In the run-up to Thursday's 2021 Senedd Election, Nub News will be profiling the candidates running for Cardiff South and Penarth.

Next up, the Liberal Democrat candidate vying for his first political role.

"I am not a career politician," Alex Wilson tells Nub News on a stormy afternoon while canvassing in Plymouth ward.

No one can accuse the 2021 Liberal Democrat candidate for Cardiff South and Penarth of that.

Alex has lived many professional lives prior to entering the political arena four years ago.

An engineer and then salesman in his native Manchester for many years, Alex moved to Pontcanna in 2007 when his producer wife Nikki Wilson was offered a role on Doctor Who.

Since 2015, they have lived in Penarth, where they have become well-known locally as founders of Red Herring, the amateur theatre company.

They have staged shows in Manorbier Castle in Tenby, Penarth's Pier Pavilion and, most recently, from the Paget Rooms for Wales' first ever socially distanced radio pantomime.

Alex says the stage inspired him to take the plunge into politics.

"Putting something on and having people come together and selling out every night was amazing," he says.

"I thought, 'I can do more in the community. If I can do this, I can do other good things'. And that's the direct link into politics.

"What really got me motivated was Brexit. Not the result of Brexit, but the fallout.

"I knew that families weren't talking and communities were falling out and I thought that we need to get people back together.

"I went to speak to my Lib Dem councillor on the Vale of Glamorgan and there isn't one.

"Rather naively I thought, 'that's going to be me'. I had no political experience but I think with selling and acting, you do develop an empathy with people."

Alex is running under the banner: "Let's do something different".

He hopes to tap into feelings of voicelessness and political apathy felt among those alienated from the two dominant parties.

"I pull the party line, but for me it's about getting back to basics, back to that core belief that we need to reconnect with communities. A lot of people are very strong on policy, but I'm boiling it down to local issues and trying to get involved in them.

"Of course I support our manifesto - we want to build 30,000 more homes. We want a better infrastructure for our mental health, a 24 hour mental health support system. We have a £1 billion environment policy.

"But people are sick and tired of being told what to think.

"If I go in saying 'listen to me, I'm going to do this for you', then that contradicts the whole reason I'm getting into this.

"I want to give the people in the middle ground a voice. I'm here to let them be heard."

But does Alex believe he can win?

His predecessor Nigel Howells received just 4.4% of the vote in the last election, and that took place in the build up to Brexit.

"I agree that it is quite unlikely I will get this seat," he concedes. "But as a salesman, I had to go into everything thinking I was going to win it.

"Of course, Vaughan Gething has a large majority here. I absolutely understand that. I would love to secure the seat but the longest journey starts with the first step and I like to think I'm laying the foundation for the future of the party here.

"There's certainly a groundswell of people who are frustrated that their voice isn't being heard. All I'm trying to do is listen to them."

Read the Welsh Liberal Democrats 2021 manifesto HERE.