Ruth Jones (I)

Video: Ruth Jones swaps Nessa for Stella

Gavin and Stacey co-writer, Ruth Jones, has written a new series that is again set in her native South Wales. Jones says the title character, single mother Stella, is completely different from her role as Nessa in Gavin and Stacey.

Ruth Jones, of Gavin & Stacey fame, basks in the easy humour of this sharply observed comedy set in the Welsh Valleys, which she co-wrote. Jones plays Stella, a divorcee whose chaotic life involves bringing up three children (one of whom is in jail), dealing with her eccentric friends and coping with not having had sex for two years. The series's appeal balances on her nicely underwritten role and there are some great performances, notably from Elizabeth Berrington as an alcoholic funeral director, and Steve Spiers as a lovelorn lollipop man.

Ruth Jones writes and stars in a new Wales-set comedy drama about working mum-of-three Stella, her alcoholic best friend (played by Elizabeth Berrington) and various other supporting characters. Jones has powerful screen appeal and her script radiates all of the charm of Gavin & Stacey, with rather fewer of the cynical set pieces that so often marred it. Tonight, Stella visits her eldest son in prison, discovers her daughter is on the pill and finds an unusual alternative when she forgets to make her young son's costume for the school play.

Ruth Jones interview

Ruth Jones is best known for playing Nessa - the no-nonsense Barry Island bruiser from hit comedy Gavin & Stacey.

Ruth Jones tells of battle to shed weight

Ruth Jones, the Welsh actress, has told of her battle with weight problems and dismissed suggestions that it was the result of anything but hard work.

Ruth Jones re-meets carer for Comic Relief special

Carer Ron Lambert will be reunited with actress Ruth Jones on television during BBC One's Comic Relief programme What a Cracker, to be screened on December 28.

Ruth Jones refuses to write autobiography

Gavin & Stacey's Ruth Jones has refused to write her autobiography because she is too young.

What's occurin' with Ruth Jones?

After creating one of TV's most feisty female characters in Barry Island arcade worker Nessa in Gavin & Stacey, actress Ruth Jones is returning to our screens as another formidable Welsh woman in a new Sky1 HD comedy drama.

Ruth Jones interview

Gavin & Stacey's Ruth Jones stars in Stella - a comedy-drama about a Welsh single mother with three troublesome children.

Ruth Jones proved herself a far less capable interviewer than actress when her lacklustre chat show debuted at the end of last year. Perhaps inviting gobby Gavin & Stacey collaborator James Corden onto the couch will spice up this seasonal special. Feisty singer Lulu, comedian Mickey Flanagan and Welsh rockers Manic Street Preachers will feature.