Biography
Melanie Walters is a Welsh actress. Born Elizabeth Melanie Walters on 30 January 1962 in Swansea, she was raised in the Mumbles and trained in drama at Aberystwyth University before beginning her career in the mid-1980s.
She is best known for playing Gwen West in the BBC sitcom Gavin & Stacey (2007–2010, with returns in 2019 and 2024). Other television roles include Helen Powell in We Are Seven (1989–1991), Bonnie Bevan in Hollyoaks (2007–2009), Emma Hargreaves in Being Human (2011) and Yvonne Mallowan in Death Valley (2025–2026). Film credits include Submarine (2011) as Judie Bevan, Another Me (2013) as Mrs MacPhail and Burn Burn Burn (2016) as Shelle.
Walters has also worked extensively in theatre and pantomime. She qualified as a Pilates instructor in 2002 and runs her own Pilates business in the Mumbles. She is scheduled to appear as a contestant on the 2026 series of Strictly Come Dancing.
