Ruth Alexandra Elisabeth Jones (born 22 September 1966) is a Welsh actress, comedian, writer and producer. She co-wrote and co-starred in the award-winning BBC sitcom ''

Gavin & Stacey ''Gavin & Stacey'' is a British sitcom written by James Corden and Ruth Jones about two families: one in Billericay, Essex; one in Barry, South Wales. Mathew Horne and Joanna Page play the titular characters Gavin and Stacey and the writers ...

'' (2007–2010, 2019). Jones has also appeared in various television series, including ''

Fat Friends ''Fat Friends'' (also known as ''Kay Mellor’s Fat Friends'') is a British drama that aired on ITV from 12 October 2000 to 24 March 2005, consisting of 25 episodes over four series. Set in Leeds, the series explores the lives of several slim ...

'' (2000–2005), '' Little Britain'' (2003–2007), '' Nighty Night'' (2004–2005), '' Saxondale'' (2006–2007), ''

The Street The Street may refer to: Geographical *Wall Street in New York City's Financial District *The Street, Lawshall, Suffolk, England *The Street (Heath Charnock) The Street is a historical property on a bridleway of the same name in Heath Charnock ...

'' (2009), and ''

Stella Stella or STELLA may refer to: Art, entertainment, and media Comedy *Stella (comedy group), a comedy troupe consisting of Michael Showalter, Michael Ian Black and David Wain Characters *Stella (given name), including a list of characters with th ...

'' (2012–2017) for which she was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Female Comedy Performance and won the

BAFTA Cymru BAFTA Cymru (or BAFTA in Wales or WAFTA) is the Welsh branch of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) and was founded in 1987.

Award for Best Screenwriter. Jones was appointed

Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

(MBE) in the 2014 New Year Honours for services to entertainment.

Early life and career

Ruth Jones was born on 22 September 1966 in

Bridgend Bridgend (; cy, Pen-y-bont ar Ogwr or just , meaning "the end of the bridge on the Ogmore") is a town in Bridgend County Borough in Wales, west of Cardiff and east of Swansea. The town is named after the medieval bridge over the River Og ...

, Glamorgan, Wales. Her father was a lawyer for

British Steel Corporation British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

Port Talbot Port Talbot (, ) is a town and community in the county borough of Neath Port Talbot, Wales, situated on the east side of Swansea Bay, approximately from Swansea. The Port Talbot Steelworks covers a large area of land which dominates the sout ...

, and her mother was a general practitioner. She has two older brothers and a younger sister. Jones was brought up in

Porthcawl Porthcawl (, ) is a town and community on the south coast of Wales in the county borough of Bridgend, west of the capital city, Cardiff and southeast of Swansea. Historically part of Glamorgan and situated on a low limestone headland on the ...

, where she attended

Porthcawl Comprehensive School Porthcawl Comprehensive School, on the western side of Porthcawl town in Bridgend County Borough, has approximately 1,500 pupils, ages 11–18 and 80 teaching staff. The headteacher is Mr M StephensRob Brydon. At school, she participated enthusiastically every year in musical theatre productions. After graduating from the

University of Warwick , mottoeng = Mind moves matter , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £7.0 million (2021) , budget = £698.2 million (202 ...

with a degree in Theatre Studies and Dramatic Arts, she trained at the

Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama , image_name = Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama.jpg , image_size = , motto = , established = 1949 , type = Public , staff = , vice_chancellor = , students = 779 (2017/18) , undergrad ...

in Cardiff. 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 ''The Marriage of Figaro'' ( it, Le nozze di Figaro, links=no, ), K. 492, is a ''commedia per musica'' ( opera buffa) in four acts composed in 1786 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, with an Italian libretto written by Lorenzo Da Ponte. It pre ...

'', which toured the UK for six months. After the tour finished she found it difficult to get acting work,

temping Temporary work or temporary employment (also called gigs) refers to an employment situation where the working arrangement is limited to a certain period of time based on the needs of the employing organization. Temporary employees are sometimes ...

as a clerical assistant in the Education Contracts department of the Kensington and Chelsea Borough Council. At that point, she considered giving up acting and training as a solicitor. However, in 1990, comedian and pantomime producer

Stan Stennett Stanley Llewelyn Stennett (30 July 1925 – 26 November 2013) was a Welsh comedian, actor and jazz musician. Biography Stennett was born in Pencoed, Bridgend. During World War II, he served in the army and also worked as an entertainer. He ...

offered her an Equity contract, shifting scenery and playing a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle (Michelangelo) in ''

Dick Whittington Richard Whittington (c. 1354–1423) of the parish of St Michael Paternoster Royal, City of London, was an English merchant and a politician of the late medieval period. He is also the real-life inspiration for the English folk tale ''Di ...

'' at the Porthcawl Pavilion, where she had performed in school musicals. Her first television job was a non-broadcast sketch show for BBC Wales, which included Rob Brydon and Steve Speirs. Soon after, she joined an

improv Improv may refer to: *Improvisation, an act of spontaneous invention ** Improvisational theatre (includes improvisational comedy) **Musical improvisation Musical improvisation (also known as musical extemporization) is the creative activity of i ...

group in

Bath Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...

. The group included Julia Davis, with whom Jones would later appear in '' Nighty Night'' and ''

''. She first worked in TV and radio comedy for

BBC Wales BBC Cymru Wales is a division of the BBC and the main public broadcaster in Wales. It is one of the four BBC national regions, alongside the BBC English Regions, BBC Northern Ireland and BBC Scotland. Established in 1964, BBC Cymru Wales i ...

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 Lampeter (; cy, Llanbedr Pont Steffan (formal); ''Llambed'' (colloquial)) is a town, community and electoral ward in Ceredigion, Wales, at the confluence of the Afon Dulas with the River Teifi. It is the third largest urban area in Ceredigio ...

and

Llandeilo Llandeilo () is a town and community in Carmarthenshire, Wales, situated at the crossing of the River Towy by the A483 on a 19th-century stone bridge. Its population was 1,795 at the 2011 Census. It is adjacent to the westernmost point of the ...

for the first time, as well as Abergavenny and

Crickhowell Crickhowell (; cy, Crucywel , non-standard spelling ') is a town and community in southeastern Powys, Wales, near Abergavenny, and is in the historic county of Brecknockshire. Location The town lies on the River Usk, on the southern ed ...

. I fell in love with them all. There was something so unspoilt about them, and I’ve been back several times since." Jones appeared on television as Kelly in four series of ITV's comedy ''

''. This was where she met

James Corden James Kimberley Corden (born 22 August 1978) is an English television host, actor, comedian, and singer. In the United Kingdom, he is best known for co-writing and starring in the critically acclaimed BBC sitcom '' Gavin & Stacey''. In the ...

. Afterwards she appeared in several BBC comedies, playing Myfanwy in '' Little Britain'', Magz in '' Saxondale'' and Linda in '' Nighty Night''. Jones achieved prominence in 2007 as both co-writer with James Corden of the

BBC Three BBC Three is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was first launched on 9 February 2003 with programmes targeting 16 to 34-year-olds, cov ...

sitcom ''Gavin & Stacey'', and playing a lead role in it as Nessa Jenkins. The series became a hit and was moved to

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's Flagship (broadcasting), flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News ...

. 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." The series won several awards, including two BAFTAs and four

British Comedy Award The National Comedy Awards (known as the British Comedy Awards from 1990 to 2014) is an annual awards ceremony in the United Kingdom, celebrating notable comedians and entertainment performances of the previous year. The British Comedy Awards (1 ...

s. 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 Comic relief is the inclusion of a humorous character, scene, or witty dialogue in an otherwise serious work, often to relieve tension. Definition Comic relief usually means a releasing of emotional or other tension resulting from a comic epis ...

in 2009; the song reached No. 1 in the chart. In 2008, Jones featured in two

television period costume dramas, '' Tess of the d'Urbervilles'' and ''

Little Dorrit ''Little Dorrit'' is a novel by Charles Dickens, originally published in serial form between 1855 and 1857. The story features Amy Dorrit, youngest child of her family, born and raised in the Marshalsea prison for debtors in London. Arthur Cl ...

'', as well as two episodes of ''

''. In December 2009, she starred in ''A Child's Christmases in Wales''. In 2010, she starred in

BBC Four BBC Four is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was launched on 2 March 2002

comedy '' The Great Outdoors'' alongside

Mark Heap Mark Heap (born 13 May 1957) is an English actor and comedian. He is known for his roles in television comedies, including, ''Brass Eye'', ''Big Train'', ''Spaced'', ''Jam'', ''Green Wing'', ''Friday Night Dinner'', ''Upstart Crow'' and ''Beni ...

, and, in December, presented the first of four chat shows on BBC2, ''Ruth Jones' Christmas Cracker''. In January 2011, she starred as Hattie Jacques in BBC Four drama '' Hattie'', which recounts Jacques' affair with her young driver John Schofield while she was married to actor

John Le Mesurier John Le Mesurier (, born John Elton Le Mesurier Halliley; 5 April 191215 November 1983) was an English actor. He is perhaps best remembered for his comedic role as Sergeant Arthur Wilson in the BBC television situation ...

, later known for his role in ''

Dad's Army ''Dad's Army'' is a British television British sitcom, sitcom about the United Kingdom's Home Guard (United Kingdom), Home Guard during the World War II, Second World War. It was written by Jimmy Perry and David Croft (TV producer), David Crof ...

''. In 2008, Jones co-founded Tidy Productions with producer David Peet. The company produced the series Jones presented on

BBC Radio Wales BBC Radio Wales is a Welsh radio station owned and operated by BBC Cymru Wales, a division of the BBC. It began broadcasting on 13 November 1978, replacing the 'Radio 4 Wales' opt-out service (previously the Welsh Home Service). Radio Wales ...

in 2008-9, ''Ruth Jones' Sunday Brunch''. In 2010, the company had comedy and light entertainment production credits with

BBC Two BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream ...

and

. It has made two 90-minute comedy dramas for

S4C S4C (, ''Sianel Pedwar Cymru'', meaning ''Channel Four Wales'') is a Welsh language free-to-air public broadcast television channel. Launched on 1 November 1982, it was the first television channel to be aimed specifically at a Welsh-speaking ...

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." A second series of ''Stella'' was filmed in summer 2012 and aired in early 2013. 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 September 2020. It follows the story of three friends whose futures become unpredictable after an unexpected turn in events. 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 The Theatre Royal in Bath, England, was built in 1805. A Grade II* listed building, it has been described by the Theatres Trust as "One of the most important surviving examples of Georgian theatre architecture". It has a capacity for an audienc ...

. In 2020, she participated in ('Language Road Trip'), a show for

where she and several other celebrities learned

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peopl ...

, broadcast in April 2020. An extra episode, ('Language Road Trip: Christmas') was broadcast at the end of 2020, interviewing each of the celebrities about whether they were still making use of their Welsh and the opportunities they had had to use Welsh during lockdown.

Recognition and awards

Jones was judged the Best Female Comedy Newcomer at the 2007

British Comedy Awards The National Comedy Awards (known as the British Comedy Awards from 1990 to 2014) is an annual awards ceremony in the United Kingdom, celebrating notable comedians and entertainment performances of the previous year. The British Comedy Awards (1 ...

, and was also nominated for Best Television Comedy Actress. She was also recipient of the Ultimate Funny Woman award at the annual

Cosmopolitan Ultimate Women of the Year Awards The Ultimate Women of the Year awards are hosted by ''Cosmopolitan'' UK magazine every year. These awards focus on celebrating women from a range of fields including: entertainment, sports, business and music. Cosmopolitan also give awards to cele ...

in November 2009. In July 2013, Jones received an honorary degree from the

University of Warwick , mottoeng = Mind moves matter , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £7.0 million (2021) , budget = £698.2 million (202 ...

. In November 2022, she was conferred the honorary degree of Doctor of the University of The

Open University The Open University (OU) is a British Public university, public research university and the largest university in the United Kingdom by List of universities in the United Kingdom by enrolment, number of students. The majority of the OU's underg ...

by The Open University in Wales, at the International Convention Centre Wales in Newport. Jones was appointed

(MBE) in the 2014 New Year Honours for services to entertainment. Jones was awarded the

BAFTA Cymru BAFTA Cymru (or BAFTA in Wales or WAFTA) is the Welsh branch of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) and was founded in 1987.

Sian Phillips Special Recognition Award in 2009. In 2012, Jones received a nomination for the

British Academy Television Award for Best Female Comedy Performance The British Academy Television Award for Best Female Comedy Performance was instituted in 2009. It is awarded by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA), a British organisation that hosts annual awards shows for film, television, c ...

for her performance in ''

''.

Personal life

Jones married David Peet, the TV and radio producer, in 1999. Jones is step-mother to the three children from Peet's previous marriage. 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 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of Talk radio, spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history fro ...

's ''

Desert Island Discs ''Desert Island Discs'' is a radio programme broadcast on BBC Radio 4. It was first broadcast on the BBC Forces Programme on 29 January 1942. Each week a guest, called a " castaway" during the programme, is asked to choose eight recordings (us ...

.'' 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 ''The Archers'' is a BBC radio drama on BBC Radio 4, the corporation's main spoken-word channel. Broadcast since 1951, it was famously billed as "an everyday story of country folk" and is now promoted as "a contemporary drama in a rural sett ...

.''

Filmography

Films

TV

Guest appearances

Writing

Books

Production

*''

'' (Series 1, 6 episodes: BBC3 and BBC2 2007) *''

'' (Series 2, 7 episodes: BBC3 2008) *''

'' (Christmas Special: December 2008) *''

'' (Series 3, 6 episodes: BBC1 2009,2010) *''

Ar Y Tracs AR, Ar, or A&R may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Artists and repertoire Periodicals * ''Absolute Return + Alpha'', a hedge fund publication *''The Adelaide Review'', an Australian arts magazine * ''American Renaissance'' ( ...

'' Exec. Producer Tidy Productions S4C 2009)

Music

*'' Islands in the Stream'' (cover version for

)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Ruth 1966 births Living people People from Porthcawl People educated at Porthcawl Comprehensive School Alumni of the University of Warwick Alumni of the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama Welsh film actresses Welsh television actresses Welsh television writers Welsh comedy writers Members of the Order of the British Empire 21st-century Welsh comedians British women television writers 21st-century British screenwriters