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Nuts and Bolts was a weekly television drama series, set in the fictional South Wales town of Ystrad. It began airing in 1999 on HTV. [1] It ran for three years until it was cancelled in 2002. [2]
Filmed entirely on location in Merthyr Tydfil, the series made large use of exterior locations, with many interiors being recorded in a former Welsh Water depot; which became a hastily improvised television studio.[ citation needed ]
The first series was hailed an instant success,[ citation needed ] and became renowned for its accurate portrayal of valleys life (much like the BBC Wales series Belonging ) and became a proving-ground for new Welsh drama talent, such as Eve Myles, Jonathan Owen, Jason May, Lawrence Llewellyn, Nathan Jones, Craig Barlow and Dean Keohane.[ citation needed ] The initial episode received complaints from viewers for showing content unsuitable for the early-evening timeslot in which the programme was shown, which were upheld by the regulator, the ITC. [3]
The series was awarded The Royal Television Society Award for Best Regional Drama in 1999. [4] However, erratic scheduling and a lack of commitment to show the drama nationally, (except irregular, late-night showings on ITV2), led to the series being cancelled in November 2002; just one month after Nuts and Bolts finished its fourth-series run on HTV.
The series was devised and created by Lynnette Jenkins.[ citation needed ] The show was HTV's first soap opera for fifteen years. [5] A number of scheduling and channel changes resulted in a considerable loss of viewership, ultimately leading to its cancellation in 2002. [2]
