Take a look inside Ruth Jones’s personal life (Picture: Wiktor Szymanowicz/Anadolu via Getty Images)
We may know her best as Nessa, but Ruth Jones has become a true television icon thanks to her writing, comedy, and acting.
The Welsh star, 58, debuted the character of Nessa in 2007 when Gavin and Stacey – co-written by James Corden – premiered on BBC.
Starring as the best friend of Stacey (Joanna Page), she’s become famous for her jet black bob-style hair and, ‘What’s occurin’?’ catchphrase.
As Gavin and Stacey – and the whole original cast – returns for a final episode on Christmas Day, let us mark the occasion by delving deeper into the woman behind Vanessa Shanessa Jenkins.
Is Ruth Jones married?
Ruth married David Peet in 1999 (Picture: Alan Davidson/REX/Shutterstock)
Ruth married David Peet, a TV and radio producer, in 1999.
The couple met while they were both filming the pilot episode of a BBC comedy in the early 90s.
David was married at the time, with Ruth later confessing that there was an overlap between him splitting from his wife and starting to date her.
‘Affairs cause a lot of pain; they’re not something one aspires to do,’ she said.
‘You don’t aspire to cause pain to people in their life.’
Ruth actually spoke to David on the phone before they met in person, which seems very fitting given the storyline of Gavin and Stacey and how the two chatted on the phone at work before meeting up.
She joked to The Scotsman: ‘It was love at first voice because I spoke to [him] on the phone before I met him.’
She is a stepmother to her husband’s three kids (Picture: Ken McKay/ITV/REX/Shutterstock)
Famously private when it comes to her home life, Ruth seldom opens up about her marriage to the press.
But in 2008, the actress told the Independent: ‘He has a very sharp mind combined with a dry Yorkshire wit, making him a naturally funny man.’
Does Ruth Jones have children?
While Ruth does not have any children of her own, she is a stepmother to husband David’s three children from his previous marriage.
He has Fiona, who is 35; Louise, who is 33; and Alex, who is 31.
Speaking about not having kids herself, Ruth previously told the Daily Mail: ‘It just didn’t happen. It wasn’t a decision.
‘I don’t have a burning desire to have babies. I think it’s heartbreaking if you do and you find out you can’t have them.’
Ruth is famous for playing Nessa in Gavin and Stacey (Picture: PA Wire)
Nessa shares Neil the Baby with Smith (Picture: BBC)
She added sweetly: ‘I love being a stepmum — all the joy of motherhood without the pain of childbirth.’
Ruth also told The Scotsman newspaper about being a stepmum: ‘You take things as they come. There wasn’t a moment when I thought, “I’ve become a stepmum now”.’
‘We never had any difficulty with teenage angst, and now I’m looking forward to becoming a stepgrandmother at some point,’ she added.
Of course, as Nessa, Ruth’s character is a mother to Neil, whom she shares with Smithy.
Now a teenager, Neil (fondly nicknamed Neil the Baby) has returned for one last episode, with original actor Oscar Hartland reprising the role.
Watch Gavin and Stacey: The Finale on BBC One and BBC iPlayer tonight at 9pm.
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