Aberystwyth actress Gwyneth Keyworth continues to impress on screen – this time in comedy drama ‘Death Valley’.

Gwyneth stars as sergeant Janie Mallowan, alongside Timothy Spall as John Chapel.

In an interview with the BBC, Gwyneth describes co-star Spall as “a legend”.

“He is the best and not only is he an amazing actor, but he is also a really nice and kind person,” she added.

“I learnt so much from him especially on how to approach leading a series. We became really good friends, and I always knew he had my back, he would say: ‘take a minute, we’ve got this.’ He would always meet me with kindness and calmness. I feel so lucky I got to work with him.”

‘Death Valley’ is set and filmed in Wales, which Gwyneth really enjoyed.

“I always love being back home!” she said.

“In episode two, we filmed in the Brecon Beacons, which was a great episode to film.”

For those who haven’t seen the show, ‘Death Valley’ contains a lot of humour. Commenting on what can audiences expect and look forward to with the show, and explaining how it differs from other crime mystery murders, Gwyneth said: “The humour. We all love solving crimes, guessing what is going to happen and piecing it all together. It’s like playing a good game of Cluedo.

“But also, ‘Death Valley’ is really funny, it has so much heart. You really see John and Janie’s friendship evolve and see how it helps transform them. They are two lonely people who manage to find a friend. They are genuine with each other even if he does overstep the mark at times!”

The humour got to the actors too, who had to do re-takes on some of the scenes because they were laughing so much.

“In the episode where John is in the amateur dramatic society, there is a scene where he skips down the stairs, and it cracked me up,” said Gwyneth.

“I couldn’t keep it together and we had to redo my part a million times. Tim is so funny, and he is so good. Comedy is harder and Tim says this himself. You can’t fob an audience off.”

Comparing and contrasting herself to the character of Janie, Gwyneth said: “Janie and I are both scatty. I am always losing stuff, but Janie is more direct than I am and a lot more blunt.

“I like her commitment to being good at her job and how she won’t let anyone get in the way of it.”

Describing ‘Death Valley’ in three words, Gwyneth said: “Funny, mysterious, and Welsh.”

Gwyneth was a fan of murder mystery whodunnits before filming the series, as she explained.

“When I was younger, I watched ‘Murder She Wrote’ and ‘Quincy’ whenever I was ill off school.”

‘Death Valley’ is available to watch on BBC iPlayer.

This year is shaping up to be one of Gwyneth’s most successul yet. In April, Gwyneth won the RTS Cymru Drama Performance Award for her role in ‘Lost Boys & Fairies’.