Welsh Government

Born to Kill, from Line of Duty producers World Productions, was filmed predominantly in the Vale of Glamorgan with scenes shot in Barry and Dinas Powys with the production also using interior sets constructed at Enfys Studios in Cardiff.

Funding support from the Welsh Government helped secure the production for Wales with the four hour-long episodes produced by World Productions using Welsh crews and facilities. Supported by Wales Screen, part of the Welsh Government’s creative industries team, the production is estimated to have spent £2.5m in Wales.

Economy Secretary Ken Skates said: 

“This is another example of how support from the Welsh Government is helping to bring productions to Wales that present a range of significant opportunities for those working in the sector. Wales Screen work closely with all these productions to encourage the use of Welsh crews and facilities in order to maximise the benefits and local spend.”

Jake Lushington, Head of Drama/Executive Producer at World Productions, said: 

“From the amazing array of locations, to the experience and dedication of the local crew, filming in and around Cardiff has been an absolute pleasure and one World Productions looks forward to returning to on many future projects.”

Born to Kill explores the mind of a teenage boy trying to suppress psychopathic desires while falling in love for the first time. It also follows the teenager’s family and community who are unaware of what he is capable of.

Born to Kill is the first commission for duo Tracey Malone (Silent Witness) and first time TV writer and BIFA nominated actress Kate Ashfield. The four part drama starring Romola Garai and Daniel Mays was directed by Bruce Goodison (Murdered By My Father, Doctor Foster), produced by Lucy Robinson and executive produced by Jake Lushington (The Devil’s Whore).

World Productions is a leading TV drama production company with an impressive track record of producing high quality drama series for all major UK broadcasters having produced hundreds of hours of globally acclaimed drama including the acclaimed drama Line of Duty.

The waiting time targets for adult cochlear implant surgery will be reduced to 26 weeks for standard cases and 36 weeks for complex cases.  The Welsh Health Specialist Services Committee (WHSSC) will work with health boards to introduce the new referral to treatment (RTT) targets in a phased approach over the next three years. 

This is a significant cut to the current 52 week target for RTT, which was set by the WHSSC. The reduced 26 week RTT target for standard implant surgery will bring the adult target in line with the RTT target for children. 

There are specialised Cochlear Implant service providers, located in  at University Hospital Wales in Cardiff and in Ysbyty Glan Clwyd, North Wales. These services are planned and commissioned by the WHSSC.

A cochlear implant is a medical devise that can replace the function of the inner ear. This surgery can enable profoundly deaf people to hear again and therefore has a significant impact on the quality of people’s lives. 

The Health Secretary said: 

“We want to ensure that people who need cochlear implants are able to have surgery as soon as possible, so their hearing can be improved or restored.

“For many people deafness can have a significant impact on their quality of life, affecting employment, recreation and relationships. 

“Restoring people’s hearing with cochlear implants as soon as possible will help people who are deaf or hard of hearing to lead more normal lives again.”

“The Year of Legends is about bringing our past to life and creating new legends for the future.  It’s great to see how a local festival such as Trakz has adopted the themes of the campaign this year.  I’m also pleased that the Welsh Government office in Llandudno Junction is hosting this community event.”

The Trakz festival will begin at 5.30pm at the Welsh Government office, with further events planned in the town itself over the weekend.

The Efficiency Through Technology Fund (ETTF) supports health and social care projects that use innovative technology to improve the efficiency of healthcare services.

Projects that have secured funding include the Public Health Wales led molecular diagnostics project, which will be receiving £2.5m over the next three years to improve methods of diagnosing gastrointestinal infections.

The National Welsh Informatics Service will use £1.18m to lead on a once for Wales approach to e-Forms development to speed up the move towards a digital patient record.

An e-form is a digital version of a paper form. This will be less time consuming to complete and will eliminate  the cost of printing, storing, and distributing pre-printed paperwork. 

Digital records will mean that important information is available at the touch of a screen during consultations. This will improve outcomes for patients by informing the decisions they make with their clinicians, ensuring they receive the most appropriate treatment. The programme will focus on Nursing e-Forms as a priority area.

Another successful project will see the development and implementation of an improved pressure ulcer reporting system within care homes. This will provide an open and transparent reporting system for deep pressure ulcers – one of the recommendations of the Flynn report. 

Cardiff and Vale University Health Board (CVUHB) has secured funding, with partners, for a system to help reduce frequent attenders calling for ambulances and/or attending A&E department in CVUHB. This project aims to work with frequent attenders to better understand their needs and thereby reduce the costs and resources burden on the CVUHB services.

Powys health board has been successful in their funding bid for a computerised Cognitive Behavioural therapy project, which will support patients with mild and moderate depression by providing quicker access to treatment.

Other projects are:

• Digitalisation of the lung cancer patient pathway record (NWIS)
• Further development and expansion of the existing ETTF Choose Pharmacy platform and roll-out to all community pharmacies in Wales.
• All Wales Adult Cystic Fibrosis Centre – Virtual Technology Clinics (Cardiff and Vale)
• A national Telehealth Scale up Programme- to reduce hospital and emergency department attendances(ABUHB and ABMUHB)   
• Raman spectroscopy technology for colorectal cancer (AMBU)

Health Secretary, Vaughan Gething said: 

“I am pleased to be able to fund these 11 new projects that aspire to improve the efficiency of our health care services in Wales.  We received 142 applications in this round of funding – the biggest response to this funding stream so far and I want to congratulate those who have been successful amid fierce competition.

“It is fantastic to see organisations coming up with innovative schemes to improve our health care services. I am looking forward to visit some of the projects in the near future to see first hand what they can achieve.”

Part funded through the Welsh Government’s Media Investment Budget, which is advised by Pinewood Pictures  the series has been jointly commissioned by S4C and BBC Wales.

The eight part returnable series will film back to back in English and Welsh in the same way as the hugely successful Y Gwyll/ Hinterland.

Economy Secretary Ken Skates said:

“This is another great project that is not only being filmed in Wales but also set in Wales with funding support from our Media Investment Budget. It will provide great opportunities for Welsh crews, facilities companies and local suppliers and provide a significant boost to local economies. 

“The past five years have seen Wales become one of the most successful areas in the UK for high end television drama, and I am delighted that Un Bore Mercher/Keeping Faith has joined the growing showreel of made-in-Wales drama productions.”

This latest high end drama from Vox Pictures is co-written by Matthew Hall ( New Street Law, Blue Murder) and adapted into Welsh by Anwen Huws (Gwaith Cartref, Pobol y Cwm). It stars Eve Myles (Torchwood, Broadchurch and Victoria) in the lead character Faith.

The series tells the story of lawyer, wife and mother Faith (Myles) as she fights to find the truth behind the sudden disappearance of her husband. She comes to discover that her beautiful, idyllic home town in West Wales harbours many dark secrets that threaten the lives of Faith and her family. 

Director is Pip Broughton (Under Milk Wood and Aberfan, The Green Hollow) who is co-producing with Nora Ostler (Gwaith Cartref, Y Gwyll/Hinterland) for Vox Pictures. Executive Producers are  Gwawr Martha Lloyd (S4C)  Maggie Russell (BBC Wales) and Adrian Bate for Vox Pictures. 

Filmed on location in the Vale of Glamorgan, Carmarthenshire, Laugharne and in Pencoed studios, this new and distinctive series will premiere this autumn in Welsh as Un Bore Mercher on S4C  followed by the English language version, Keeping Faith on BBC One Wales early next year.