I love book writing... you can work in your pyjamas

As she publishes her fourth novel, Gavin & Stacey co-creator and star Ruth Jones on overcoming writer's block, the pleasures of delayed trains... and why she's a sucker for clickbait stories on her smartphone

- By Alison James

OF ALL the thesps awarded Baftas at last Sunday's star-studded event, one stellar name stood out in the firmament. Dressed in royal blue satin, Gavin & Stacey co-creator and star Ruth Jones stole the show as she collected her deserved statuette for best female performance in a comedy.

And her acceptance speech was just as "tidy" as Nessa would say.

"I'm not gonna lie, this is immense," said Ruth, channelling her character's blunt but hilarious manner in her broad Welsh voice. "I weren't expecting to win this no way. I won a Bafta before. Of course, I have. In 1976. It was the Barry Arcade Fruity Technician Awards. And I was grateful for that but this... this is cracking!'

Ruth, as herself, went on to express her heartfelt thanks to the entire Gavin & Stacey team before welling up and declaring her love for show co-creator and good friend James Corden, 46. The actress, 58, also alluded to them working together again, which in a way they are.

A jointly penned book, When Gavin Met Stacey and Everything in Between: A Story of Love and Friendship, which tells the extraordinary story of how their little show became a full-on cultural phenomenon, will be published this October.

"I love working with James. I often say he's like my annoying younger brother and I'm like his very bossy older sister, but it just seems to work," smiles Ruth. "We have such a good laugh together and I hope that con-tinues now Gavin & Stacey is finished."

But before that, she is going solo to talk about her new novel, By Your Side, published next Thursday It is her fourth fiction release after Never Greener, Us Three and Love Untold.

And it goes to show the unstoppable force this award-winning actress and scriptwriter has become. So what's occurrin' with her new story?