Ruth Jones

Actress, comedian, screenwriter, novelist and all round national treasure Ruth Jones, best known for her unforgettable role as Nessa Jenkins in Gavin and Stacey talks about her latest novel By Your Side - and lots more. 

About By Your Side
Linda Standish works at the council’s Unclaimed Heirs Unit, investigating the lives of those who’ve died alone and tracing their living relatives. After thirty-three years, she’s ready for early retirement, but before she can leave, she must find the relatives of Levi Norman Jones, a Welshman who lived alone on a remote Scottish island. Travelling (by hearse) with her arch nemesis Fergus Murray, Linda searches for clues to a life now lost, but in the process makes new friends, and discovers things about herself she never knew.

Ruth Jones is best known for co-writing BBC One’s Gavin and Stacey with James Corden and her role as Nessa Jenkins. The 2024 finale was watched by 21 million people, topping the Christmas TV ratings. She also created and starred in Stella on Sky One and has appeared in Hattie, Nighty Night and Saxondale, among other TV comedies.  In 2024, she made her West End debut in Sister Act the Musical and starred as Elena Ravenscroft in Netflix’s Run Away. Ruth’s earlier novels, Never Greener, Us Three and Love Untold have sold over a million copies.