''Hidden'' () is a Welsh television drama serial, created by Mark Andrew and Ed Talfan. It was initially broadcast in Welsh on the Welsh-language channel

S4C S4C (, ''Sianel Pedwar Cymru'', meaning ''Channel Four Wales'') is a Welsh language free-to-air public broadcast television channel. Launched on 1 November 1982, it was the first television channel to be aimed specifically at a Welsh-speakin ...

under its Welsh name ''Craith''. The bilingual version of the series, under the English name ''Hidden'', was broadcast on

BBC One Wales BBC One Wales is a Welsh free-to-air television channel owned and operated by BBC Cymru Wales. It is the Welsh variation of the UK-wide BBC One network and is broadcast from Central Square in Cardiff. History and operation The first televisi ...

and

BBC Four BBC Four is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was launched on 2 March 2002

. The Welsh-language versions of the first two series aired on S4C in 2018 and 2019, respectively, with the third and final series beginning on 10 October 2021. The English-language version of the third and final series aired in April 2022.

Plot

A body of a woman is found in the woods who is later identified as Mali Pryce, a troubled girl who went missing in 2011. Detective Inspector Cadi Jones and Owen Vaughan are leading the investigation. Injury marks on the body indicate that Mali had been held shackled by her abductor for all these years. Cadi finds evidence implying that Mali may not have been the only victim held by the abductor. Meanwhile Dylan Harris, a labourer is seen mistreated and beaten by his mother Iona.

Overview

Leading actress

Sian Reese-Williams Sian Reese-Williams (born 18 November 1981) is a Welsh actress, best known for playing detective Cadi John in three series of '' Hidden''. Early life Reese-Williams was born in Glanamman, South Wales. She lived in Swansea until the age of 4, ...

commented that the series was more of a "personal drama" than a crime series, because of the multiple human stories involved, including those of the victims, the families of the victims, and the criminal protagonist. The format concentrates on "why" rather than "who" committed the crime.

Cast

Main

Detective Inspector Inspector, also police inspector or inspector of police, is a police rank. The rank or position varies in seniority depending on the organization that uses it. Australia The rank of Inspector is present in all Australian police forces excep ...

(later Detective Chief Inspector) Cadi John, a former soldier * Siôn Alun Davies as

Detective Sergeant Sergeant (Sgt) is a rank in use by the armed forces of many countries. It is also a police rank in some police services. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and in other units that draw their heritage from the Brit ...

Owen Vaughan, a local boy who grew up on a tough housing estate in Caernarfon * Nia Roberts as Dr Elin Jones, Cadi's older sister, a hospital doctor * Lois Meleri-Jones as Lowri Driscoll, a

district nurse District nurses work manage care within the community and lead teams of community nurses and support workers. In the United Kingdom, the role requires registered nurses to take a Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) approved specialist practitione ...

(main, series 1; guest, series 2) * Rhodri Meilir as Dylan Harris, a labourer (Series 1) * Gillian Elisa as Iona Harris, Dylan's mother (Series 1) *

Gwyneth Keyworth Gwyneth Keyworth is a Welsh actress. Early life and education Gwyneth Keyworth was born in Aberystwyth. She began acting in a local Welsh language youth theatre group. In 2008 she appeared in ''Sick Room'', an ensemble production with the ...

as Megan Ruddock, a first-year psychology student at

Bangor University Bangor University () is a Public university, public Research university, research university in Bangor, Gwynedd, Wales. It was established by Royal charter, Royal Charter in 1885 as the University College of North Wales (UCNW; ), and in 1893 ...

(Series 1) * Ian Saynor as Huw John, Cadi's terminally ill father, a retired

detective superintendent Superintendent (Supt) is a rank in the British police and in most English-speaking Commonwealth nations. In many Commonwealth countries, the full version is superintendent of police (SP). The rank is also used in most British Overseas Territori ...

(Series 1) * Owen Arwyn as Alun Pryce, father of Mali Pryce (Series 1) * Greta James as Mali Pryce (Series 1) * Annes Elwy as Mia Owen, schoolgirl (Series 2) * Steffan Cennydd as Connor Pritchard, schoolboy (Series 2) * Lisa Victoria as Catrin Pritchard, Connor's mother (Series 2) * Siôn Eifion as Lee Williams, a cousin of Mia (Series 2) *

Bryn Fôn Bryn Fôn (born 27 August 1954) is a Welsh actor and singer-songwriter. He also became the first artist to play live on BBC Radio Cymru in 1977. Biography Bryn Fôn was born in Llanllyfni, Caernarfonshire. He attended Ysgol Gynradd Llanllyf ...

as Hefin Mathews, owner of a rural garage and petrol station (Series 2) * Lois Elenid as Beca Mathews, Hefin's daughter (Series 2) * Owain Gwynn as Siôn Wells, Hefin's tenant opposite the garage (Series 2) * Justin Melluish as Glyn Thomas, a pigeon fancier who has Down's syndrome (Series 3) * Sion Ifan as Siôn Thomas, Glyn's younger brother, a labourer (Series 3) * Elen Rhys as Hannah Lewis, Glyn's employer and Siôn's ex-girlfriend (Series 3)

Recurring

* Megan Llŷn as Bethan John, younger sister of Cadi and Elin * Victoria Pugh as

Detective Superintendent Superintendent (Supt) is a rank in the British police and in most English-speaking Commonwealth nations. In many Commonwealth countries, the full version is superintendent of police (SP). The rank is also used in most British Overseas Territori ...

Susan Lynn * Lowri Izzard as

Police Constable A constable is a person holding a particular office, most commonly in law enforcement. The office of constable can vary significantly in different jurisdictions. ''Constable'' is commonly the rank of an police officer, officer within a police ser ...

Mari James (Series 1–2) * Garmon Rhys as Police Constable Ryan Davies * Sarah Tempest as

Detective Constable A detective is an investigator, usually a member of a law enforcement agency. They often collect information to solve crimes by talking to witnesses and informants, collecting physical evidence, or searching records in databases. This leads the ...

Alys Mitchell * Melangell Dolma as Sam Shepherd, Owen's girlfriend, a solicitor (Series 1–2) * Lara Catrin as Lea Pryce, younger sister of Mali Pryce (Series 1 and 3) * Elodie Wilton as Nia Harris, Dylan's ten-year-old daughter (Series 1) * Rhodri Sion as Ieuan Rhys, a local drug dealer and hard man in

Llanberis Llanberis () is a village, community (Wales), community and electoral ward in Gwynedd, northwest Wales, on the southern bank of the lake and at the foot of Snowdon, the highest mountain in Wales. It is a centre for outdoor activity, outdoor ac ...

(Series 1) *

Mark Lewis Jones Mark Lewis Jones (born 31 August 1964) is a Welsh actor, whose roles include that of a First Order Captain Moden Canady in '' Star Wars: The Last Jedi'', a police inspector in BBC drama series '' 55 Degrees North'', a whaler in the film '' Mas ...

as Endaf Elwy, imprisoned for the murder of his niece, Anna Williams (Series 1) * Ioan Hefin as Matthew Heston, neighbour of the Harris family (Series 1) * Mali Ann Rees as Ffion, Megan's best friend (Series 1) * Mali Tudno Jones as Dr Rachel West, the local pathologist, who becomes Cadi's girlfriend (Series 2–3) * Ffion Dafis as Kelly Owen, Mia's mother (Series 2) * Jac Jones as Liam Pritchard, Connor's younger brother (Series 2) * Dyfrig Evans as Glyn Jones, Kelly's boyfriend (Series 2) * Manon Prysor as Rhian Jenkins, estranged daughter of murder victim Geraint Elis (Series 2) * Gruffydd Owain Wyn Jones as Jason Williams, Lee's older brother (Series 2) * Mark Flanagan as Karl Lewis, a power station worker who once accused Geraint Elis of child abuse (Series 2) * Sion Pritchard as James Rhys, a former youth worker (Series 2) * Llion Williams as Ifan Jenkins, Rhian's controlling husband (Series 2) * Nia Hâf as Lois Jones, Elin's teenage daughter (Series 2) * Gwawr Loader as Police Constable Gwawr Daniels (Series 3) * Rhodri Evan as Father Richard McEwan, the local Catholic parish priest (Series 3) * Dritan Kastrati as Piotr Korecki, a Polish labourer (Series 3) * Oliver Jones as Ifan Williams, a murdered farmer (Series 3) * Rhian Blythe as Siwan Williams, wife of Ifan Williams, a murdered farmer (Series 3) * Lewsyn Blaidd Watts as Guto Williams, young son of Ifan and Siwan Williams (Series 3) * Gwen Ellis as Mair Williams, mother of Ifan Williams (Series 3) * William Thomas as Dafydd O'Connell, former farmhand on the Williams farm (Series 3)

Filming and release

Filming took place in 2017 in Bangor and

Snowdonia Snowdonia, or Eryri (), is a mountainous region and National parks of the United Kingdom, national park in North Wales. It contains all 15 mountains in Wales Welsh 3000s, over 3000 feet high, including the country's highest, Snowdon (), which i ...

. The series was the second project on which Andrew and Talfan collaborated, following ''

Hinterland Hinterland is a German word meaning the 'land behind' a city, a port, or similar. Its use in English was first documented by the geographer George Chisholm in his ''Handbook of Commercial Geography'' (1888). Originally the term was associated wi ...

''. It was first broadcast as ''Craith'', in Welsh, on

on 7 January 2018 and aired weekly. A bi-lingual version of the series aired, mainly in English, on

and

BBC Four BBC Four is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was launched on 2 March 2002

in June 2018 under the title of ''Hidden''. ''Hidden'' was renewed for a second series in February 2019, set largely in

Blaenau Ffestiniog Blaenau Ffestiniog () is a town in Gwynedd, Wales. Once a slate mining centre in historic Merionethshire, it now relies much on tourists, drawn for instance to the Ffestiniog Railway and Llechwedd Slate Caverns. It reached a population of 12,0 ...

. It broadcast first on S4C on 17 November 2019. In January 2021, the BBC announced that a third series had been commissioned to air later in the year, with Sian Reese-Williams and Siôn Alun Davies returning in their roles of, respectively, DCI Cadi John and DS Owen Vaughan. The series comprises six episodes.

Episodes

Airdates listed as per the

broadcast. English subtitled repeats were broadcast at 22:30 on Fridays. A bi-lingual version aired six months later on BBC One Wales on Tuesdays, being shown nationally on BBC Four on Saturday evenings. Series 3 was broadcast on BBC4 and iPlayer from Saturday 19 March 2022.

Series 1 (2018)

Series 2 (2019)

Series 3 (2022)

Reception

''The Guardian'' compared ''Hidden'' favourably to the Swedish Scandi-noir drama ''

The Bridge The Bridge may refer to: Art, entertainment and media Art * ''The Bridge'' (sculpture), a 1997 sculpture in Atlanta, Georgia, US * Die Brücke (''The Bridge''), a group of German expressionist artists * ''The Bridge'' (M. C. Escher), a lithograph ...

'', describing it as one of the "current powerhouse run of Wales-set dramas", with "scenes in Welsh to provide that sweet Nordic subtitles hit". It went on to say "Hidden is perhaps the most confidently stylish and stylised yet. As well as a gorgeously gothic credits sequence, it features handsomely brooding landscapes, offbeat interior locations that go far beyond the usual bland corridors/offices of cop drama, and an ominous, skin-prickling soundtrack skilfully employed to heighten the sense of dread."

References

External links

* * {{IMDb title, id=7217374, title=Hidden 2018 British television series debuts 2021 British television series endings 2010s British crime drama television series 2010s British mystery television series 2010s Welsh television series BBC Cymru Wales television shows BBC television dramas British detective television series S4C original programming Television shows set in Wales Multilingual television series