The men and women responsible for the success of a Gwynedd tourist destination are set to star in a new TV show.

The Village on ITV Cymru Wales meets some of the men and women who help run Portmeirion.

From the chef and the gardener to the painter and decorator, each of them tells what it takes to keep such a landmark destination in tiptop condition.

Cameras have been given unique access to show a year in the life of the iconic community near Porthmadog. They capture the beauty of four glorious seasons and the life cycle of the men and women who are the guardians of the village that has been called ‘an illusion; a playful contradiction’.

Portmeirion looks like an ancient Italian village. But it was created between 1925 and 1973 by the visionary architect Sir Clough Williams-Ellis. Now his grandson, Robin Llywelyn leads the team which runs the village.

Robin, the managing director of Portmeirion Ltd, tells the programme: “Portmeirion really is the embodiment of Clough’s vision of the harmony between the manmade and the natural.

“What Clough abhorred over anything was that the place should become some sort of a museum.

“He wanted the place to live and breath and be somewhere that inspired and allowed events to take place and things to happen.”

Portmeirion was the backdrop for the pioneering sixties TV show The Prisoner. Now it attracts some 200,000 visitors a year.

The new series features a wide range of characters – some of whom have worked at Portmeirion for decades.

Martin Couture has been there for 42 years, starting when he was just 16 years old. Now the head painter and decorator, he tells the programme how he maintains the colours and style laid down by Sir Clough as the village was built.

The series airs on ITV Cymru Wales at 8pm on Monday, 15 April and will then be available online on itv.com/walesprogrammes.

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