Ruth Jones on Gavin and Stacey finale: 'We couldn't have done it any better'

Ruth Jones says she and were bowled over by the reception for the Gavin & Stacey finale on - and wouldn’t change a single thing about it. The episode, which aired on Day, has now been watched by more than 21 million viewers, making it the ’s top rating festive show in decades.

Ruth, 58, said the pair of them did everything they could to make the episode a hit with audiences. “It was great that it ended the way it did, and I’m delighted with how it went down,” she said.

In the plot her character Nessa quit Barry for good to take a job on the ships as Smithy, played by James, prepared to marry his unsuitable girlfriend Sonia (Laura Aikman). But the wedding was halted when he realised she was the wrong woman for him - and he finally proposed to Nessa after a dash across the country. In a fairytale ending, the pair got hitched with Gavin, Stacey, and all their other friends and family around them.

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added: “The final episode of was a beautiful ending to a wonderful journey. We couldn’t have done it any better, in a way, or any differently. People were very satisfied with the end, which was important.”

The star has glammed up for a Woman & Home magazine shoot to promote her fourth novel in outfits including a red ruffled dress and pink velvet jacket, but admits she doesn’t feel at home when dressed up to the nines. ‘I feel slightly guilty that lots of people would love to do this kind of shoot,” she confessed. “To be completely honest with you, I don’t like getting dressed up. I always want to feel comfortable.”

The laid-back star was perhaps put off being photographed by an early bad experience. “When I first started doing photo shoots about 20 years ago, I felt so self-conscious. I was probably a size 20, and on one shoot, the stylist only got size 16 clothes that didn’t fit me. I think there was that mentality of, ‘A size 16 is large, so that will be fine.’”

These days she doesn’t like to talk about her size. “Diets and weight are very boring subjects,” she reasoned. “Everyone has stuff going on in their life, so why do they worry about what size someone else is? There are much more interesting things to talk about.”

Ruth reckons many of us set ourselves “ridiculous fitness ambitions” and says she doesn’t have any particular health tips, other than to look after yourself. “At the moment I’m suffering with my knees, and I hadn’t realised how much

I take being able to walk down the street for granted,” she said. “I’m absolutely not in a position to give anybody any advice, but you have to invest in your health for later on in life, so I always make sure I get checked out. I had a mammogram the other day. I get smear tests done regularly and my blood checked.”

Ruth’s new novel, By Your Side, is released on 22 May and she says she very much enjoys the process of writing on her own at home. "I think I’ve taken to novel writing so well because you can get out of bed in the morning and work in your pyjamas if you want to.”

She finds that staying away from social media helps her to stay sane. “I joined briefly years ago, then I panicked and came off again. There are a lot of people passing judgement on social media platforms and I think, ‘Get on with your own life and leave everyone else alone.’ The idea that someone else has a better idea of how to live life than you is ridiculous.”

*The June issue of woman&home is on sale 1st May 2025

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