'I stepped down from the job I loved after threats were made against my family'

Welsh actress Shelley Rees has opened up about stepping down from her role as a councillor after threats were made against her and her family. The Rhondda Cynon Taf actress is a familiar face on our screens, having played the well-known character of Stacey Jones on Welsh-language soap opera Pobol y Cwm over the years, as well as appearing on Emmerdale, Casualty and Keeping Faith.

In an interview with presenter Beti George during Sunday's radio show Beti a'i Phobol on BBC Radio Cymru, the 50-year-old actress explained how she had ventured into the world of politics when she was first elected in 2012 as a councillor for the Pentre ward in Rhondda Cynon Taf. Rees was then re-elected with an increased majority in 2017.

During her interview with Beti George, Shelley explained how much she "loved" the job and helping other people in her home village of Ton Pentre. "I thought that acting would begin to slow down because of my age, but I also needed another job," she explained.

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"A lot of actors have two or three other jobs at the same time and I needed something. I needed another job where I felt passionate about it. The one thing that I was passionate about besides my family and acting was the Rhondda. And so I stood, and I won the election and I spent 10 years then as a local councillor." For the latest Rhondda news, sign up to our newsletter here.

She added: "I absolutely loved helping people. I am a person that likes to give and I will try and help anyone if I can." However, Shelley explained that she decided no to stand in the 2022 local election - a decision she had made two years prior, in 2020, due to an incident.

"I think back on my family and Jon [her husband] and Lows [Lowri], and they were so supportive." she said. "Something happened where the boundary had been crossed. We had the flooding in the village, as people may remember from the news. It was horrific - people had lost everything.

"People were very kind, they would come up and help, people were just giving and giving. It was a difficult time and I was so upset about it, I couldn’t sleep at night. Between that and lockdown there was only about a month. And in that month, someone went to my parents’ house - someone local and threatened me."

She continued: "My dad answered the door and mum could hear something going on. I was working, I didn’t know anything about it. It just so happened that a friend of mine was walking her dog and saw everything, she called me and said, 'Where are you? Something is going on'. I called them instantly and they told me: 'No don’t come here, go to your own house'.

"What had happened was this man had knocked on the door, I knew who he was but I didn't know him that well, but for some reason he had decided to go to my mum and dad's house and threaten me. I was so upset. I was more upset that he had gone there, because I feel that Ton Pentre is somewhere safe, that is why I have never left.

"I was a child there, no one cares that I was on the TV to be honest - everyone is familiar with it. As a councillor, I was very visible, I was responsible for everyone, I would go and get a pint of milk from the shop and I would come back with a long list of things that I needed to do for people.

"I was really proud to be a councillor. I worked hard and I tried to bring positive things to people. But I always knew that if something happened where I wouldn’t feel safe or my family wouldn’t feel safe, I would have to give it up.

"I never thought it would happen in my own village. As a councillor, you are on the frontline. There are no staff, there is no office, you are out there. That’s the whole purpose of being a councillor - I was aware of that. But I never thought that would happen to me."

When asked by Beti if she knew why the incident had happened, Shelley said that she didn't know, but that it did have an impact on her and her family and she would eventually decide to step back from her position.

She said: "On one hand I felt like, why am I giving up on this? I should stay, but I couldn’t because of my family. We had a period where Lowri was scared of leaving the house, I would be checking if this man was around. As he was local, the police had told him to stay away.

"But then I thought, my family has supported everything that I have done, Jon especially. The ideas I come home with sometimes: 'Jon, I am going to that course' or 'Jon, I am going to stand for that' - he has supported everything.

“But when Jon says no to something, I know that I have to consider it." She added: "In that instance, when someone has threatened you and your family - I needed to put a stop to it. And I was very sad about it, I have to be honest, but I don’t miss it for a second. I think the people of the village still want me to be councillor, but I had to step back."