Ioan Gruffudd is one of Hollywood's hottest properties, but it was a Welsh-language soap opera which gave him his first big break, as a new website reveals.

The series in which he first honed his acting talents - BBC Wales's Pobol y Cwm - is now celebrating its world famous former cast member.

The show's website has a special feature including a photo gallery and video clips of some of Ioan Gruffudd's earliest appearances.

Gruffudd starred as youngster Gareth Wyn Harries for five years from 1989 while still a pupil at his Cardiff school.

The TV series - the BBC's longest-running TV soap - portrays life in the fictional village of Cwmderi in west Wales. The title - Pobol y Cwm - means "people of the valley".

Gruffudd played the adopted son of one of the soap's main characters - Reg Harries.

Despite juggling lessons and homework with his acting, the budding star still sustained a number of important storylines.

His first chance to star as the "leading man" came when the birth mother of his character came to the village to look for him.

His next opportunity for a major storyline was also the first romantic role for the man who later stole viewers' hearts on both sides of the Atlantic as the tall, dark and handsome Horatio Hornblower.

When an accident in the gym put his character in hospital with seriously damaged kidneys, Ioan played a young boy falling in love for the very first time with a fellow patient

His last appearances as Gareth Wyn Harries were in a series of dramatic episodes as Gareth tried to help another character come to terms with a sexual attack.

But when his character was scheduled to return to Cwmderi in the summer of 1995, Ioan's international career was already beginning to take off with the lead role in a remake of Poldark.

Although this was not a huge success, Ioan went on to star memorably in the TV series Hornblower and 1999's film hit of the year - Titanic.

The 26-year-old actor has become one of Hollywood's hottest new faces and one of the foremost in the wave of new Welsh talent currently being feted by film-makers in the US as well as the UK.

But he has a fierce pride in his Welsh roots.

"I'm just proud that through my acting I get a chance to educate people a bit about Wales.

"People are now more aware of the culture, the heritage and especially the language," said the Cardiff-born heart-throb.