John Hefin

John Hefin MBE (born John Hefin Evans; ) was a Welsh television producer and director who served as head of drama at BBC Wales. He began working for the BBC in 1960, and his career at the corporation included devising the long-running Welsh soap opera Pobol y Cwm, co-writing and directing the comedy film Grand Slam, and producing the 1981 biopic The Life and Times of David Lloyd George. He was later involved with the work of Film Cymru, the Film Commission Wales, and the media journal Cyfrwng. He also worked in the Department of Theatre, Film and Television Studies at Aberystwyth University. He died from cancer in November 2012.

Early life Hefin was born in Aberystwyth in 1941, the youngest son of Huw Evans, the headmaster of a local primary school. Educated at Ardwyn Grammar School, he trained as a teacher at Trinity College, Carmarthen. He also became involved in amateur dramatics, as his parents had been.

In 1962, he was one of two people responsible for painting the graffito "Elis" on a prominent roadside rock in mid Wales, in support of a local Plaid Cymru electoral candidate. This nine-part series, a biopic based on the Welsh PM, drew on conversations with Lady Olwen Carey Evans, his eldest daughter, and A J Sylvester, his personal secretary.

Personal life Hefin was married twice. He had two children with his first marriage, to Non, and a daughter with his second wife, Elin. In 2012, he was awarded the BAFTA Cymru Special Award for Outstanding Contribution to Television Drama. New award for Welsh language short film in honor John was announced by Carmarthen Bay Film Festival.