“Welsh people don’t tend to get too much air time so it’s important that we see more Welsh stories – from all kinds of backgrounds. There’s space to be silly, of course, but also to tell more nuanced and complicated stories,” Sophie Melville tells Stylist over Zoom. And that’s exactly what you get within the first 10 minutes of the BBC’s latest series, The Way.

Veering on eerie and thriller-esque, the three-part drama tells the story of an ordinary family caught up in an escalating chain of events that ripples out from their hometown. Tapping into the social and political divisions of today’s society, The Way is based on an imagining of a civil uprising which begins in the small industrial town of Port Talbot. Fleeing unrest, the Driscolls are forced to make an impossible choice in deciding whether to leave the country they’ve always called home.

The Way is the directorial debut from actor Michael Sheen, who also features in the series, but it’s been a long time in the making.

“I first heard of the project all the way back in 2019 and auditioned for it but I never heard anything back and just assumed the role had gone to another actor,” Melville explains. “But then in 2022, the script was sent to me again and I recognised the lines and realised it was the same series!”

Her character, Thea Driscoll, lives in Port Talbot with her family and young son and is “voice of reason and the head of the family” compared to her estranged father, Geoff; her brother Owen, who is struggling with his mental health while recovering from drug addition; and her mother, Dee, who gets caught up in the riots. 

Born in 1991, Melville grew up in Swansea and could see Port Talbot along the skyline from the beach near her home, so she’s always held a fascination for the steelworks and the town’s industrial history.

“We’re a nation of our own and have such a deep and rich history. Welsh people have this passion and fire – we’re dragons for a reason – and The Way definitely reflects this and has this passion at the heart of it,” Melville shares.

Melville’s background has mostly found her in the world of theatre where she starred as Iphigenia in Splott – her breakout role in 2015 that she then returned to in late 2022. She’s also performed in productions like fairytale-style Wolfie, Morgan Lloyd Malcolm’s Mum and The Merchant Of Venice.

Even though the actor has dipped her toe in television (playing Mandy Thomas in BBC drama The Pact), Melville has now fallen further in love with the screen and is grateful that The Way has been one of her first major roles in a relatively new environment. “It was such an amazing experience, I had to pinch myself every day because I couldn’t believe how lucky I was to be doing this as my job.”

One thing the series does particularly well is to represent the juxtaposition of Wales, its communities and their stories. One moment might be a scene packed with chaos and riots and then the next is a long and sweeping shot of one of the country’s stunning beaches. “It does everything so vividly, it’s unapologetically many different genres.”

For the actor, some of the riot scenes were especially scary to film as her character Thea is on the opposite side of the barricades to her family due to her job as a police officer. “It was terrifying to see all the supporting actors so angry and running towards me, and it’s truly a credit to them for making those scenes as extraordinary as they are on screen.”

“It’s a show with lots of emotion and grit; it really punches you,” she adds.

The three-part drama will be available in full on BBC iPlayer from 6am on Monday 19 February, and airs weekly on BBC One from 9pm that night.

Images: The Other Richard; BBC