Baby joy for Coal House family

By Sian Harris
BBC News website

The family returned to Stack Square to film for the Christmas special

How have three families transported back to a 1927 mining community for BBC Wales series Coal House readjusted to life in 2007?

We discover there is big news at the Phillips' house.

The Phillips family - the largest of the Coal House families - have revealed

that mother Stephanie is expecting a baby.

But even when eight becomes nine, it should feel like they have acres of space at their Cowbridge home, having all squeezed into a cosy two-up-two-down miner's cottage at Stack Square.

Over the moon

"I'm just thrilled" said Stephanie, whose latest baby is due next June. "Everyone keeps telling me it's mad, but it's lovely."

Although the baby was a pre-Coal House creation, the neighbouring families had some suggestions for how the programme might influence the choice of name.

Stephanie, 40, who told the other families the news when they returned to Blaenavon to film the Christmas special, said: "They were absolutely over the moon.

"Kitty and Gwen were saying we could call it Scarlet. Cerdin said 'what about Cerdin?'"

Scarlet was Kitty Cartwright's pet chicken during Coal House but came to a tragic but tasty end in the cooking pot when times got tough.

Stephanie is already mum to Jade, 16, Ryan, 14, Daniel, eight, Rhodri, two and Gwennan, one and step-mum to Richie's daughter Katie, eight.

She said she had a "vague inkling" she might be pregnant before going into the Coal House.

Rhodri Phillips and pet pigs Salt and Pepper who inspired his catchphrase

But she added: "It was so early I would not have wanted to say anything to everybody. Everyone would have fussed too much."

Meanwhile, an existing member of the Phillips household, Rhodri, continues to cause a stir.

Like the other Coal House families, the family get approached daily by fans of the show and Rhodri is often the main attraction - much to his bemusement.

The two-year-old became a star of the series and his declaration "I don't like piggies" reached catchphrase status.

Stephanie said: "All the time people ask him to say it. He just looks at them as if to say 'what on earth?'.

"He didn't get it, so we showed him the clip. When he sees it on telly he just shouts 'I do!'. He won't say it for people, He doesn't do it on demand."

Simple life

When they returned to Stack Square this month, Rhodri went straight to the chamber pot to spend a penny.

His older brothers and sisters asked for jam and bread - a staple item on the menu during their stay there.

Stephanie said: "They didn't ask for chocolate or biscuits because they know they're not there but as soon as they came home they were asking for them again."

Richie, 33, also developed a taste for the simple life of 1927 and is keen that it influences life in 2007.

He said: "We're privileged to have been shown a glance into the past. It was much nicer, simpler way of life.

"Now, especially at Christmas, at the supermarket everyone is told what their tree should look like and what they should have for Christmas dinner.

Leaving day was an emotional time for the whole Phillips family

"In Coal House, we spent so little and had so little. We had the basic necessities and ingredients...but everyone really thrived on it. Not only get on with it. We looked healthier and felt healthier."

He has made his own fruit cakes for Christmas, the family try not to buy excess food at the supermarket and Stephanie has switched to reusable nappies.

Richie admits he felt emotional the day they left Stack Square, as does Stephanie who enjoyed being "cut off from everything for a while".

"I felt like I'd been asleep for a month and woken up to find everyone knew me and I did not know why," she said.

Two days after they returned to 2007, a trip to the supermarket turned into a three-hour marathon as Stephanie was constantly stopped by friends and complete strangers who had watched the series.

She said: "People seem to think they really know you well, from watching an hour-and-a-half a week. But everyone has been really lovely. It's just a bit strange."

White board

When Jade returned to school after Coal House, she was shocked to discover how many people had tuned in.

She said: "Apparently everyone watched it. In IT lessons all the teachers had the website on the white board.

"To begin with people were a little bit reluctant to ask, and 'you've been down the mine?' was a common question. But everything settled down and people started asking questions."

Richie also soon returned to his work as a builder and carpenter and said he misses the daily walk to the mine, the miners and the coal face humour.

He said: "I quite enjoyed the work once I got into it. It's hard when you're doing it, but every day you felt you had accomplished something."

Coal House at Christmas is on Friday, 21 December, on BBC One Wales at 2100 GMT and repeated on Christmas Day on BBC Two Wales/2W at 1015 GMT.