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Episode 3

Episode 3 of 4

In this episode, we meet steel factory workers, a taxi driver and a portrait artist, all of whom have very different reasons for working at night.

Series in which we meet the unsung heroes of the graveyard shift - the one in seven workers in Wales who are at work through the night. This invisible army is wide awake when the rest of us are fast asleep. In this episode, we meet steel factory workers, a taxi driver and a portrait artist who all have very different reasons for working at night.

Stuart has been working night shifts at Tata Steelworks in Port Talbot for almost 20 years, but he says ‘you never get used to nights’. There’s plenty of work to keep him busy though; two huge cranes are in the harbour to unload material bound for the blast furnace but they’re both broken and while the cranes are at a standstill the costs are escalating. But there’s a delay in the spare part needed to fix one crane and an electrical fault on the other which can’t be repaired. He’ll try to motivate his engineering teams to fix both cranes by the end of the night shift.

Sian is on the late-night taxi shift in Swansea and there’s no sign that the long queue at the rank is going to disappear any time soon. Her first passengers are from out of town and in Swansea for the first time, enjoying hearing the ‘homely’ Welsh accent. Later, she takes a couple of tipsy girls home, admitting that she ‘loves being nosey’ and feels there should be a confession box in her cab where people can admit to their sins.

In Cardiff, Nathan is melting chocolate in a microwave and trying hard not to be tempted by the delicious smell to have a taste. He’s a portrait artist and his specialism is creating artwork from food; his work has adorned album covers, restaurant walls and one-off showbiz events. Tonight, he’s creating a portrait of Lord Alan Sugar using sweets and confectionery which will adorn the opening of a new shop in London. Nathan works best at night; it’s quiet and he can be undisturbed by the stresses of the day. He feels creative and capable when the world around him is dark and quiet.

29 minutes

Last on

Sat 18 Nov 2023 18:30

Credits

Role Contributor
Narrator Elis James
Series Producer Rachel Evans
Featured Artist Nathan Wyburn
Executive Producer Samantha Rosie

Broadcasts