A CHATTY college receptionist from the Vale of Clwyd is back on the box after proving a big hit with TV viewers in the Welsh version of Gogglebox.

Natalie May Edwards and Elen Humphreys are among the cast who’ve returned for the second series of the popular S4C show, Gogglebocs Cymru.

The Welsh-speaking Coleg Cambria receptionists have been taken aback by the recognition they’ve received since, especially among the Welsh-speaking students.

Natalie, 26, who grew up in Llanelidan, Ruthin, said: “To be honest we’ve been recognised quite a bit around Wrexham and a few of the students watch it.

“We had a visitor in the college the other day and she said: ‘I have to stop you there – are you on Gogglebocs Cymru?’

“But my mum is our number one fan! She hasn’t stopped ‘tweeting’ about us, she’s so proud. We have family in the US and obviously they can’t watch it but my mum’s sending them all the pictures.

“My boyfriend doesn’t speak Welsh but he’s started taking lessons so he can watch it without the subtitles!”

The show, nominated for a BAFTA Cymru award, is made by two Gwynedd-based television production companies, Cwmni Da, in Caernarfon, and Chwarel, from Criccieth.

It is the first time Studio Lambert and Channel 4 have licensed the Gogglebox franchise to another UK-based broadcaster.

In the second series, the run has been extended from 11 to 15 episodes which will be broadcast in two blocks.

In addition, there are five more groups - families and friends – this year, giving producers an ever-greater spread of opinion across a wide range of programmes.

The first six shows are being shown at 9pm on Wednesday nights in October and November before taking a break and returning for a celebrity Christmas version on December 27 and a further eight episodes from February 14 next year, with the programmes being once again narrated by comedian and broadcaster Tudur Owen.

Natalie, who met Elen at Ysgol Morgan Llwyd in Wrexham, said the friends react very differently to what they see on TV.

“I’m a crier and Elen has a heart of stone,” she said.

“I’ll cry at absolutely anything to do with reunions or proud parents – that’s my trigger. Elen cries maybe once a year if that.”

Mum-of-one Elen, 26, added: “I’m quite a controversial person and I do speak my mind, but we don’t argue. Natalie and I have been friends for 14 years and bounce off each other.

“The first week was the scariest. It was all a bit new to us. You’d think sitting down to watch TV can’t be difficult but when it’s being filmed it’s a bit weird at first.

“The crew has become part of the family now. In fact, a lot of the time, we take longer to film because we’re just so chatty. In all fairness, we don’t even know they’re there.

“My mum and mum’s family are from Blaenau Ffestiniog and she’s a Welsh speaker. Growing up, my mum talked to me in Welsh and so Welsh is my first language. It’s nice to be able to speak it on the show, I never want to lose the ability to speak Welsh and talk to my own daughter in Welsh.”

Producer Huw Maredudd, from Cwmni Da, said the team was looking forward to laughing and crying again with both the new and returning households.

“The show was very well received with lots of traction and attention on social media. The comments were overwhelmingly positive and of course the BAFTA nomination from our peers showed appreciation for what we’d achieved on a professional level,” he said.

“Everybody I have spoken to has a different favourite; some like John from Porthmadog and others like Marcus and Vicki because they’re so colourful.

“This series is longer which is a reflection of how much people have taken to these characters and the programme.

“We’re very proud of all the different people that we managed to find and now we’re back even bigger and better and will be reaching out even wider and showing even more diversity and expanding the range of shows.”