James Corden and Ruth Jones Q&A - Radio Times, March 2008

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James Corden and Ruth Jones Q&A - Radio Times, March 2008

James Corden and Ruth Jones from Gavin & Stacey © BBC

Radio Times's Martin Aston caught up with the stars of hit sitcom Gavin & Stacey.

Martin: You've had a huge hit with Gavin & Stacey, both writing it and starring as their best buddies Smithy and Nessa. So what can we expect from series two?

Ruth Jones: A little insight into Gavin and Stacey's married life, and the rollercoaster ride that is marriage. They're going to be living with Gavin's parents, and any couple that does that can identify the potential problems.
James Corden: I think we might have created a stronger second series, because we spent so much time bedding in the characters in the first.

It was on the Fat Friends set that you decided to write Gavin & Stacey. What drew you together?

Ruth: I remember very clearly Alison [Steadman, who also stars in Gavin & Stacey] saying to James in the bar, "You should do stand-up 'cos you're so funny."
James: I don't remember that. Ruth's the funny one. I didn't get to know her properly until about the third series [of Fat Friends]. One day I had to break down and cry and later we were in a lift at the hotel, and she said, "That was really good today. I don't know how you did it."

Is it work that bonds you?

James: It's friendship first and everything else is secondary. If something happened tonight and I needed to talk to someone, then Ruth's the first person I'd call. But that friendship gets tested because we're writing partners. When the show starts to gear up, it feels like all we talk about is the show.
Ruth: But it gets easier after we've finished filming. We actually phone each other about things that are nothing to do with Gavin & Stacey.

James, you and Mathew (Horne, aka Gavin) presented a week of Big Brother's Big Mouth last year and just recently a month of Big Brother: Celebrity Hijack. Do you fancy a go, Ruth?

Ruth: I'm 41!
James: She'd like to read the news. I'd love to see her anchoring the news for BBC Wales. In Welsh!
Ruth: I'd love to present Antiques Roadshow. When the expert says, "And if you took that to auction, I think you'd get £200 for that," and they go, "Really?", I'd love to then go, "No, you're not really pleased about that, are you? That's crap, you were hoping for five grand!" That, or a cookery programme.
James: I can see it already: Ready Steady Jones.

James, Alan Bennett, who wrote The History Boys in which you made your name, encouraged you to write your own stuff. Did he comment on Gavin & Stacey?

James: After the first series finished, he left the loveliest message on my phone, saying, "I couldn't be prouder" and, "It's brilliant, James, because you care about every single person in the show, and that's a hard thing to do."

One final question: one reviewer called your show "predictable, old-fashioned and wearing". Do you ever fear you've created My Family for the next generation?

Ruth: People have described it as sickly and sweet, but if you're really watching, there are moments where you can't possibly call it that. Anyway, I can understand why somebody would level the criticism that it's pedestrian, but we revel in ordinariness! But you know, nobody's ordinary. People are amazing.
James: I don't even know what "ordinary" is! All we've done is write about people who hold a mirror up to the world. The stuff I love - The Royle Family, Seinfeld, Mike Leigh, Alan Bennett - is about the human condition. Ruth lives in Cardiff and I'm in Buckinghamshire, so we're both still living in a world we care about and want to write about.

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Now take a look at our full Gavin & Stacey guide.

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