Whisper Cymru has delivered a new documentary to S4C, Ken Owens: Y Sheriff. Offering a fascinating insight into the realities of professional sport, Ken Owens: Y Sheriff follows the life of the former British & Irish Lions star and Wales rugby captain over a period of 18 months, including some career highs, career lows and Ken’s ultimate retirement announcement.
With exclusive access given to S4C cameras, the film offers a unique insight into Ken’s life. The documentary shows Ken's pride in representing his lifelong club, the Scarlets, along with the heart wrenching lows of fighting a career-ending injury. We see Ken’s honour of leading Wales as captain for the first time, as well as dealing with the threat of a strike by the national team. It was a rollercoaster 18-months as the cameras rolled and some of the raw scenes of recovery show the brutality of pro sport.
Ken’s story is supported by interviews with Ken himself, along with his family, former team mates, including Alun Wyn Jones (most capped International player) and Jonathan Davies (Wales & B&I Lions), as well as with Coaches, including Warren Gatland (Wales & B&I Lions Coach), Nigel Walker (Head of Performance WRU) and Phil Davies (Director of Rugby, World Rugby).
Ken Owens: Y Sheriff is the latest offering from Whisper Cymru, the growing Welsh arm of Whisper, which has enjoyed recent award success.
It recently won Best Sports Documentary at the RTS Cymru Awards for Ifan Phillips (S4C), a film thatfollowed Ospreys player Ifan after his hopes of playing international rugby were ended by a tragic motorcycle accident. It also got a GOLD Award for Best Documentary at The Telly Awards for Icons: Noel Gallagher with Gibson Guitars. The Whisper Cymru team were also nominated for an International Emmy for Two Sides (SuperSport/ Virgin/ ITV), which followed both rugby teams during the last British & Irish Lions tour of South Africa in 2021.
This year the crew recently delivered Stryd i'r Sgrym, an entertainment series for S4C where Scott Quinnell trained a new rugby team and changed the lives of some of the individuals taking part by introducing them to the benefits of living by rugby's values.
Carys Owens, MD Whisper Cymru commentated: “I’m proud of the production team, led by Siôn Jones, for their ability to gain trust with their subjects and to be able to film the intimate, and sometimes difficult and stressful, moments that sit around big sporting events.
“Being personally attached to this project was very different and sometimes challenging, but the team managed to lean into the raw moments of the past 18 months to give viewers a true insight into the life of a professional rugby player. Sport offers so many incredible stories and this documentary shows the brutality of professional sports, that can sometimes sit alongside the glory.”
Ken Owens: Y Sheriff airs on Sunday 2 June at 9pm on S4C and is available with English subtitles.
