Melanie Walters

Melanie Walters is a Welsh actress best known for playing omelette-loving Gwen West in the much-loved BBC comedy Gavin & Stacey.

Born in Swansea, Melanie grew up as one of four children and considers the seaside village of Mumbles her home. She studied drama at Aberystwyth University before beginning her professional acting career in the 1980s with a children’s theatre company.

Over the following two decades, Melanie built an extensive career across stage and screen, appearing in shows including Coronation Street, The Bill, Casualty, Holby City and Welsh drama Belonging.

In 2007, she landed her career-defining role as Stacey’s mum Gwen in Gavin & Stacey. Melanie appeared throughout all three series and returned for the hugely anticipated Christmas specials in 2019 and 2024. Her other television credits include Hollyoaks, Being Human, Stella, Doc Martin, Father Brown and Beyond Paradise, and she has a regular role in BBC crime drama Death Valley. Melanie is also an accomplished stage performer and has appeared in pantomime almost every Christmas since 2010.

Away from acting, Melanie is a trained Pilates instructor and loves swimming in the sea near her Mumbles home every day. She also won the Welsh-language reality series "Cariad@iaith:love4language" in 2011. With decades of Pilates under her belt, Melanie should have plenty of core strength for the Strictly ballroom - although there’s no word yet on whether Gwen’s famous omelettes will be making an appearance in the training room!