Christine Pritchard (6 August 1943 – 14 February 2023) was a Welsh actress. She was best known in Wales for her role as the titular character in ''Rala Rwdins,'' a children's show on

S4C S4C (, ''Sianel Pedwar Cymru'', meaning ''Channel Four Wales'') is a Welsh language free-to-air public broadcast television channel. Launched on 1 November 1982, it was the first television channel to be aimed specifically at a Welsh-speakin ...

in the 1990s. She featured in numerous Welsh language films and television series, such as ''Glas y Dorlan'', ''Dinas'', ''

Pobol y Cwm ''Pobol y Cwm'' (''People of the Valley''; ) is a Welsh-language soap opera produced by the BBC since October 1974. The longest-running television soap opera produced by the BBC, ''Pobol y Cwm'' was originally transmitted on BBC Cymru (now B ...

'', ''

Cara Fi ''Cara Fi'' (''Love Me'') is a Welsh romantic comedy-drama series that first broadcast in November 2014 on S4C, and was later made available on the BBC iPlayer. The eight-part series was created by Sarah Dollard. In 2015 the show was nominated f ...

'', and ''Anita.'' Her other roles included appearances on ''

The Indian Doctor ''The Indian Doctor'' is a British television comedy drama, set in the 1960s. Produced by Rondo Media and Avatar Productions, it was first broadcast on BBC One in 2010. The most recent series began on 4 November 2013 on BBC One daytime and conc ...

'', ''

Doctors Doctor, Doctors, The Doctor or The Doctors may refer to: Titles and occupations * Physician, a medical practitioner * Doctor (title), an academic title for the holder of a doctoral-level degree ** Doctorate ** List of doctoral degrees awarded b ...

'' and ''

Stella Stella or STELLA may refer to: Art, entertainment, and media Films * ''Stella'' (1921 film), directed by Edwin J. Collins * ''Stella'' (1943 film), with Zully Moreno * ''Stella'' (1950 film), with Ann Sheridan and Victor Mature * ''Stella'' (1955 ...

.'' On stage she performed regularly with

Theatr Genedlaethol Cymru , formerly , is the Welsh-language national theatre company of Wales, and was founded in 2003. The company is known for regularly touring a diverse range of theatre across the length and breadth Wales, including new writing, musicals, site-sp ...

. the Welsh-language national theatre of Wales.

Early life and education

Born in

Caernarfon Caernarfon (; ) is a List of place names with royal patronage in the United Kingdom, royal town, Community (Wales), community and port in Gwynedd, Wales. It has a population of 9,852 (with Caeathro). It lies along the A487 road, on the easter ...

, Pritchard grew up in a bilingual household speaking Welsh and English. She attended Sir Hugh Owen School, and studied English, Latin, and drama at

Bristol University The University of Bristol is a public research university in Bristol, England. It received its royal charter in 1909, although it can trace its roots to a Merchant Venturers' school founded in 1595 and University College, Bristol, which had ...

. Upon graduating, she taught English and French on

Saint Kitts Saint Kitts, officially Saint Christopher, is an island in the West Indies. The west side of the island borders the Caribbean Sea, and the eastern coast faces the Atlantic Ocean. Saint Kitts and the neighbouring island of Nevis constitute one ...

in the Caribbean, as part of the

Voluntary Service Overseas VSO is a not-for-profit international development organization charity with a vision for "a fair world for everyone" and a mission to "create lasting change through volunteering". VSO delivers development impact through a blended volunteer model c ...

scheme. After returning to the UK, she taught drama in

Putney Putney () is an affluent district in southwest London, England, in the London Borough of Wandsworth, southwest of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. History Putney is an ...

, London, where she produced school plays.

Acting career

Stage

Pritchard joined the newly formed Cwmni Theatr Cymru in Bangor, making her debut in the lead role in ''Roedd Catarina o Gwympas Ddoe (Catarina Was Around Yesterday)'' in 1970. In 1974, she toured the United States with The Pryderi Players, which was sponsored by the

Welsh Arts Council The Arts Council of Wales (ACW; ) is a Welsh Government-sponsored body, responsible for funding and developing the arts in Wales. Established within the Arts Council of Great Britain in 1946, as the Welsh Arts Council (), its English name w ...

to promote the works of Welsh writers. In later years, Pritchard appeared in numerous other plays, including the Cwmni Theatr Gwynedd production ''Ddoe yn Ol (Yesterday Again)'', a Welsh adaptation of

Henrik Ibsen Henrik Johan Ibsen (; ; 20 March 1828 – 23 May 1906) was a Norwegian playwright, poet and actor. Ibsen is considered the world's pre-eminent dramatist of the 19th century and is often referred to as "the father of modern drama." He pioneered ...

's ''Ghosts'', in 1994. In the mid-1990s, Pritchard co-starred with Owen Garmon in ''Fel Anifail'' by

Meic Povey Michael "Meic" Povey (28 November 1950 – 5 December 2017) was a Welsh screenwriter, director and actor in Welsh and English language roles, considered to be one of Wales's leading playwrights and screenwriters.National Eisteddfod The National Eisteddfod of Wales ( Welsh: ') is the largest of several eisteddfodau that are held annually, mostly in Wales. Its eight days of competitions and performances are considered the largest music and poetry festival in Europe. Competito ...

, and received additional funding from the Arts Council to tour across Wales. In 2008 she was a founding member of the women's theatre company ''Theatr Pena'' which revived classic plays with significant roles for women.

Television

In the 1970s, Pritchard transitioned from the stage to television, appearing in shows such as ''Glas y Dorlan''. In the 1980s, she played Ruth Gregory, an executive headhunter, in the S4C soap opera ''Dinas (City)'', a Welsh series which drew comparisons to the American TV series ''

Dallas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

''. In the 1990s, Pritchard starred in two of the most popular shows on S4C, including ''Rala Rwdins'' and ''

.'' In 2014, she appeared in the romantic comedy '' Cara Fi (Love Me)'' as pub landlady and "fiery matriarch" Nancy. She also appeared in programmes such as ''Anita'', '' Keeping Faith (Un Bore Mercher)'', and ''35 Awr''.

Film

Pritchard starred in the 1994 film, ''Wild Justice'', playing Margaret Hughes.

Radio

Pritchard had a regular role on the

BBC Radio Cymru BBC Radio Cymru is a Welsh language radio station owned and operated by BBC Cymru Wales, a division of the BBC. It broadcasts across Wales on FM, DAB, digital TV and BBC Sounds. The station broadcasts general factual and entertainment pro ...

soap opera, ''Eileen/Rhydeglwys''.

References

{{Authority control 1943 births 2023 deaths 20th-century Welsh actresses 21st-century Welsh actresses