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Ruth Jones

Highest Rated: 79% East Is East (1999)

Lowest Rated: 0% Nativity Rocks! (2018)

Birthday: Sep 22, 1966

Birthplace: Bridgend, Wales, UK

Actress, writer and producer Ruth Jones became a television favorite with her gentle comedy-romance series "Gavin & Stacey" (BBC, 2007-2010) and later, the sitcom "Stella" (Sky1, 2012- ), both of which established her as a potent comic talent with a knack for strong female characters. Born Ruth Alexandra Elizabeth Jones on September 22, 1966 in the town of Bridgend, South Wales, she was the daughter of an executive for British Steel and a child psychologist. She graduated from Warwick University with a degree in English and theater before studying at the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama. Jones began appearing in features and on television in the late '90s, enjoying minor roles in films like "Emma" (1996) and "The Theory of Flight" (1998) before earning her first big break in a supporting comic role in the hugely popular multi-cultural comedy "East is East" (1998). The exposure afforded her by the film led to roles on stage with the Royal Shakespeare Company and a supporting turn in the critically acclaimed drama "Fat Friends" (ITV, 2000-05), which concerned the lives of four individuals enrolled in a weight loss club. The series not only provided Jones with her first taste of television stardom, but also introduced her to actor James Corden, with whom she would create "Gavin & Stacey" and provide her with her first television writing credit. While working on "Fat Friends," Jones also appeared in numerous other programs, most notably as the sympathetic barmaid friend of Matt Lucas' self-loathing (and self-promoting) gay man Daffyd Thomas on the sketch comedy series "Little Britain" (BBC Three/One, 2003-06) and as heavy metal roadie turned exterminator Steve Coogan's ribald girlfriend on "Saxondale" (BBC Two, 2006-07). In 2007, she and Corden co-wrote and co-starred in the well-loved romantic comedy series "Gavin & Stacey," which followed the lives of level-headed Gavin (Mathew Horne) and vivacious Stacey (Joanna Page) during their long-distance romance. Jones played Stacey's earthy best friend, Nessa, whose dislike of Gavin's pal Smithy (Corden) eventually blossomed into romance. The series was a substantial hit for its three-year run, earning numerous awards and even a No. 1 single for Jones and co-star Rob Brydon, who recorded a humorous cover of "Islands in the Stream" in 2009 for the Comic Relief charity. The accolades Jones drew for "Gavin & Stacey" led to a wide array of projects, from highbrow productions of "Tess of the d'Urbervilles" (BBC, 2008) to her own talk show, "Ruth Jones' Christmas Cracker," for BBC Two in 2010. She also earned a major hit with "Hattie" (2011), a biopic of the well-loved comic actress Hattie Jacques which became the most watched program ever aired on BBC Four. Two years later, she returned to regular series work with "Stella" (Sky1, 2012- ), a gentle comedy created by and starring Jones as a single mother with a large and complicated array of family and friends. On January 1, 2014, Jones was made a Member of the Order of the British Empire.

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Highest rated movies

79% 78% East Is East
Watchlist
60% 79% Heartlands
Watchlist
21% 45% Eat Local
Watchlist
0% 37% Nativity Rocks!
Watchlist
Miss Marple: The Secret of Chimneys
Watchlist
56% Hattie
Watchlist

Filmography

Movies

Credit
0% 37% Nativity Rocks! Unknown (Character) - 2018
21% 45% Eat Local Mrs. Thatcher (Character) - 2017
No Score Yet 56% Hattie Hattie Jacques (Character) - 2011
No Score Yet No Score Yet Miss Marple: The Secret of Chimneys Blenkinsopp (Character) - 2010
60% 79% Heartlands Mandy (Character) - 2002
79% 78% East Is East Peggy (Character) $4.2M 1999

TV

Credit
No Score Yet No Score Yet The Graham Norton Show Unknown (Guest Star),
Guest
2009-2010 2019-2020 2024
No Score Yet No Score Yet Who Do You Think You Are? Host 2020
No Score Yet No Score Yet Us & Them Executive Producer 2018
No Score Yet No Score Yet Very British Problems Guest 2015-2016
No Score Yet No Score Yet Julia Zemiro's Home Delivery Unknown (Character) 2014
No Score Yet No Score Yet Would I Lie to You? Guest 2010
97% 92% Gavin & Stacey Nessa (Character),
Writer
2007-2010
No Score Yet No Score Yet Alan Carr: Chatty Man Guest 2009
No Score Yet No Score Yet Tess of the D'Urbervilles Joan Durbeyfield (Character) 2008
98% 83% Torchwood Nikki (Guest Star) 2008
No Score Yet No Score Yet Saxondale Unknown (Character) 2006-2007
No Score Yet No Score Yet Nighty Night Unknown (Character),
Writer
2004-2005
No Score Yet No Score Yet Born and Bred Ruby Moss (Character) 2005
No Score Yet 85% Midsomer Murders Rachel Rose (Character) 2004
No Score Yet No Score Yet As Time Goes By Unknown (Character) 1998