Ruth Jones

Ruth Alexandra Elisabeth Jones MBE (born 22 September 1966) is a Welsh actress, writer, and producer. She co-wrote and co-starred in the award-winning BBC sitcom Gavin & Stacey (2007–2010, 2019). She has appeared in various television comedies and dramas that include, Fat Friends (2000–2005), Little Britain (2003–2005), Little Britain Abroad (2006–2007), Saxondale (2006–2007), The Street (2009), Hattie (2011), and Stella (2012–2017) for which she was nominated for a British Academy Television Award and won three BAFTA. Jones was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2014 New Year Honours for services to entertainment.

For other people named Ruth Jones, see Ruth Jones (disambiguation).

Ruth Jones MBE
Jones in 2008
Born	Ruth Alexandra Elisabeth Jones (1966-09-22) 22 September 1966 Bridgend, Glamorgan, Wales
Occupation	Actress writer producer
Years active	1991–present
Spouse(s)	David Peet
Children	3

Early life

Ruth Jones was born on 22 September 1966 in Bridgend, Glamorgan, Wales. Her father was a lawyer for British Steel Corporation, Port Talbot, and her mother was a General Practitioner.[1] She has two older brothers and a younger sister.[2] Jones was brought up in Porthcawl, where she attended Porthcawl Comprehensive School, the same school as Rob Brydon. At school she participated enthusiastically every year in musical theatre productions.[3] After graduating from the University of Warwick with a degree in Theatre Studies and Dramatic Arts, she trained at the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama in Cardiff.[4]

In November 1989, Jones took her first professional role, with Dominic Cooke's company Pan Optic, playing the Countess Almaviva in Cooke's adaptation of The Marriage of Figaro which toured the UK for six months. After the tour finished she found it difficult to get acting work, temping as a clerical assistant in the Education Contracts dept of Kensington and Chelsea Borough Council. At this point she considered giving up acting and training as a solicitor. However, in 1990, comedian and pantomime producer Stan Stennett offered her an Equity contract shifting scenery and playing a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle (Michelangelo) in Dick Whittington at the Porthcawl Pavilion, where she had performed in school musicals. Her first television job was a non-broadcast sketch show for BBC Wales including Rob Brydon and Steve Speirs. Soon after, she joined an improv group in Bath: the group also included Julia Davis, with whom Jones would later appear in Nighty Night and Gavin & Stacey.[4]

Career

She first worked in TV and radio comedy for BBC Wales in 1991. Theatre roles with the RSC and The National Theatre were followed by her performance in 1999 hit British film East Is East. In 1996 she appeared in the BBC television period drama Drover’s Gold, billed as a "Welsh Western", the story of a cattle drove that went from West Wales to London. Jones later commented, "I loved that job. I visited places like Lampeter and Llandeilo for the first time, as well as Abergavenny and Crickhowell. I fell in love with them all. There was something so unspoilt about them, and I’ve been back several times since."[5]

Jones appeared on television as Kelly in four series of ITV's comedy Fat Friends. This was where she met James Corden. Afterwards she appeared in several BBC comedies, playing Myfanwy in Little Britain, Magz in Saxondale and Linda in Nighty Night.[6]

Jones achieved prominence in 2008 as both co-writer with James Corden of the BBC Three sitcom Gavin & Stacey, and playing a lead role in it as Nessa Jenkins. The series became a hit and was moved to BBC One. Jones said, "It wasn't as deliberate as us saying, 'Right, we're going to react against cynical comedy'. We just wrote what we wanted. And it just so happens that the show does generate a lot of warmth. People seem to like that, especially when things aren't terribly jolly. It's nice to have your cockles warmed."[1] The series won a number of awards, including two BAFTAs and four British Comedy Awards.[2] Jones and co-star Rob Brydon recorded "Islands in the Stream" (a song performed by their characters in the programme) as a single for Comic Relief in 2009; the song reached No. 1 in the chart.[7]

In 2008 Jones featured in two BBC One television period costume dramas, Tess of the d'Urbervilles and Little Dorrit, as well as two episodes of The Street. In December 2009 she starred in A Child's Christmases in Wales. In 2010 she starred in BBC4 comedy The Great Outdoors alongside Mark Heap, and in December presented the first of four chat shows on BBC2, Ruth Jones' Christmas Cracker.[2] In January 2011 she starred as Hattie Jacques in BBC4 drama Hattie, which tells the story of Jacques' affair with her young driver John Schofield while she was married to Dad's Army actor John Le Mesurier.[6]

In 2008, Jones co-founded Tidy Productions with producer David Peet. The company produced the series Jones presented on BBC Radio Wales in 2008-9, Ruth Jones' Sunday Brunch.[1][8] In 2010, the company had comedy and light entertainment production credits with BBC Two and BBC Three. It has made two 90-minute comedy dramas for S4C and light-entertainment shows for BBC Wales, and topical radio series What's the Story? for Radio Wales, predecessor to The Leek.

Tidy Productions also produced 58 episodes of the comedy drama Stella for Sky TV. The first series aired in 2012. It was Jones' first major comedy project since Gavin & Stacey; she created, executive produced and storylined the show with Peet. Jones stars in the title role, and wrote several episodes as well as co-writing episodes with Rob Gittins, Rob Evans, David Peet and Steve Speirs. Jones has stated she was worried about comparisons to Gavin & Stacey when setting a second programme in Wales and the company originally thought to set it in Bristol, but the decision was made to set it in the Rhondda Valley 'I know people from the Valleys and it is just a joyously colourful place and full of characters.'[9] A second series of Stella was filmed in summer 2012 and aired in early 2013.[10] A further four series plus two Christmas specials completed the run, with the final episode broadcast in October 2017.

In January 2018 Jones took the part of Mandy Haveez in Radio Wales comedy series Splott, written by David Peet and made by Tidy Productions. In March 2018 Jones worked with director Debbie Issit, appearing in the film Nativity 4. In April 2018 Jones's first novel, "Never Greener", was published. Based on a screenplay she’d written in 2004, it tells the story of a rekindled affair and the dangers of taking second chances. She signed a two-book deal with Transworld after a bidding war between ten publishing companies. The novel went into the Sunday Times bestseller list at number 7 after just three days of sales, before reaching the number-one slot for two consecutive weeks. Jones' second novel, "Us Three", is due to be published in April 2020. It follows the story of three friends whose futures become unpredictable after an unexpected turn in events.[11]

In October 2018, Jones returned to the stage after a 12-year absence in the new play "The Nightingales" by William Gaminara, produced by Jenny Topper and Theatre Royal, Bath.

Recognition and awards

Jones was judged the Best Female Comedy Newcomer at the 2007 British Comedy Awards, and was also nominated for Best Television Comedy Actress.[12] She was also recipient of the Ultimate Funny Woman award at the annual Cosmopolitan Ultimate Women of the Year Awards in November 2009.[13] In July 2013 Jones received an honorary degree from the University of Warwick.[14]

Jones was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2014 New Year Honours for services to entertainment.[15][16]

Jones was awarded the BAFTA Cymru Sian Phillips Special Recognition Award in 2009.[17] In 2012, Jones received a nomination for the British Academy Television Award for Best Female Comedy Performance for her performance in Stella.[18] In 2013, Stella won three BAFTA Cymru awards for Best Drama,[19] Best Writer,[20] and Best Editing.[21]

Filmography

Films

Year	Title	Character	Production
2018	Nativity Rocks!	Farmer Beatie	Entertainment One
2002	Heartlands	Mandy	Miramax
1999	East Is East	Peggy	Film4
1998	The Theory of Flight	Becky	Fine Line Features
1996	Emma	Bates' Maid	Miramax Films

TV

Year	Title	Character	Production	Notes
2015–present	One in Front and others	Jo		Series of adverts for Tesco
2015–present	Very British Problems	Herself	Alaska TV Productions	3 episodes
2012–2017	Stella	Stella Morris	Sky 1	Tidy Production. 6 series and 2 Special
2011	Ruth Jones' Christmas Cracker	Chatshow	BBC Two	Special
	Hattie	Hattie Jacques	BBC Four	1 episode
	Ruth Jones' Summer Holiday	Chatshow	BBC Two	Special
2011, 2020	Ruth Jones' Easter Treat	Chatshow	BBC Two	Special
2010	Ruth Jones' Christmas Cracker	Chatshow	BBC Two	Special
	The Great Outdoors	Christine	BBC Four	3 episodes
	Marple	Miss Blenkinsopp	ITV	The Secret of Chimneys
	Igam Ogam	Birdie and Narrator	Calon, Telegael	52 episodes
2009	Ruth Jones' Christmas Cracker	Chatshow	BBC Two	Special
	A Child's Christmases in Wales	Mum	BBC Four	TV film
	The Street	Sandra Lucas	BBC One	Series 3, Episodes 5 and 6
	Ar Y Tracs	Ingrid Crenski	S4C
2008	Little Dorrit	Flora Finching	BBC One
	Tess of the D'Urbervilles	Joan Durbeyfield	BBC One
	Torchwood	Nikki Bevan	BBC Three	episode "Adrift"
	Chaos at the Zoo	Narrator	Crackit Productions
2007–2010, 2019–	Gavin & Stacey	Vanessa Shanessa Jenkins	BBC	Co-writer
2006–2007	Saxondale	Magz	BBC Two	Series 1 and 2
2006	Mayo	Cal Andrews	BBC One
2005–2006	I'm With Stupid	Jean	BBC Three
2005	Born and Bred	Ruby Moss	BBC One	Episode – The Element of Surprise
2004–2005	Nighty Night	Linda	BBC
2004	The Baby Juice Express	Gladys
2003–2006	Little Britain	Myfawny	BBC Three
2003	Midsomer Murders	Rachael Rose	ITV	Episode – Bad Tidings
	Roger Roger	Angelica	BBC One	Episode "Freedom's Just Another Word for Nothing Left to Lose"
	EastEnders	Jenny Morgan	BBC One	Dot's Story
2002	Heartlands	Mandy
2001	Tales from Pleasure Beach	Mandy	BBC Two
	Adrian Mole: The Cappuccino Years	Sharon Bott	BBC
2000–2005	Fat Friends	Kelly Chadwick	ITV
2000	Human Remains	Elaine	BBC	Episode "All Over My Glasses"
	A Likeness in Stone	Joan Poole
1998	Picking Up The Pieces	Marie
	As Time Goes By	Gilly	BBC One	Episode "Pardon?"
1997	Drovers' Gold	Mary

Guest appearances

Year	Title	Appearance	Series
2015	The Apprentice: You're Fired!	Herself	Series 11, Episode 10
2014	Duck Quacks Don't Echo	Herself	Series 1, Episode 1
2013	The Jonathan Ross Show	Herself	Series 4, Episode 11
2012	Hit the Road Jack (TV series)	Herself	Series 1, Episode 1
	Edinburgh International Television Festival 2012	Herself
	The Matt Lucas Awards	Herself	Series 1, Episode 6
	Just a Minute	Panelist	Series 1, Episode 3
	Chris Moyles' Quiz Night	Herself	Series 5, Episode 7
2011	Alan Carr Chatty Man	Herself	Series 7, Episode 7
2010	The Big Fat Quiz of the Year	Herself	2010
	Chris Moyles' Quiz Night	Herself	Series 3, Episode 4
	The Graham Norton Show	Herself	Series 7 Episode 6
	Would I Lie to You?	Panelist	Series 4, Episode 2
	A League of Their Own	Panelist	Series 1 Episode 2
2009	The Graham Norton Show	Herself	Series 5 Episode 2
	Chris Moyles' Quiz Night	Herself	Series 1, Episode 2
	Have I Got News for You	Guest Presenter	Series 37 Episode 7
	Comic Relief	Nessa	‘’(Barry) Islands in the Stream'’ video

Writing

Year	Title	Episodes	Notes
2012–2017	Stella	6 series
2007–2009 & 2019	Gavin & Stacey	3 series and 2 Christmas specials	co-written with James Corden
2009	Ar Y Tracs	TV movie
2006	The Chase	1 episode
2005	Fat Friends	1 episode	Series 4 Episode 3 "Angels Delight"

Books

[22]

Year	Title	Notes
2018	Never Greener	A passionate love affair that highlights why second chances should not always be given, or taken[23]
2020	Us Three	Three girls experience a turn of events, leaving their futures uncertain[11][24]

Production

• Gavin & Stacey (Series 1, 6 episodes: BBC3 and BBC2 2007)
• Gavin & Stacey (Series 2, 7 episodes: BBC3 2008)
• Gavin & Stacey (Christmas Special: December 2008)
• Gavin & Stacey (Series 3, 6 episodes: BBC1 2009,2010)
• Ar Y Tracs Exec. Producer Tidy Productions S4C 2009)

Music

• Islands in the Stream (cover version for Comic Relief)

Personal life and charity work

Jones has been married to TV and radio producer David Peet since 1999.[25][26][27] Jones has three step-children with Peet.[28]

In 2010, Jones took part in Channel 4's Comedy Gala, a benefit show held in aid of Great Ormond Street Children's Hospital, filmed live at the O2 Arena in London on 30 March.

In January 2019 Jones was the guest for BBC Radio 4's Desert Island Discs. Her favourite music track was "Smooth" by Santana featuring Rob Thomas. Her choice of Bible was a family Welsh Bible, her own book choice was Halliwell's Film Guide and her luxury item was the back catalogue of The Archers.[3]

References

1. "Ruth Jones: 'Gavin & Stacey generated a lot of warmth. It's good to warm your cockles'". The Independent. London. 3 July 2009. Retrieved 21 May 2012.
2. Wilson, Sophie (13 December 2010). "Ruth Jones: I have been fortunate to play parts that have not just been, 'Oh, you need a fat person'". The Telegraph. London. Retrieved 21 May 2012.
3. "BBC Radio 4 – Desert Island Discs, Ruth Jones, actor and writer". BBC. Retrieved 20 January 2019.
4. "What's occurring with Ruth Jones?". BBC South East Wales. 3 December 2009. Retrieved 21 May 2012.
5. "Ruth Jones interview". Wales. 26 November 2018.
6. "Ruth Jones profile". BBC Wales Arts. Retrieved 21 May 2012.
7. "Comic Relief single (Barry) Islands in the Stream tops charts". The Telegraph. London. 16 March 2009. Retrieved 21 May 2012.
8. "Sunday Brunch programme page". BBC Radio Wales. Retrieved 21 May 2012.
9. Cadwalladr, Carole (1 January 2012). "The Observer : Ruth Jones: queen of comedy". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 21 May 2012.
10. "Ruth Jones' comedy Stella to have second series". Wales Online. 10 February 2012. Retrieved 21 May 2012.
11. "Us Three by Ruth Jones | Waterstones". www.waterstones.com.
12. "The British Sitcom Guide – News". 7 November 2007. Retrieved 7 November 2007.
13. "Cosmo's Ultimate Women of the Year Awards 2009". 10 November 2009. Retrieved 24 December 2011.
14. "Warwick honorary degrees for stars of Gavin & Stacey & Hustle, RSC & Royal Court Artistic Directors, scientists, historians, philanthropist & a US government adviser". University of Warwick. 28 June 2013. Retrieved 31 October 2013.
15. "No. 60728". The London Gazette (Supplement). 31 December 2013. p. 22.
16. "MBE 'proper tidy' for Ruth Jones". bbc.co.uk. 30 December 2013. Retrieved 1 January 2014.
17. "2009 Cymru Siân Phillips Award | BAFTA Awards". awards.bafta.org. Retrieved 10 October 2019.
18. "2012 Television Female Performance In A Comedy Programme | BAFTA Awards". awards.bafta.org. Retrieved 10 October 2019.
19. "2013 Cymru Television Drama | BAFTA Awards". awards.bafta.org. Retrieved 10 October 2019.
20. "2013 Cymru Writer | BAFTA Awards". awards.bafta.org. Retrieved 10 October 2019.
21. "2013 Cymru Editing | BAFTA Awards". awards.bafta.org. Retrieved 10 October 2019.
22. "Ruth Jones". www.facebook.com.
23. O'Grady, Carrie (13 April 2018). "Never Greener by Ruth Jones review – Gavin & Stacey co-creator's debut is a soggy squib". The Guardian – via www.theguardian.com.
24. "Us Three by Ruth Jones". www.fantasticfiction.com.
25. "TV's funniest woman: Ruth Jones on life after Gavin & Stacey". The Independent. 14 January 2011.
26. Vernon, Polly (29 December 2012). "Ruth Jones on fame, feminism and Liz Taylor" – via www.thetimes.co.uk.
27. "Gavin & Stacey Nessa actress Ruth Jones has confirmed the show is returning – but where has she been and what is she up to now?". 28 May 2019.
28. Greenstreet, Rosanna (3 November 2018). "Ruth Jones: 'My biggest disappointment? The Guardian's review of my book'" – via www.theguardian.com.

External links

• Ruth Jones on IMDb