Inside Gavin and Stacey star Ruth Jones's happy marriage and bond with stepchildren

The last ever episode of Gavin and Stacey is tipped to focus on the marriage of Ruth Jones's character Nessa - and fans may want to know about her real-life marriage to David Peet

Ruth Jones may be one of the UK's best loved comedy stars - but is notoriously private about her personal life.

The Gavin and Stacey creator has been married to radio producer David Peet since 1999 and is stepmother to his three children, Louise, Alex and Fiona. The couple met when they both worked at the radio division of BBC Wales - with love blossoming between the two after they heard each other speak.

This Christmas, TV fans will see Ruth, 58, back on screens in her role as Vanessa Shanessa 'Nessa' Jenkins in the long-running BBC sitcom Gavin and Stacey which is to air its last ever episode on Christmas Day. Ruth co-created the show with James Corden who plays on-screen love interest Neil 'Smithy' Smith - with the plot of the last ever episode expected to revolve around the marriage of Nessa and Smithy.

Fans who might want to know more about Ruth's real life marriage might want to read on as she is well known for keeping her personal life out of the spotlight. Here are some details of Ruth Jones's marriage.

Husband and Marriage

Ruth and 71-year-old David Peet met when she was working on a BBC Radio Wales series. The TV star joked to The Scotsman: "It was love at first voice because I spoke to [him] on the phone before I met him."

Sharing more details of her husband, Ruth told the Independent in 2008: "He has a very sharp mind combined with a dry Yorkshire wit, making him a naturally funny man."

The couple live in Cardiff where they established their production company Tidy Productions ("tidy" as in its Welsh meaning for good) which creates Gavin and Stacey. David had previously been married and is father of three children, Louise, Alex and Fiona, who Ruth then took under her wing.

Stepmotherhood and family hopes

Ruth is the proud stepmother to David's three children - who are all now adults. She previously told the Daily Mail: "It just didn't happen. It wasn't a decision. I don't have a burning desire to have babies. I think it's heartbreaking if you do and you find out you can't have them. I love being a stepmum — all the joy of motherhood without the pain of childbirth."

And she told The Scotsman of the "joys of parenthood without giving birth" that she adores her role. She gushed: "You take things as they come. There wasn't a moment when I thought, 'I've become a stepmum now.' We never had any difficulty with teenage angst, and now I'm looking forward to becoming a step-grandmother at some point."

Gavin and Stacey 2024 Christmas Special

The 2024 Christmas Special of Gavin and Stacey will also serve as the last ever episode of the BBC show. Speaking of the final episode, 46-year-old Matthew Horne - who plays titular Gavin Shipman - said the script for the sitcom’s final episode made him laugh and cry, and said the finished product “hasn’t disappointed”. He gushed: “I want to say I was nervous about reading the script as it’s always been Ruth’s (Jones) and James’s (Corden) priority to get the script perfect in the first instance, to tell a story the right way.

"And I had no evidence to suggest that this final script wouldn’t adhere to those principles and be anything other than brilliant. I did have a nervous compulsion to read it immediately and my expectations were exceeded. It made me laugh, it made me cry and upon completion, I thought it was nothing short of a masterpiece. Not just in terms of an episode of Gavin And Stacey, but frankly any script I’ve ever read."

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