‘I love celebrating my Welsh roots,’ says actress Ruth
GAVIN & Stacey star Ruth Jones says she treasures her background and “very special” Welsh identity.
The actress, who was brought up in Porthcawl, co-wrote the Bafta Awardwinning comedy series, which brought the culture and expressions of South Wales to a huge TV audience.
She told BBC Radio 4’s Desert Island Discs: “I was brought up in South Wales, and you meet such brilliant people who don’t know that they are funny and what they are saying is hilarious.
“I just love celebrating that, really. I’m a hugely proud Welsh person.
“I just love it, it’s something very special, being Welsh.”
Jones said that throughout her career she had celebrated her identity, and shared it on screen. This has included in the Steve Coogan TV series Saxondale, and comedy series Stella, which she co-wrote with her TV producer husband David Peet.
Jones, who lives in Cardiff with Peet, said her Welsh identity was also a “comfort” to her when she met celebrities. She told Desert Island Discs host Lauren Laverne: “I think it’s a sort of comfort blanket to go into my original strong Welsh accent.”
Her accent was admired by Barack Obama when they met at a dinner in Downing Street in 2013.
The 52-year-old said the then-US president was impressed by her pronunciation of the word “brilliant”. Desert Island Discs, BBC Radio 4, today, 11.15am