A former teacher from Ebbw Vale has a new animated show out on BBC One and BBC I player.
‘The Golden Cobra’ written by Adam Llewellyn, James Prygodzicz, and Tom Rees follows the adventures of the Abassi family. The show itself is centred around the family business the ‘Golden Cobra’ which is humorously dubbed ‘the worst takeaway in Ebbw Vale.’
From Maesteg cannibals to poisonous curry and the odd appearance from a Michael Sheen lookalike, the show provides viewers with whacky and comedic adventure all whilst maintaining the spirit of the Welsh Valleys. The show focuses on Basil the patriarch of the Abassi family and father son duo Nick and Rhys who also inhabit the crazy ‘Golden Cobra’ world.
This is the second animated comedy written by Adam Llewellyn, James Prygodzicz, and Tom Rees. The show is a spinoff of the original YouTube series ‘The Vale.’ The Vale itself revolves around Beaton and Tony. Beaton a Nickelback obsessed, irritable stepfather is struggling to find work in Ebbw Vale and is often annoyed by Tony is his nerdy stepson navigating his way through adolescence. The show was a huge success amongst locals and the finale even premiered on the big screen in Brynmawr Market Street Cinema.
The Argus spoke to fellow show creator Adam Llewellyn. He said: "When you see a lot of TV shows and dramas set in the Valleys, they haven’t got it quite right and it’s lacking some authenticity.”
“When we did the Vale, we packed as many realistic people based on characters we knew.”
So far local feedback has been positive
“People tell us that they think its accurate and that people relate to it, -when I’m in Ebbw Vale sometimes people will come up and say you based this guy on so and so.”
A new age for Welsh Animation?
“I’ve seen some great stuff coming out of Wales, I go to every once in a while, to Cardiff for animation nights and they showcase some brilliant animators.”
From joke to career
Adam Explained how the show started off as just something for him and his friends he didn’t anticipate the cultural impact the show would have:
“There was a kid I used to teach in Ebbw Vale college, and I saw a lot of myself in this kid -his stepfather used to come pick him up sometimes and he was Beaton he was exactly like Beaton.”
“So, I used to do the voice of Beaton all the time to my friend.”
“When it started it was just to make three of my friends laugh just really to make these three guys, I lived with in a house share laugh.”
“What we set up to make is just something that makes people laugh really, the feedback has been amazing.”
The Golden Cobra is available to stream now on BBC I Player and BBC One and consists of a total of 8 episodes.
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