Some years ago Sky commissioned a few comedy dramas where not much really happens in a dramatic sense and Stella is the finest of all of these.
I watched the 6 series of this show when they were first broadcast, and have just re-watched them and it still works for me. The mix of characters is brilliant along with storylines that go from romantic, to serious, to just utterly silly and hilarious. The beautiful Welsh valleys provide a wonderful backdrop for this funny, sweet, sentimental show.
The only downsides really are the disappearance of some characters between series, which seems to be slightly random. Possibly those actors were unavailable to do further series as time went on? But new characters come in and fill the gaps well. The introduction of Di Botcher as Aunty Brenda is a particular favourite - like a nagging busybody on steroids, but she isn't one dimensional, and you do feel the love she has for her friends and family as well as the love they have for her. A couple of deaths of major characters through the series are handled brilliantly without them feeling like they were done for shock. As in the real world life and death happens and people handle it the way they do.
Ruth Jones has created a classic with Stella, which even with repeated watching doesn't wear out. It's perfect rainy day TV in a way and cheers you up. I hope one day we might get to have another visit to Pontyberry to see how everyone is doing. In the meantime if you haven't seen it already I recommend you do 'presh'!
