A BELOVED Amman Valley actor will be remembered in a special programme on TV tonight.

S4C will show a programme paying tribute to actor Dafydd Hywel on Sunday, June 4.

The Garnant native died on March 23 at the age of 77, following a period of illness.

The programme will present Dafydd’s life from the perspective of those who knew him best and will tell the story of his life and pay tribute to the legendary actor.

John Ogwen, a fellow actor and one of Dafydd’s closest friends, said: “I’ve lost someone and no one else can fill the gap… He needed someone to look after him – as an anchor – the ship would lose its way every now and then.”

Dafydd is godfather to one of John’s children, which John recalls in the programme: “We were on a tour [and I asked DH] that we would like for him to be the tad bedydd (godfather) of our child. Yes alright he said… I had expected a little bit more than that, and then suddenly he was up and off he went somewhere, he had gone to see Beryl Williams, and he was asking ‘what is a tad bedydd?’ She of course answered – godfather… He was soon back to the bar and grabbed me and lifted me into the air – absolutely DH.”

The programme will remember a complex man, full of satire and humour and immense talent who performed on theatre, television and film, and was chief executive of his own theatre company called Mega.

Dafydd Emyr, a friend and fellow actor, said: “We weren’t interested in presenting Cinderella and Puss in Boots… to Welsh children. We estimated that 40,000 would see his shows every year… multiplied by a quarter of a century [of performances] that’s a million children.

“Children in Wales have been blessed with a Welsh legacy that was so important and so close to his heart.”

An emotional tribute in the show comes from Gary Sweet, an Australian actor who starred alongside Dafydd in the film Derfydd Aur/Becca which was filmed on location in Australia.

Gary said: “DH and I seemed to hit it off from the first time we met, there was something mischievous about him, there was something irreverent. I loved his knowledge of sport and his sense of humour.”

Sharon Morgan, Dafydd’s niece and also an actress, said: “His family name was Hywel… he was always full of life, full of energy, laughing, shouting, and like what mamgu used to call a full man, a very full man.”

Actress Ruth Jones also features in the show. She said: “When working on Stella, DH spoke Welsh all the time… when I said I don’t understand you… he carried on.

“He had a lot of love for everyone but wasn’t afraid to say what he thought… just a really lovely, lovely man.”

Cofio Dafydd Hywel is a Tinint production and will be shown on S4C on Sunday, June 4 at 9pm. There will be English and Welsh subtitles and it will be available on demand on S4C Clic and BBC iPlayer.