John Owen killed himself while awaiting trial

TV producer Sue Jeffries, who worked alongside Mr Owen on the Welsh language series Pam Fu Duw?, gave evidence at an inquiry investigating child sex allegations against him.

Mr Owen, 49, killed himself in 2001 while awaiting trial on five charges of sexually assaulting children at Ysgol Gyfun Rhydfelen, near Pontypridd, south Wales.

Peter Clarke, the Children's Commissioner for Wales, set up the informal Clywch Inquiry to examine the claims and the way they were handled.

On Wednesday, Ms Jeffries told the inquiry that the local authority which had received the allegations against Mr Owen - which dated back to 1974 - had not passed them on.

Characters came out as gay every year - it became daft Producer Sue Jeffries

She only found out about a police investigation into the complaints just before filming began on the sixth series of Pam Fu Duw? - an award-winning drama about a group of school friends.

"Once I became aware of the investigation, I had to go to the managers of HTV and S4C. They told me to carry on as if nothing was going on," she said.

But she said she was "totally confident" that the crew did everything to keep the cast safe - no allegations of abuse have been made relating to Mr Owen's time with HTV.

His writing style did, however, give the production team cause for concern, because of the increasing number of gay characters he was including in storylines.

The continued inclusion of references to teenage homosexuality was becoming "boring", Ms Jeffries said.

"Characters came out as gay every year - it became daft - we needed to do something different," she said, adding that she felt it was an over-representation.

In support of Mr Owen, Ms Jeffries said he had a "fantastic rapport and talent with kids".

Allegations

Mr Owen, from Tylorstown, left Ysgol Gyfun Rhydfelen in 1991 amid complaints about his teaching methods.

In 2001, four former pupils came forward with abuse allegations dating back to 1974 and Mr Owen was charged with five counts of indecent assault.

A day before facing trial - in October 2001, he was found dead in a caravan at Trecco Bay, Porthcawl.

An inquest later heard he had killed himself with an injection of morphine. He was thought to have taken his own life because of stress caused by the allegations.

With a conviction impossible, the Welsh assembly-appointed Children's Commissioner launched his own inquiry in March 2002.

Naked

Several new allegations were made by ex-pupils and their parents during the hearings.

They claimed Mr Owen's lessons were "virtually pornographic" and that he asked boys to perform in the nude, abusing some at his own home.

The inquiry is expected to end next month, with a final report published toward the end of 2003.