Actor Dewi Rhys takes viewers on an emotional journey as he meets his blood relatives for the first time in a powerful documentary in the S4C series O'r Galon (From the Heart).
In the programme O'r Galon: Taith Dewi on Wednesday, 16 May viewers will witness how the actor, comedian and author from Caernarfon discovers more about his blood relatives in North West England.
The 52 year old actor was adopted by Dafydd and Laura Jones when he was a small baby and enjoyed a happy upbringing in Caernarfon. Dewi Rhys, who plays Wyn in the S4C drama series Rownd a Rownd, lost both his adoptive parents when he was 19 years old.
When he was 9 years old, Dewi Rhys Humphreys Jones - to give his full name - was told by his parents that he had been adopted. He had tried to find out more about his blood relatives when he was a young man but had little joy at the time. Last year he turned to a specialist agency to help him find the family.
Production company Cwmni Da followed Dewi as he discovered that his biological mother June was alive and well and living in Garstang, Lancashire, and that he had a brother, Gary. He also finds out that his father is still alive and that he has a half sister and two half brothers.
In the programme we meet his mother and brother and hear how his heartbroken young mother from Lytham St Annes, Blackpool decided in 1959 that she had to put her son Kenneth Gregory Thomas, up for adoption.
"When I met her, we were overcome by emotion and it almost boiled over, but seeing my brother Gary, with his bald head, standing behind her trying to look everywhere but towards us, was the perfect antidote. I felt some connection immediately, and had to try to check the feelings, but within 24 hours I felt that they were on my side."
The actor has always wondered where he'd got the instinct to perform. He discovered that a number of his blood relatives worked in the fields of drama, film, dance and public speaking. His grandfather and Aunt Stella were both actors and one of his cousins is a highly-respected stunt man working on series such as 'Dr Who.'
It was important for Dewi to get the support of his family back home in Gwynedd and we meet his cousin, the author Annes Glynn, as he shares his big news with her.
"I realise how fortunate I have been to have a happy upbringing, but now I feel even more complete - it has opened another circle in my life. And the journey continues as I hope to meet my biological father and his family soon," says Dewi, who has published a book about the famous humour of the Caernarfon people.
"I wanted to make this programme to show that it is possible for people who have been adopted to get in touch with their birth relatives. These days, there are specialist agencies to make things easier."
