A former Emmerdale actress from Powys said she had a difficult time on the popular ITV soap opera because of all the public attention.

Sian Reese-Williams, who comes from Brecon, joined the cast of Emmerdale in 2008 playing the part of Gennie Walker for more than 700 episodes. In 2012, 8.8 million people watched Sian during a live episode of the award-winning soap which celebrated its 50th anniversary last year.

Although her period on Emmerdale was “special”, and that she had a great time, Sian tells a new television series that dealing with the attention was hard.

In an interview for S4C's Taith Bywyd (Life Journey), Sian said that viewers made personal comments when they saw her, and that it affected her confidence.

County Times: Brecon-raised Sian Reese-Williams visits her family and co-stars in the programme.Brecon-raised Sian Reese-Williams visits her family and co-stars in the programme. (Image: S4C)

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The programme will be broadcast at 9pm on Sunday (January 14) when Sian goes on a journey to meet the people who changed her life and those who influenced her career.

"I found that quite difficult, it was a struggle for me,” she said. “When you are in a soap opera, there is a kind of ownership, because people see you every night.

"You're in their living room every night, and people forget that you're a person sometimes, and the things people feel they can say to you are too personal...And there's a lot of people who aren’t very nice, and that can be tricky."

"The things people said about her [the character] were 'unlucky in love', 'ugly duckling'...When you hear that every day for five years, for me, that had an effect on my confidence, and it took quite a lot of time to deal with that. And still now, when I hear a negative voice in my head, I know it comes from that period."

On the programme, Sian will reunite with one of Emmerdale's biggest stars at the time, Sammy Winward, who played Katie Sugden for 14 years and became Sian's close friend.

In 2018, Sian was cast as the lead role in three series of the BBC series Hidden which was sold to other broadcasters around the world.

County Times: One of Emmerdale's biggest stars at the time, Sammy Winward (pictured with Philip Glenister), who played Katie Sugden, is Sian's close friend.One of Emmerdale's biggest stars at the time, Sammy Winward (pictured with Philip Glenister), who played Katie Sugden, is Sian's close friend.

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She also meets her sister, Heledd. Sian grew up in a happy family, with her sister, her brother Llyr, and their parents Gill and Jeff, in Brecon.

Llyr found that he had a brain tumour in 2005 and died in 2019. Remembering him is vitally important to the family.

Sian said: "I was a little scared that I would find it really hard to remember him in any other way than how he was at the end.

"We talk about him all the time...Something reminds me of Llyr almost every day.

"He was someone who showed what it was like to live through tough times - you have to keep going. It’s hard to do, and I’m not very good at it, but he taught us about that."

Others taking part in the series are broadcaster Jason Mohammad, influencer and presenter Jess Davies, musician, guitarist and S4C cycling pundit Peredur ap Gwynedd, and former Member of Parliament and campaigner Sian James.

The first episode of the series with Osian Roberts is available on demand on S4C Clic and BBC iPlayer.