Huw Edwards (EastEnders)
Encyclopedia
Huw Edwards is a fictional character
from the BBC
soap opera
EastEnders
, played by Richard Elis
. Huw was introduced in 1996 and remained on-screen till 1999.
. They lived in a squat
in Albert Square
, enjoying loud music and winding up Ian Beale
. Lenny and Huw also ran a pirate radio
station from the premises for a while. Ian tried to get them evicted several times — once calling the council to complain about noise pollution — and Lenny and Huw did everything they could to wind him up further.
During his time in Walford
, Huw worked in George Palmer
's nightclub as a barman and in the café as a waiter. In 1998 Huw developed an unrequited crush on Ruth Fowler
. Ruth saw him only as a platonic friend and unwittingly let him get his hopes up for a relationship for a period of time. Huw eventually left the Square to live with Carrie, an artist who was exhibiting her abstract art in the café.
. Approximately four hours later, Elis was telephoned and told he'd been cast as Huw. Elis has described the experience as "mindblowing".
Huw was the serial's first Welsh character, which pleased Elis as he was able to play the character with his native West Walian accent. Although the producers decided to make Huw Welsh, according to Elis they had not specifically been looking to hire a Welsh actor prior to his audition. Huw has been described as likable and a loveable lout.
Discussing his first time on set, Elis said in 2010, "I don't think I really realised the enormity of it at the time as it all happened so quickly, I didn't have time to panic or worry about what I was letting myself in for. At the end of the day, I had literally just graduated from college and had no idea that I was going to be playing the role for any longer than three episodes so I suppose I didn't really have time to be nervous. One day I was a student about to leave college in Cardiff and then I'm on the set of EastEnders with Barbara Windsor
[who plays Peggy Mitchell
] showing me round [...] My first lines on the show were spoken to Tiffany Mitchell
, played by Martine McCutcheon
. I was working in the nightclub and she came in and said, 'What cocktails do you do?' and I said, 'I'm Huw, I will make anything you want' and threw a cocktail together. I thought I was only going to be in three episodes so wanted to make the most of every single line I got to say [...] Then within a few weeks I'm making bacon sandwiches and cups of tea in Ian Beale's cafe and mixing cocktails in the bar. It was bonkers."
Huw was introduced simultaneously with his friend and fellow squatter Lenny Wallace (Des Coleman
). A recurring storyline in the serial concerned Huw and Lenny purposefully trying to antagonise Ian Beale
(Adam Woodyatt
). Elis described the role as fun, and commented some of his most liked storylines in 2010: "Huw would constantly wind up Ian and so, consequently, it was a really fun role. Ian would get very irritated by it and Adam Woodyatt is a great actor so was able to really portray the fact that Huw was winding him up. [...] It was great fun, more fun because I got to play a Welshman but for me, as an actor just out of college, the whole experience was amazing. [...] And being the only Welsh accent on a London soap made me stand out more I suppose. I think being so obviously Welsh on the show made Huw stand out as a character." According to Elis, producers required Huw to be overweight and Elis has claimed that he was asked not to lose weight while playing the role.
It was reported in December 1998 that executive producer Matthew Robinson
had axed Huw because the character was "going nowhere". However, Elis claimed in 2010 that he decided to leave the role in 1999 after three years playing Huw as he feared being typecast. Elis has commented, "My agent at the time told me that if you are in a soap for three years, it takes three years for the viewers to forget you, whereas if you are in one for five years, it takes another 10 years before they forget you. I just felt it was time to go. It was great to be on it but it was just a job to me."
as a "token Welshman". Stuart Heritage from The Guardian
recalled the character in 2011, suggesting that Huw's "only role was to say the name 'Ian Beale' in increasingly malevolent ways."
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
from the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
soap opera
Soap opera
A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...
EastEnders
EastEnders
EastEnders is a British television soap opera, first broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC One on 19 February 1985 and continuing to today. EastEnders storylines examine the domestic and professional lives of the people who live and work in the fictional London Borough of Walford in the East End...
, played by Richard Elis
Richard Elis
Richard Elis is a Welsh actor. He was brought up in the Amman Valley.He trained at the Welsh College of Music and Drama and graduated in 1996, aged 24. Days before he graduated, Elis was asked to audition for London casting agents and was subsequently cast in the BBC soap opera EastEnders as the...
. Huw was introduced in 1996 and remained on-screen till 1999.
Storylines
Huw was an amiable Welshman from Pontardulais, who was best friends with Lenny WallaceLenny Wallace
Lenny Wallace is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Desune Coleman.Lenny was a fun loving individual, who didn't take life too seriously. He had a penchant for loud music and an eye for the ladies.- Storylines :...
. They lived in a squat
Squatting
Squatting consists of occupying an abandoned or unoccupied space or building, usually residential, that the squatter does not own, rent or otherwise have permission to use....
in Albert Square
Albert Square
Albert Square is the fictional location of the BBC soap opera EastEnders. It is ostensibly located in the equally fictional London borough of Walford in London's East End. The square's design was based on the real life Fassett Square in Hackney, and was given the name Albert Square after the real...
, enjoying loud music and winding up Ian Beale
Ian Beale
Ian Albert Beale is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Adam Woodyatt. He is the longest-serving character and the only remaining original character to have appeared continuously since the first episode on 19 February 1985...
. Lenny and Huw also ran a pirate radio
Pirate radio
Pirate radio is illegal or unregulated radio transmission. The term is most commonly used to describe illegal broadcasting for entertainment or political purposes, but is also sometimes used for illegal two-way radio operation...
station from the premises for a while. Ian tried to get them evicted several times — once calling the council to complain about noise pollution — and Lenny and Huw did everything they could to wind him up further.
During his time in Walford
Walford
Walford is a fictional borough of east London in the BBC soap opera EastEnders. The name Walford is both a street in Dalston where one of the series' creators, Tony Holland, lived and a blend of Walthamstow, where Holland was born, and Stratford. The suffix 'ford' is also found throughout East...
, Huw worked in George Palmer
George Palmer (EastEnders)
George Palmer is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Paul Moriarty. He appeared between 1996 and 1998, but was one of many characters axed by then Executive Producer Matthew Robinson.-Storylines:...
's nightclub as a barman and in the café as a waiter. In 1998 Huw developed an unrequited crush on Ruth Fowler
Ruth Fowler
Ruth Fowler is a fictional character from the popular British BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Caroline Paterson from 1994 to 1999. Ruth was Mark Fowler's second wife and she was far more comfortable with his HIV status than many of his other girlfriends. However their marriage eventually...
. Ruth saw him only as a platonic friend and unwittingly let him get his hopes up for a relationship for a period of time. Huw eventually left the Square to live with Carrie, an artist who was exhibiting her abstract art in the café.
Creation and development
Actor Richard Elis was cast in the minor role of Huw for a period of three episodes in 1996; however, producers enjoyed the character and his contract was extended. Elis was an inexperienced actor and was sent to audition for the role while still in drama school at the Welsh College of Music and Drama. He was given two minutes on stage to impress London casting agents. His redition of an extract impressed the EastEnders casting director, Jonathan McLeash, and he was asked to attend an audition in London. At the audition, Elis did a comedy monologue about a man working in a chip shop in CardiffCardiff
Cardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for...
. Approximately four hours later, Elis was telephoned and told he'd been cast as Huw. Elis has described the experience as "mindblowing".
Huw was the serial's first Welsh character, which pleased Elis as he was able to play the character with his native West Walian accent. Although the producers decided to make Huw Welsh, according to Elis they had not specifically been looking to hire a Welsh actor prior to his audition. Huw has been described as likable and a loveable lout.
Discussing his first time on set, Elis said in 2010, "I don't think I really realised the enormity of it at the time as it all happened so quickly, I didn't have time to panic or worry about what I was letting myself in for. At the end of the day, I had literally just graduated from college and had no idea that I was going to be playing the role for any longer than three episodes so I suppose I didn't really have time to be nervous. One day I was a student about to leave college in Cardiff and then I'm on the set of EastEnders with Barbara Windsor
Barbara Windsor
Barbara Ann Windsor, MBE , better known by her stage name Barbara Windsor, is an English actress. Her best known roles are in the Carry On films and as Peggy Mitchell in the BBC soap opera EastEnders....
[who plays Peggy Mitchell
Peggy Mitchell
Margaret Ann "Peggy" Mitchell is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders. Peggy was initially played by Jo Warne when she first appeared on 30 April 1991, featuring in the series on a recurring basis over several weeks. Peggy was reintroduced in 1994, recast and was then played by...
] showing me round [...] My first lines on the show were spoken to Tiffany Mitchell
Tiffany Mitchell
Tiffany Dawn Mitchell is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Martine McCutcheon from 1995 until 1998. The character was created by the writer, Tony Jordan...
, played by Martine McCutcheon
Martine McCutcheon
Martine McCutcheon is an English singer, television personality and Laurence Olivier Award-winning actress. McCutcheon had minor success as one third of the pop group Milan in the early 1990s; however, it was her role as Tiffany Mitchell in BBC's EastEnders that made her a household name in the UK...
. I was working in the nightclub and she came in and said, 'What cocktails do you do?' and I said, 'I'm Huw, I will make anything you want' and threw a cocktail together. I thought I was only going to be in three episodes so wanted to make the most of every single line I got to say [...] Then within a few weeks I'm making bacon sandwiches and cups of tea in Ian Beale's cafe and mixing cocktails in the bar. It was bonkers."
Huw was introduced simultaneously with his friend and fellow squatter Lenny Wallace (Des Coleman
Des Coleman
Desune "Des" Coleman is a British actor and presenter. He has appeared in numerous stage musicals, but is best known for playing the role of Lenny Wallace in BBC's EastEnders...
). A recurring storyline in the serial concerned Huw and Lenny purposefully trying to antagonise Ian Beale
Ian Beale
Ian Albert Beale is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Adam Woodyatt. He is the longest-serving character and the only remaining original character to have appeared continuously since the first episode on 19 February 1985...
(Adam Woodyatt
Adam Woodyatt
Adam Brinley Woodyatt is an English actor and media personality, best known for his role as Ian Beale in the long-running BBC soap opera EastEnders...
). Elis described the role as fun, and commented some of his most liked storylines in 2010: "Huw would constantly wind up Ian and so, consequently, it was a really fun role. Ian would get very irritated by it and Adam Woodyatt is a great actor so was able to really portray the fact that Huw was winding him up. [...] It was great fun, more fun because I got to play a Welshman but for me, as an actor just out of college, the whole experience was amazing. [...] And being the only Welsh accent on a London soap made me stand out more I suppose. I think being so obviously Welsh on the show made Huw stand out as a character." According to Elis, producers required Huw to be overweight and Elis has claimed that he was asked not to lose weight while playing the role.
It was reported in December 1998 that executive producer Matthew Robinson
Matthew Robinson
Matthew Robinson is a British film & television executive producer, producer, director and writer.Nicknamed Pope of Soap by UK tabloid The Sun, Robinson was lead director of BBC1's soap opera EastEnders when it launched in 1985...
had axed Huw because the character was "going nowhere". However, Elis claimed in 2010 that he decided to leave the role in 1999 after three years playing Huw as he feared being typecast. Elis has commented, "My agent at the time told me that if you are in a soap for three years, it takes three years for the viewers to forget you, whereas if you are in one for five years, it takes another 10 years before they forget you. I just felt it was time to go. It was great to be on it but it was just a job to me."
Reception
Huw has been described by Jane Simon of The PeopleThe People
The People, previously known as the Sunday People, is a British tabloid Sunday-only newspaper. The paper was founded on 16 October 1881.It is published by the Trinity Mirror Group.In July 2011 it had an average daily circulation of 806,544....
as a "token Welshman". Stuart Heritage from The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
recalled the character in 2011, suggesting that Huw's "only role was to say the name 'Ian Beale' in increasingly malevolent ways."