Stage In November 1989 Jones undertook her first professional role, with
Dominic Cooke's company, Pan Optic, playing Countess Almaviva in Cooke's adaptation of
The Marriage of Figaro, which toured the UK for six months. Thereafter, she undertook temporary clerical work. She considered giving up acting and instead training to be a
solicitor. In 1990, however, the comedian and pantomime producer
Stan Stennett offered her an
Equity contract, shifting scenery and playing a
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle (Michelangelo) in
Dick Whittington at the
Grand Pavilion, Porthcawl where she had performed in school musicals. In October 2018 Jones returned to the stage, after a 12-year absence, in the new play
Nightingale by
William Gaminara, produced by Jenny Topper at the
Theatre Royal, Bath. In Summer 2024 Jones played the role of Mother Superior in the West End production of
Sister Act at the
Dominion Theatre, alongside
Beverley Knight,
Alexandra Burke and
Lizzie Bea.
Television Her first television job was an unbroadcast sketch show for BBC Wales, which included
Rob Brydon and
Steve Speirs. Soon after, she joined an
improvisational theatre group in Bath. That group included
Julia Davis, with whom Jones later appeared in
Nighty Night and
Gavin & Stacey. Jones appeared on television as Kelly in four series of ITV's comedy
Fat Friends, where she met
James Corden. Afterwards she appeared in several BBC comedies, playing Myfanwy in
Little Britain, Magz in
Saxondale and Linda in
Nighty Night. In 2008 Jones co-founded Tidy Productions with producer David Peet. The company produced the series Jones presented on
BBC Radio Wales in 2008–9, ''Ruth Jones' Sunday Brunch''. Once again teaming up with
James Corden, together they wrote and starred in the final episode of Gavin & Stacey airing on Christmas Day 2024 on BBC One, 17 years after the show was first broadcast.
Writer In April 2018 Jones's first novel,
Never Greener, was published by
Bantam Press. Based on a screenplay she'd written in 2004, it tells the story of a rekindled affair and the dangers of taking second chances. She signed a two-book deal with Transworld after a bidding war between ten publishing companies. The novel went into
The Sunday Times' bestseller list at number seven after just three days of sales, before reaching the number-one slot for two consecutive weeks. Jones' second novel,
Us Three, was published by Bantam Press in September 2020. It follows the story of three friends whose futures become unpredictable after an unexpected turn in events. Her third novel is
Love Untold, which was published by
Penguin Books in 2022. ==Personal life==