Swansea-born Torchwood writer 'can't wait' to show off hometown in new BBC series
SCI-FI super scribe Russell T Davies says he cannot wait to show off his stomping ground to millions of American television viewers.
The 47-year-old writer has been back in his home town of Swansea as film crews began shooting new episodes of hit BBC show Torchwood.
The fourth series of the drama is set to be its biggest yet, and the first to be co-produced by a US TV network.
Speaking on location in Rhossili, proud Welshman Russell said he was thrilled to be putting Gower on the small screen.
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"There are so many good locations in Wales, and I love coming back to Swansea," he said. "I'm immensely proud of where I'm from and quite like the opportunity to show places like Rhossili to the world.
"It's a sort of national trait of Wales that we tend to be very proud of where we are from, yet don't sing our praises enough.
"I'm quite excited that Torchwood will hopefully introduce Wales to people who have never seen it before.
"There have been a number of episodes of Doctor Who and Torchwood which have been filmed in Swansea, and I plan to keep that up. I don't think I'll ever run out of places to film here because there are so many great ones."
One location set to feature in the new series is the Old Rectory in Rhossili.
As well as gaining exclusive access to the National Trust attraction, the use of a helicopter during the filming process also hints at the expanded budget of Torch- wood — which has been snapped up by US TV network Starz.
While Russell is keeping tight-lipped about what will happen in the next series, he promised TV viewers would be in for a treat.
"The budget's bigger than before and there's going to be a lot of surprises in store," he added.
"One thing I've quite enjoyed is the little jokes in the show about Brits feeling lost in America, and Americans not knowing where Wales is."
A number of locations in Swansea, which have yet to be filmed, will also feature in the new episodes as well as scenes shot in Cardiff.
It is not the first time Olchfa educated Russell has brought film crews to his home town.
Since breathing new life into sci-fi series Doctor Who in 2005, the city centre as well as numerous places in Gower have been used as the backdrop of the Timelord's adventures.
"There's always a lot of interest when film crews come down here," he added.
"It's nice that people take such an interest, and they've taken shows like Doctor Who to their hearts.
"When I first began working on the show some six years ago, I was confident that we had made quality TV — but I had not expected to be as big as it was. I love working in television and prefer it to film as it's more immediate.
"Although if someone came knocking on my door with £100 million to make a movie, then I'd snatch their hands off."
ben.wright@swwmedia.co.uk
Comments
by Observer, Neath
Wednesday, January 26 2011, 11:30PM
“How refreshing to see someone who is proud of his roots and prepared to highlight all the good points of the city rather than gleefully pointing out the relatively few lows!
If only everyone thought like this...”