Llanddewi Brefi - Popular Culture

Popular Culture

Llanddewi Brefi was made famous by the BBC television series Little Britain, where the character Daffyd Thomas (a variation of the original Welsh name Dafydd; played by Matt Lucas) lives in the fictional village of Llandewi Breffi. Daffyd is a ridiculously obtuse character who believes himself to be "the only gay in the village", and accuses his fellow citizens of homophobia despite their efforts to show acceptance of his sexual orientation and often quite obvious similar leanings.

In one episode of the programme Daffyd decides to run away to London and heads for the railway station to catch the last train of the day, but unlike its fictional counterpart the village never had its own railway station. The nearest station was at Pont Llanio, situated next to a former milk processing plant approximately a mile outside the village, on the former Carmarthen – Aberystwyth route. Although proposed for closure in the "Beeching Report" the line might well have survived on social grounds had it not been for serious damage due to flooding south of Aberystwyth in December 1964. The cost of repairs was deemed unjustified and led to the withdrawal of passenger services in February 1965 although milk trains continued to run from Carmarthen to Pont Llanio until 1970. Llanddewi Brefi has a bus service between Aberystwyth and Lampeter (approximately once every two hours) but in common with many rural areas, there are no buses after 18.00 in the evening and none on Sundays.