Baker Boys is an English-language Welsh television drama series, produced by BBC Wales

BBC Wales

BBC Cymru Wales is a division of the British Broadcasting Corporation for Wales. Based at Broadcasting House in the Llandaff area of Cardiff, it directly employs over 1200 people, and produces a broad range of television, radio and online services in both the Welsh and English languages.Outside...

 and broadcast on BBC One Wales. The series was written by writing couple Helen Raynor

Helen Raynor

Helen Raynor is a British television and theatre writer and script editor. From 2004 until 2007 she was one of the script editors of the revived version of the BBC science-fiction series Doctor Who, working on its first three series...

 and Gary Owen

Gary Owen (playwright)

Gary Owen is a Welsh playwright and winner of the Arts Council England 2003 Meyer-Whitworth Award for new writing for the theatre....

. Torchwood

Torchwood

Torchwood is a British science fiction television programme created by Russell T Davies. The series is a spin-off from Davies's 2005 revival of the long-running science fiction programme Doctor Who. The show has shifted its broadcast channel each series to reflect its growing audience, moving from...

creator Russell T Davies also had a role as creative consultant, which he fulfilled from Los Angeles

Los Ángeles

Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...

. The first episode of the series premiered on 23 January 2011.

The programme follows the workers of Valley Bara bakery which is the economic centre of Trefynydd, a small fictional village in South Wales

South Wales

South Wales is an area of Wales bordered by England and the Bristol Channel to the east and south, and Mid Wales and West Wales to the north and west. The most densely populated region in the south-west of the United Kingdom, it is home to around 2.1 million people and includes the capital city of...

. Generations of people had earned a living and formed a life at the bakery but this is thrown into jeopordy when recession bites and the bakery workers find themselves unemployed overnight. Writer Helen Raynor describes it as "a blue collar drama", explaining "we wanted to tell the story of a community, with a workplace at the centre of it, who suddenly fall on hard times".

Cast

Actor	Character
Eve Myles Eve Myles Eve Myles is an award winning Welsh actress of stage and screen. She is best known to Welsh audiences for her portrayal of Ceri Owen in the BBC Wales drama Belonging, and to audiences worldwide for her role as Gwen Cooper in the science fiction show Torchwood, a spin-off from Doctor Who.-Personal...	Sarah
Gareth Jewell Gareth Jewell Gareth Jewell is a Welsh television actor from Ammanford, Carmarthenshire.-Career:Before concentrating on his acting career, Jewell held a number of different jobs after getting rejected from RADA as a teenager. In 2009 Jewell portrayed the character of Rob Williams in the BBC Wales drama Crash...	Owen
Boyd Clack Boyd Clack Boyd Clack is a Welsh writer, actor, and musician.He was born in Vancouver, Canada but grew up in Tonyrefail in Wales. His acting credits include Twin Town, High Hopes and Satellite City. He also co-wrote both High Hopes and Satellite City...	Gwynfor
Mark Lewis Jones Mark Lewis Jones Mark Lewis Jones is a Welsh actor, whose roles include that of a police inspector in BBC drama series, 55 Degrees North, a whaler in the movie, Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World and Tecton, a soldier in Troy....	Pete
Matthew Gravelle Matthew Gravelle -Career:In 2003 he appeared in the UK drama series Holby City. His other TV appearances include Casualty, Caerdydd and Judge John Deed. He appeared in "End of Days", the first series finalé of Torchwood as a medical Doctor dealing with cases of the Black Death...	Rob
Cara Readle Cara Readle Cara Readle is a British actress, known mainly for her role as Layla in The Story of Tracy Beaker from series three to five.She was born in Swansea on 8 January 1991....	Elen
Steve Meo	Rich
Amy Morgan	Shelly
Richard Corgan	Dave
Mali Harries Mali Harries Mali Harries is a Welsh actress and has been in the television industry since 1999 and is still ongoing in her work. She is renowned for her roles in several TV series, such as Holby City, The Bill and Doctors....	Lucy
Eiry Hughes	Karen
Joshua Jenkins	Nathan

Series one

Title	Airdate	Overview
"Episode one"	23 January 2011	The employees of Valley Bara Bakery find themselves unemployed overnight when the bakery's parent company goes bust. With their lives in turmoil, and facing a future on the dole, it looks like the beginning of the end for this close-knit community, before an outrageous idea from local joker and wide boy Owen opens up a world of possibilities.
"Episode two"	30 January 2011	Owen goes on a charm offensive, even recruiting Sarah onto the workers co-operative. This leaves Rob feeling left out in the cold, and ever more desperate to get Sarah away from Trefynydd.
"Episode three"	6 February 2011	Valley Bara is open for business. Co-managers Rob and Owen are working hard to make it a successful operation but a big order means pushing the workforce right to the limits. Sarah's wedding date is fast approaching and she has a big decision to make.

Series two

Title	Airdate	Overview
"Episode one"	24 November 2011	The Valley Bara Bakery is in limbo following Rob's disappearing act. It has been six weeks since Rob threatened to bring the co-operative down and he has not been in contact. At Rich's birthday bash tensions come to a head as the workforce let Owen know, loud and clear, that they hold him to blame for the situation.
"Episode two"	31 November 2011
"Episode three"	7 December 2011

Reception

Welsh newspaper The Western Mail responded positively to the series, with journalist Karen Price describing it as "a poignant drama, which will strike a chord with so many people, particularly in these times of recession". Scott Matthewman, writing for The Stage also praised the use of economic and social themes and expressed a desire to see a UK wide broadcast of the series, concluding that "the whole country deserves to see the fabulous Baker Boys".