Rownd a Rownd actor Robin Ceiriog has spoken of his character’s latest storyline - a dark depiction of addiction.

The Bala actor plays Ysgol Glanrafon deputy headteacher Mathew, and viewers have seen the character struggle for six months.

This week, things get too much for Mathew as the story reaches its climax.

Following an injury to his foot after falling on the beach, Mathew took prescription painkillers. He developed an addiction to the tablets and has been secretly buying them from Barry and Iestyn. Mathew recently returned to work at the school but is still taking the drugs as he finds getting back to normality difficult to cope with.

Robin, a former Ysgol Y Berwyn pupil, said it is no surprise that his character went down the path of addiction.

“Given that Mathew has a tendency to addiction, taking the strong painkillers, which are opioids, and can be as addictive as heroin, was not a wise choice,” Robin said.

“But the pain in his foot got the better of him, so it had to be done. Inevitably, he became addicted to them, and has been going through a difficult period of hiding it.

“As deputy headmaster, he is in a responsible position. It’s pretty easy to hide the addiction from his housemates, but I’m sure it would be a lot harder to do so if he had a wife and children and so on.”

The problem of dependence on prescription drugs is an important topic that deserves attention, Robin said.

“It’s not a story that hasn’t been covered before – in Rownd a Rownd or other soaps – and underlines how common it is in a way.

“It’s not just addiction to tablets, but the knock-on effect on the character’s mental health, which is such an important discussion at the moment, especially in the turbulent times we have been through with Covid and so on. It’s very important for everyone to be open; we’re all flawed, and everyone can suffer from mental health problems.

Just one aspect of it is that Mathew uses all sorts of things to escape his demons.”

Several members of the Rownd a Rownd crew have researched this important storyline, as Robin explained.

“The director has looked in detail at how easy it is to get addicted to these tablets, and I’ve looked into the 12 steps programme that those in rehab go through, and so on. You have to be true to the experiences real people have to convey it as accurately as possible.”

Rownd a Rownd is on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 8.25pm on S4C, with an omnibus on Sunday.