“Without Dafydd, I don't think we would live in the Wales we live in now,” the First Minister of Wales said about Lord Dafydd Elis-Thomas.

Baroness Eluned Morgan pays tribute to the former Meirionnydd MP who died in February in ‘Cofio Dafydd Elis-Thomas’, broadcast on 16 March ( S4C, 8.30pm) and available on demand.

The First Minister praises Dafydd’s role in pioneering Wales’ political evolution, describing him as “one of the giants of our nation” who “was passionate about his country, passionate towards the language and culture. Without Dafydd I don't think we would live in the Wales we live in now".

Dafydd was a key figure in the campaign for a Welsh language TV channel and the push for Welsh devolution.

Also in ‘Cofio Dafydd Elis-Thomas’, Rhodri Williams, a close friend and ex-chair of Cymdeithas yr Iaith Gymraeg, adds: "Dafydd had been campaigning for this (Welsh Assembly) all his adult life. It was the culmination of his political work. He brought all his experience of the House of Commons and the House of Lords to the Assembly – no one else would have been able to."

With contributions from several Welsh prominent politicians, colleagues and friends, the programme shares a reflective look at his remarkable career in Westminster, the House of Lords, and National Assembly for Wales, now known as the Senedd.

Speaking of his tenure as the first Presiding Officer of the National Assembly, friend and political academic Professor Laura McAllister says: "Dafydd understood the role of the Presiding Officer was very new. He used the role to push back against the establishment and to try to create some kind of space for a different kind of politics."

The programme also shares anecdotes of the person behind the political victories: a passionate, intellectual, and unapologetically bold figure whose influence continues to shape Welsh politics.