomorrow.

Caroline Sheen interview

"I think anyone watching will find someone that they can connect with and find similarities with."

BBC accused of "cultural colonialism"

The BBC has been accused of "cultural colonialism" over a new drama which is set in Wales but has an English character at its core.

Pitching In stars Larry Lamb as Frank Hardcastle, a widower who runs a caravan park on the North Wales coast. His daughter, played by Caroline Sheen, arrives from England to help out.

Both the writers and the director are English, and the supporting cast of Welsh actors are not native to North Wales.

You need to 'make in Wales' not just 'set in Wales'

It's Lamb to the slaughter in his new role as Frank Hardcastle in the BBC's catastrophic new series, Pitching In. Written by English writers about an English character from an English perspective, it tells the story of how a recent widower finds happiness following the death of his wife by relocating to Anglesey, where the inhabitants for some unfathomable reason seem to have developed Valleys accents. Don't get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with a good English drama, but in this case we were promised a much needed English-language drama that pertained to the lives of people living in Wales.

'An insult to Wales' - the verdict on Pitching In

The much-hyped six-part series, which debuted at 9pm last night has attracted a torrent of criticism from those who've accused it of being culturally tone-deaf and "an insult to Wales and the Welsh language".

Viewers complain about Pitching In

Although some viewers found the storyline "a bit naff," it was the lack of North Wales accents in the programme that most took issue with.

Larry Lamb article

"It's a family comedy drama - but it's about as far removed from Gavin & Stacey as you can imagine."