A heartwarming tale inspired by the time when national artwork was hidden in Wales is this Bank Holiday weekend’s big TV drama. Abbie Wightwick catches up with the stars – Eve Myles and Trevor Eve

It’s a long way from saving the planet in Torchwood but Eve Myles loved the change of pace playing a village school teacher in BBC One’s new one-off drama.

Framed was set and filmed almost entirely in Wales and tells how village life changes when a group of outsiders arrive.

Eve plays Angharad the local schoolteacher who finally manages to win through the reserved nature of a museum curator played by Trevor Eve.

The 90-minute drama is based on Frank Cottrell Boyce’s best-selling children’s novel of the same name.

It follows the lives of 10-year-old Dylan Hughes and his family’s struggle to keep afloat their small petrol station at the foot of a Welsh mountain.

When a convoy of men and trucks take up residence on the mountain, villagers discover that the National Gallery in London has been flooded and the priceless paintings sent to Wales for safekeeping in the old slate mine, as they were in World War Two.

In charge of this is Quentin Lester, played by Trevor, a reserved senior curator who is eventually drawn out of his shell by Angharad.

Filming in Wales was a sort of homecoming for both Eve and Trevor. Both actors loved filming in Snowdonia and in and around Cardiff.

Eve, 31, was born in Ystradgynlais and is used to filming at home playing Gwen in Dr Who spin-off Torchwood while Trevor, 58, one of television’s best known leading men, has family in Swansea and holidayed in Mumbles as a child.

Eve, 31, who is expecting her first child in November, admits it was hard switching from gun-toting Gwen in Torchwood to a gentle teacher from rural Wales.

“It’s been quite difficult actually because I’m used to doing bold things with guns,” she laughs.

“Angharad is different to Gwen she’s quieter, more thoughtful. She is not soft, she is feisty but she is a lot more complicated. She’s quite nosy, but she’s only nosy because she’s been living there for such a long time and not a lot happens.”

The actress was “blown over” by Frank Cottrell Boyce’s script. His story is aimed at all ages in the drama adaptation but it retains a non-cynical innocence from the children’s novel which Eve and Trevor enjoyed portraying.

“Frank is a tremendous writer. And to meet him in person was such a treat,” says the Welsh actress.

“I’d love to see a collaboration between him and Russell (T Davies) – that would just be out of this world.”

She said Cottrell’s romantic script for Framed has a feel-good factor that made her smile all the way through reading it.

“The script was beautiful.

“I love stories that are told through children’s eyes because everything is real and honest in that way because children tend not to lie.

“They tend to say the truth whether it gets them in trouble or not and I think that reflects life because it’s in your face, no cover-ups, no apologies and it’s totally beautiful.”

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