Melanie Walters

Elizabeth Melanie Walters (born 30 January 1962) is a Welsh actress, known for portraying the role of Gwen West in the BBC sitcom Gavin & Stacey (2007–2010, 2019, 2024). With a career spanning five decades, her other roles have included Helen Powell in We Are Seven (1989–1991), Bonnie Bevan in Hollyoaks (2007–2009) and Yvonne Mallowan in the BBC crime mystery series Death Valley (2025–2026). She has also appeared in various stage productions and pantomimes, ran her own Pilates company and is set to appear as a contestant on the twenty-fourth series of Strictly Come Dancing in 2026.

Early life Elizabeth Melanie Walters was born on 30 January 1962, the youngest of four children born to David Walters and Margaret (née Warnes), and was raised in the Mumbles, near Swansea. She has an older brother David, and two older sisters Eleri and Julia. Their father died when Walters was young, leaving their mother to raise four children under four years old.

Career Walters began her acting career in the late 1980's. Her first credited role was as Milwen Parry in two episodes of the BBC series The District Nurse in 1987. She went on to appear in episodes of Screen Two, Mistress of Suspense and Coronation Street. Between 1989 and 1991, she portrayed Helen Powell in the BBC drama series We Are Seven. Between 2000 and 2001, she appeared in the BBC One Wales series Belonging as Delyth. She has also made various guest appearances in television shows including The Bill, Dangerfield, Casualty and Holby City.

Walters' most known role came in 2007, when she began playing Gwen West, the widowed mother of title character Stacey Shipman (née West) known for her frequent making of omelettes, in the BBC sitcom Gavin & Stacey, a role she held until 2010, before returning for Christmas special episodes in 2019 and 2024 respectively. Between 2007 and 2009, she sporadically portrayed the role of Bonnie Bevan in the Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks. Walters was one of eight celebrities chosen to participate in an intense week learning Welsh in an eco-friendly chic campsite in Pembrokeshire in the series cariad@iaith:love4language shown on S4C in July 2011, and emerged winner of the series.

Walters has appeared in various stage productions and pantomimes, including Educating Rita, Blue Remembered Hills, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, The Importance of Being Earnest, Sleeping Beauty, Beauty and the Beast and numerous productions of Cinderella.

Since 2025, she has appeared in the BBC crime mystery series Death Valley as Yvonne Mallowan. In 2026, she appeared in an episode of Beyond Paradise. In August 2026, Walters was announced as a contestant on the twenty-fourth series of Strictly Come Dancing.

Personal life Walters lives with her son in the Mumbles, Swansea, where she also runs a business teaching Pilates. 1998 Blue Remembered Hills Angela Theatr Clwyd

2010–2011 Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs Wicked Queen Swansea Grand Theatre

2011–2012 Cinderella Fairy Godmother Riverfront Arts Centre, Newport

2012 Sleeping Beauty Good Fairy Pavilion Theatre, Rhyl

2014–2015 Cinderella Fairy Godmother Theatre Royal, Bath

2015 Jack and the Beanstalk Forest Fairy The Anvil, Basingstoke

2015 The Iliad As Cast National Theatre Wales

2016 Cinderella Fairy Godmother Pavilion Theatre, Bournemouth

2016 Before I Leave Dyanne National Theatre Wales

2017 The Importance of Being Earnest Miss Prism Theatr Clwyd 2021 What's New Pussycat? Mrs Western Birmingham Repertory Theatre

2021–2022 Beauty and the Beast Fairy Bon Bon Floral Pavilion Theatre

2024 Beauty and the Beast Fairy Camembert The Playhouse, Weston-super-Mare

2025–2026 Cinderella Fairy Godmother Pavilion Theatre, Bournemouth