On Christmas Day last year, the long-awaited finale of Gavin & Stacey graced our screens. It had been 17 years since the first series of the show arrived and four since the 2019 Christmas special aired - and Ruth Jones and co-writer James Corden gave us the perfect final goodbye to the beloved sitcom.
The episode broke viewing records, with more than 12 million tuning in that evening, and left the nation teary-eyed and warm inside. Ruth couldn't be happier with the reaction to the tying up of the characters' stories, after almost two decades' worth of creating the legendary Gavin & Stacey world.
"The final episode of Gavin & Stacey was a beautiful ending to a wonderful journey. It was great that it ended the way it did," Ruth tells woman&home.
"I’m delighted with how it went down," she adds, explaining that she simply sees no other way the Smithy and Nessa's will-they-won't-they love story could've been finished.
"We couldn’t have done it any better, in a way, or any differently. People were very satisfied with the end, which was important."
With the pressure of getting the finale of one of the most adored sitcoms of all time just right off her shoulders, Ruth once again turned to writing. Her latest read, By Your Side, launches on 22nd May and is available to pre-order now.
"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 tells us with a smile.
"Releasing my fourth novel is very exciting. It’s written in the first person and present tense, which I’ve never done before.
"I enjoy my own company and am very happy sitting at home writing," she reveals, admitting that penning books solo is a far cry from co-writing TV.
"If I’m co-writing with James or someone else, it’s very different because you can bounce ideas off each other. I think maybe you get more done, although James and I are terrible together, and we end up talking and messing about."
Naturally, TV career success has brought fans with it, but Ruth doesn't do the social media thing. So you can't follow her - even if you think you already do.
"I’m not on social media, even though people tell me they follow me on Instagram. There are quite a few accounts claiming to be me!
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"I don’t really understand why someone would want to do that, but hey-ho, each to their own," she says.
"I joined Twitter 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'."
You can read Ruth's full exclusive interview with woman&home in the June issue of the magazine, on shelves from 1st May.
