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Post by tubedout on Sept 7, 2009 18:23:28 GMT -5
AfterElton recently mentioned that a new gay character has shown up on the long-running Welsh soap Pobol Y Cwm (People of the Valley), so I went on a hunt for the show. The above picture is taken from AfterElton. The character's name is Iolo. It seems like he recently returned to the show, and came out. I believe there may have been some fallout from this, but not all that much from what I can gather. I downloaded this past week's omnibus edition, but hopefully I will be able to get ahold of the storyline from when Iolo first returned to town and came out. I really don't get the impression he has been back for long. Character Background (c/p from Dave in Cardiff's post on the PyC comment board): Iolo White is Sion and the late Dr. Gwen's middle son, he is a year younger than Macs but about 5 or 6 years older than Huw. He arrived in Cwmderi with the rest of the Whites in 2002 and left Cwmderi in September 2005 to go to college in Cardiff to train as a plumber. He did return briefly, twice in 2007, played by a new actor, for Sion's 40th birthday and while Huw was in a coma following the road accident when Sara ran him over. Unlike Macs and Huw, who like Sion were both popular, confident and outgoing, Iolo was a shy, sensitive boy who was easily led and got into the wrong crowd in school and was often in trouble, being caught shoplifting, drinking underage and taking drugs at various points, and he became somewthing of a misfit. His friendship with two yobs who attacked Mr. Tushingham in 2002 led to people suspecting that he was involved in Reg Harries's death the next year, although he was in fact innocent of both incidents. When he returned in 2007 though, he seemed a lot happier and much more settled and mature. According to other comments I read, Iolo's sexuality is very much believable, as he never showed much interest in girls. He is not yet up on the official website's list of characters, but here are the descriptions for his family members: Siôn White is a widower with three sons. He was devastated when his wife Dr Gwen died during a brain tumour operation. A translator by profession, Siôn always throws himself into local events and activities and has even written a novel! Macs White may look like a respectable young man but there's more to him than meets the eye. He uses his charms to get exactly what he wants and has a tendency to bear grudges against people. Huw White is the youngest of the three boys but is starting to assert his own views a little in the family circle. The loss of his mother was a great trauma to him but despite this, he's full of life and can be quite mischievous at times. From what I saw, it looks like his father is currently going out of town. I do not know how long. I had a hard time distinguishing older brother Macs from other cast members (a problem I had a lot with the show, as many are very generic looking people with similar style), so I'm not quite certain what is going on with him. According to the comments, it looks like he has, or just finished, a storyline where he is trying to mess with the life of a girl who chose another guy over him. Iolo's younger brother Huw is currently facing some bullying at school, which appears to be primarily due to his brother Iolo's sexuality. And perhaps something that happened with his father, but I can't yet figure out what. He is also having girlfriend problems, but that appears like typical teenage dating angst. I have clipped this past week's omnibus edition of the show. As I understand it, omnibus editions are condensed and missing some scenes, but if there is any Iolo missing, it is surely not important. The subtitles were already hard-coded into the video, so I did no translating or subtitling. YouTube LinkI don't know where this storyline is headed, or if Iolo will get a love interest. I hope so. And quickly, before my interest wanes. Frankly, I found this to be a rather dull soap, but I've only seen this one omnibus edition, so who knows. Again, I'll work on getting his earlier scenes, and upping them to YouTube.
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Post by devillies on Sept 7, 2009 23:20:11 GMT -5
thnx 4 postin hopefully hell a hot love interest
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Post by amber80 on Sept 8, 2009 13:16:06 GMT -5
Thanks for posting!! It's always great to see new soaps added. We'll see whether the story leads to something interesting... And I'm SO glad it has subtitles, because I didn't understand a word. ;D
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HQ75
Full Member
Do I contradict myself? Very well then I contradict myself, (I am large, I contain multitudes.)
Posts: 4,200
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Post by HQ75 on Sept 8, 2009 13:20:06 GMT -5
Thanks tubedoutWow, Welsh. And I thought the Bulgarian gay storyline in their version of Forbidden Love was a find. So wonderful somebody subbed it.
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Post by tubedout on Sept 8, 2009 22:03:10 GMT -5
Yeah, there would have been no chance of me having the slightest idea what was going on in this show without subtitles. I was THRILLED to find the show already subbed.
I have managed to get several of the prior omnibus episodes of this show. Unfortunately, I was not able to get all the way back to when Iolo first returned to town, and came out to his father and little brother. I don't think we're missing that many week, however.
Here's what I've got (I'm including the part I first posted, as well, since the clip is easier to understand now, having seen the previous episodes):
Part 1a
Part 1b
In this episode: Iolo gets plumbing work in town, which delights his father Sion, as he hopes Iolo will now stick around. Sion is determined that Iolo not feel any prejudice towards him due to his sexuality, and cautions younger brother Huw (who really doesn't care). Brandon has a crush on Dani, though she is much younger than him and out of his league. He is worried about her potential interest in Iolo, whose sexuality is currently only known by father Sion, Sion's girlfriend Britt, and little brother Huw. Iolo is worried about telling his older brother, Macs, that he is gay. Macs is currently in Ibiza, doing some partying to get away from all the drama he has caused recently with an ex-girlfriend. Macs returns home, but he's not really happy to be back, due to all the other stuff that went on in his life recently. Macs has always been one to get into a lot of trouble, often straining his relationship with Sion, so he also appears less than thrilled that his perfect prodigal brother has returned to town. Macs decides to leave town for another vacation, thus Iolo does not get a chance to tell Macs he is gay.
Part 2a
Part 2b
In this episode: Iolo's uncle Cai is having an affair with a married woman. Iolo's new boss Dai encourages him to go out with Dani, unaware of Iolo's sexuality (or of Brandon's crush on Dani). Iolo's uncle Cai cautions Iolo to let Dani know he is gay soon. Dani is supportive once she learns the truth, and she and Iolo become instant friend. Brandon, meanwhile, is very jealous, as he has no idea Iolo is gay, and think Iolo and Dani are now together. Sion is annoyed that Macs is constantly out of town. Macs has no idea, however, that his brother Iolo is trying to see him in order to come out to him. He is upset when he learns of Iolo's sexuality from Dani. This adds to the issues already there between Macs and his father, Sion.
Part 3
In this episode: Brandon continues to be jealous of Iolo and Dani, not knowing Iolo is gay. Dani is unaware of Brandon's interest in her. Brandon is delighted when he learns that Iolo is gay, and thus not a threat to his crush on Dani. Iolo doesn't know why Macs is giving him the brushoff, until Dani confesses to accidentally outing Iolo to his brother. Iolo thinks Macs is upset he is gay, but that is not the case. Word about Iolo's sexuality spreads through the town. His boss, Dai, is generally accepting. The local businessman is generally rude and obnoxious about it (as is his way in general). But Sion remains on edge that anyone might discriminate against his son.
Part 4
In this episode: Sion is angered to see "puff" (derogatory slang for homosexual) written on Iolo's work van. He thinks that Iolo's boss, Dai, must be prejudiced for leaving the writing on the van. Iolo doesn't want Sion to make a big deal out of this, but Sion is determined to fight any prejudice towards his son. Sion writes a letter to the paper about the discrimination against his son. He then realizes that Dai is not homophobic, and his letter was a mistake. Iolo is furious that his father made him such a spectacle. Sion witnesses more evidence that Dai is accepting of Iolo, and feels foolish. Dai and his wife demand a retraction when they see the article in the paper. Sion apologizes, and writes a retraction.
Part 5a
In this episode: Dani is having problems with her new home (which she is illegally squatting at), and Brandon is always ready to help her out, due to his crush. Iolo asks to crash at her place, since he is tired of his father's constant interfering. Brandon is initially threatened by Iolo's presence, but hen remembers Iolo is gay. Sion realizes he is low on money, and has to look for work out of town. Iolo's little brother Huw is annoyed that his father has driven Iolo out of the house. Huw discusses this with his girlfriend and his best friend. Some of Huw's classmates bully him about his brother, but Huw stands up to them. Huw's best friend, Rhys, seems more bothered by the teasing, however, and seems to be dodging Huw later. Iolo is annoyed that his father continues to bring more attention on him. Huw continues to be annoyed with his father, as well. Dani decides to have a house warming party.
Part 5b
In this episode: Iolo's brother and uncle discuss Iolo's fight with Sion. Macs later encourages Iolo to cut their dad, Sion, some slack. Iolo flirts with a guy at the party. Brandon continues to be interested in Dani, while she remains unaware. Iolo points out Brandon's crush to Dani, but she doesn't think he's right. Brandon overhears Dani's lack of interest.
Part 6
In this episode: Brandon tries to avoid Dani, after overhearing her at the party saying she would never be interested in him. She does not understand why he appears upset with her. Sion visits Gwen's grave. Gwen was Sion's wife, and mother to Iolo, Macs and Huw. Sion and Iolo make up. Sion leaves town for a job, as he needs money. Huw's best friend Rhys continues to have problems with Iolo's sexuality. Huw is teased in school with the article his father wrote about Iolo. Huw is also having unrelated girlfriend problems. Huw and Rhys fight and end their friendship, as Rhys cannot handle the bullying about Iolo.
My thoughts - On the plus side, this soap became much more enjoyable the longer I watched and figured all the characters out. On the minus side, this is definitely tamer than most other soaps we've seen. The most "action" tends to be kissing. Definitely nothing steamy. So don't expect to be seeing anything like that for Iolo. On the plus side again, most characters are extremely accepting of Iolo's sexuality, and the show itself appears to have zero problem with homosexuals. On the minus side, a lot of Iolo's story seems to be related to his family so far, as well as his brother's bullying at school. There does not appear to be a love interest on the horizon. BUT it doesn't help that I have no spoilers for this show, so for all I know, there is one in the works.
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Post by tubedout on Sept 21, 2009 4:03:16 GMT -5
Added the latest scenes:
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Post by tubedout on Oct 3, 2009 21:43:45 GMT -5
Latest upload:
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HQ75
Full Member
Do I contradict myself? Very well then I contradict myself, (I am large, I contain multitudes.)
Posts: 4,200
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Post by HQ75 on Oct 3, 2009 22:03:14 GMT -5
Thanks so much for this show. I'm just getting caught up. I love Welsh. Lovely sounding language. I remember seeing a tv interview of Matthew Rhys (Kevin of Brothers and Sisters) and Ian Gruffud (Fantastic Four movie) speaking Welsh and I just loved the rhythm of it. Anyway, cheers! Looking forward to more
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Post by tubedout on Oct 4, 2009 23:45:37 GMT -5
I agree - there is something really unique about hearing the Welsh.
I'm still neutral on the show. I like Iolo, I like the people surrounding him... I just would like to know if he will ever get a storyline of his own. I don't mind giving him a little time to settle in with his family and make friends. I just need to know if eventually there will be a love interest.
And I have no idea if there will be. On the one hand, the show has generally handled his sexuality with no problems. No judgement, no religious ranting. At the most, just some stupid pre-teen boys. It definitely appears like the show is strongly sending a message of acceptance. On the other hand, it's not all that racy a show, even with the straight couples, so I wonder if they would consider a gay couple too "sexy" for the show. I just don't know....
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HQ75
Full Member
Do I contradict myself? Very well then I contradict myself, (I am large, I contain multitudes.)
Posts: 4,200
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Post by HQ75 on Oct 5, 2009 11:59:51 GMT -5
I would love to see a gay character maybe get a storyline that isn't about romance OR coming out. I think too many shows decide that as soon as a character comes out of the closet they have to fall in love or get gay-bashed (or in the case of many shows, simultaneously fall in love AND get gay bashed sometimes by the same pers) It would be nice to see something different. But I guess soaps are limited in the stories they tell.
It would be nice for a show to kind of slowly introduce several gay characters (maybe one coming out) and a few who are older or an older couple and maybe some potential love interest but not have the first introduction of the other gay character be about romance.
I think one of my major complaints about a lot of soaps is the their gay characters live in isolation. No gay community connection, no gay friends it's just them and whomever they are in love with or having an affair with or helping to come out.
I would think even someone in a small town in Wales would seek out other gay people or want to have gay folks as a sounding board for some of the issues they are going through. It's always so refreshing when gay characters have a circle of friends.
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Post by tubedout on Oct 14, 2009 15:12:44 GMT -5
Here is the latest Iolo video, from the omnibus edition for the Wk of 9-28-09: For anyone following the Brandon/Dani story as well, since it has been such a big part of Iolo's story, I uploaded their scenes separately: Part 1Part 2
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Post by tubedout on Oct 27, 2009 11:56:01 GMT -5
Wk of 10-05-09 Wk of 10-12-09 Brandon and Dani (I clipped this again separately for the Wk of 10-05, but now that they are together, I don't plan on following them much any more): Wk of 10-05-09 Part 1Wk of 10-05-09 Part 2
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nas
New Member
Posts: 69
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Post by nas on Nov 22, 2009 19:31:21 GMT -5
Hi TubedOut, Thanks for the clips you have posted. Are you still following and clipping this SL?
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Post by tubedout on Jan 10, 2010 1:46:09 GMT -5
I'm sorry for the delay in responding. I have not been keeping up with this storyline once my YouTube account got shut down. I do plan on eventually trying to get back into this one, but it will be a big undertaking, and I do not have the time yet. But when/if I do, I guarantee I will post the clips here.
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Post by tubedout on Jan 11, 2010 22:08:16 GMT -5
Also, I was reading through the descriptions of the past few weeks' episodes, and it looks like a lesbian storyline may be starting up. Two women have shared a kiss. Which is great. But no sign that Iolo has shared a kiss with anyone, so.....
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Post by devillies on Jul 27, 2010 14:54:28 GMT -5
According to afterelton:
Spoiler : Iolo and a character named Scott who is dating of of his friends will kiss
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Post by devillies on Jul 28, 2010 22:19:09 GMT -5
can any one put up recent clips because Iolo is going to have a love interest soon ?
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Post by final81 on Aug 1, 2010 2:01:07 GMT -5
Last week episodes
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
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Post by tihkon2 on Aug 1, 2010 14:31:55 GMT -5
Thanks so much for finding and posting these final81! Hmmm... a (gay?) boxer and a pushy, knows what's good for him gay guy that tries to drag the other one out of the closet! Where have I seen this before? ;D ;D ;D But, yay, it's about time they have Iolo get involved with someone. I'm hoping this doesn't go the Lenny and Carsten violent denial route and keeps more to the Christian and Olli kind of coming out. I like that Scott is a beefy young man. He's quite sexy to me. Iolo isn't too shabby either. ;D Scott's life is a mess at the moment, what, with his girlfriend in jail, and him breaking down in front of Iolo and then desperately kissing him. It will be intersting to see what reason the show comes up with eventually as to why he kissed Iolo. He obviously shouldn't have punched him afterwards, but he was desperate and horrified that he'd kissed him. ;D Iolo needs a better sense of self preservation though! My goodness, you've been punched by a big beefy boxer because you wouldn't shut up about the kiss, and now every waking moment you get in beefy boy's face and babble on about coming out and admitting he's gay and he's getting crazy agitated and threatening you. Sounds like a smart thing to do! ;D ;D ;D I do hope it works out for the boys though!
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Post by devillies on Aug 2, 2010 22:09:04 GMT -5
Thnx so much for uploading it with subtitles
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Post by devillies on Aug 3, 2010 13:49:17 GMT -5
NEW SPOILERS FOR THE STORY highlight: " People of the Valley – Scott moves out of the house he shares with Iolo and in with his girlfriend’s family, hoping that will be enough distance to make him forget kissing Iolo. But Scott can’t forget and neither can Iolo, who won’t let the issue drop. Scott does his best to avoid Iolo, but eventually the two men come face to face again. Iolo demands to know why Scott kissed him, and Iolo gets Scott so riled up that Scott lashes out at Iolo again. But will this lead to another violent incident… or something else?" From : www.afterelton.com/tv/gayslives/08-03-2010?page=0,6
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Post by final81 on Aug 8, 2010 19:33:51 GMT -5
Part 4
Part 5
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Post by devillies on Aug 8, 2010 21:38:36 GMT -5
thnx for putting this up ... and scott is acting like a douche
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HQ75
Full Member
Do I contradict myself? Very well then I contradict myself, (I am large, I contain multitudes.)
Posts: 4,200
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Post by HQ75 on Aug 22, 2010 23:12:06 GMT -5
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Post by devillies on Aug 23, 2010 21:07:45 GMT -5
I wish the story would move a little faster
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