AFTER the cliffhanger at the end of the second series of Hinterland/Y Gwyll, fans of the show will want to know how DCI Mathias is doing. Who better to give us details than Richard Harrington, the actor who plays him...

Speaking to the Cambrian News during a break from filming the third series, Richard explained his character’s state of mind, and it’s not what you might expect.

“He’s not as bad as you’d imagine,” the south Walian actor said.

“I actually think it’s done him good. Being isolated on the side of a cliff had run its course I think the man is isolated enough as it is.

“The events of the last episode have forced him into society now, in a way, but he has been chucked into somewhere quite bleak.”

For those who haven’t seen the second series of the hit detective show, (spoiler alert) Mathias’ caravan was burned to the ground in the last episode.

The third series will uncover the arsonist and their motive for trying to kill the caravan’s mysterious inhabitant.

It’s a storyline Richard is enjoying.

“It’s forced him into relationships, which is nice. As an actor it’s great to be out of there [the caravan].

“Inadvertently, the attempted murder has sprung him into a different way of life.”

The new way of life has not improved Mathias’ personal grooming.

“He’s a bit more dishevelled,” Richard says of Mathias.

“The beard is longer, his hair is not as it should be... We see him as he is inside, as opposed to a veneer.

“But you may get a couple of smiles out of him. I’ve tried!”

As well as finding out more about the caravan fire, the third series also re-visits the children’s home storyline from the first series.

“It’s the culmination of the story from the first series so there’s a lot of closure.

“That will relinquish another part of his character and the audience will have to get used to that.

“He’s still as cool as f***.”

Series three of Hinterland/Y Gwyll will be shown on S4C in October.

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