A MONMOUTH author has broken BBC records with a screenplay created in and inspired by Monmouth.

Keeping Faith by Matthew Hall, better known as MR Hall, has been named as BBC Wales’ best performing drama in 20 years.

It is also the best performing non-network show on the BBC iPlayer nationally with more than five million downloads. It has been number one on BBC iPlayer this week making it the most watched show on the platform in the UK.

The soundtrack, especially composed for the show by Welsh singer/ songwriter Amy Wadge, has reached number three in the iTunes album charts and this week, the main song, Faith’s Song, was number one in the Amazon singles download chart.

Keeping Faith tells the tale of Faith Howells, a solicitor whose husband Evan, with whom she works at their family-run law firm, disappears whilst she is on maternity leave following the birth of their third child.

Keeping Faith was commissioned originally by S4C from a proposal Matthew submitted in late 2012. It took nearly five years to get from the beginning of the process to screen.?The majority of the show was produced by Pip Broughton who also lived in Monmouth. Matthew said: “We met in Monmouth in 2003 when by happy coincidence she was directing an episode of ITV’s Blue Murder which I had written. When she set up her production company, Vox Pictures, in 2012, she asked me to come up with some ideas to pitch to broadcasters and Keeping Faith was one of the two I wrote.

“Having lived in Monmouthshire and Herefordshire most of my life I had always wanted to write a series based in a small community in which everyone knows everyone else – which we all know is a blessing but sometimes has its drawbacks. I also wanted to portray modern Wales and to showcase its beauty. Pip has caught this beautifully in her direction and the landscape imagery has captured the imagination of the audience beyond Wales. We are very proud of the fact that this is a show that was born in and inspired by Monmouth.”

The show was broadcast on S4C just before Christmas earning record ratings for the channel. The English version has just finished its eight week run on BBC One Wales.

Keeping Faith is being broadcast in the USA from May 7th and it is hoped that the BBC will broadcast it UK-wide later in the year. Matthew and lead actress from the show, Eve Myles, will be speaking about the show at the Hay Festival at 1pm on 1st June.

Writing is underway on series two of the show.