I was excited to play someone so different to Nessa...

RUTH JONES CHATS ABOUT HER ROLE IN NETFLIX'S LATEST HARLAN COBEN ADAPTATION AS CO-STAR JAMES NESBITT SHARES HIS JOY AT WORKING WITH THE GAVIN & STACEY LEGEND FOR THE FIRST TIME. BY LYNN RUSK

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FOR Harlan Coben fans, New Year's Day has become synonymous with the release of a new Netflix adaptation of one of the American author's thrillers.

Last year brought Missing You, starring Rosalind Eleazar and Lenny Henry, and in 2024 it was Fool Me Once, featuring Michelle Keegan and Joanna Lumley.

This new year will see the release of Run Away, starring Gavin & Stacey's Ruth Jones and Cold Feet's James Nesbitt, and written by Danny Brocklehurst, who has adapted several of Harlan's novels.

The eight-part series follows Ruth, 59, as Elena Ravenscroft, an investigator who helps Simon Greene, played by James, after his daughter Paige, played by Ellie de Lange, runs away from home.

The thriller, which is Harlan's 13th adaptation, also stars Good Will Hunting actress Minnie Driver, Sweetpea's Jon Pointing, Harry Potter actor Alfred Enoch, Conclave's Lucian Msamati, Ted Lasso's Annette Badland and former EastEnder Tracy-Ann Oberman.

"I wasn't really particularly familiar with Harlan Coben's work, if I'm absolutely honest," says Ruth. "But now I've become an overnight fan, I just loved the script.

"The character was so different for me to play, and I was totally intrigued by the story and where it was going."

Welsh actress Ruth, who co-created hit sitcom Gavin & Stacey with James Corden, says the series allowed her to try many new things.