Ruth Jones’s diary

Acclaimed Welsh actress Ruth Jones is best known for her roles in Nighty Night and Little Britain. She’s making her stage debut in Educating Rita. Kayleigh Excell talks to the actress

By Kayleigh Excell

Q: Firstly, you are starring as Rita in a theatre production of Educating Rita. For those who don’t know, tell us what it’s about.

RJ: The stage play was written by Willy Russell in 1980 and subsequently made into a film starring Julie Walters and Michael Caine. It tells the story of a hairdresser who wants to ‘know everything’ and who embarks on an open university course in English literature. Her quest for knowledge leads to an inevitable change in her attitudes and how she views the world. Her tutor Frank embarks unwittingly on his own journey of discovery as a result of meeting Rita and by the end of the play both characters’ lives have been significantly changed.

What is Rita like as a character, is she fun to play?

The film of Educating Rita is one of my favourites and I was a bit worried that I wouldn’t be able to get Julie Walters’ performance out of my head. But because we’ve decided to make the character modern-day and also from Cardiff, not Liverpool, it feels like we’re creating a brand new Rita.

She’s a great woman – got such a big heart and is very funny and although she’s really keen to learn she’s also irreverent and unafraid of speaking her mind. She’s the sort of woman I’d really like to have as a friend – fiercely loyal and eternally optimistic, with a wicked sense of humour.

Educating Rita is set in the Open University. What fond memories do you have of your student days at the University of Warwick and later at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama in Cardiff?

I loved my time as a student – Warwick is a campus university and I know that’s not everyone’s cup of tea but I liked the fact that we all lived in our own little world. The only sad thing was that the three years were over too quickly! It’s horrible when it’s all over because you have to sort of grow up.

Going to drama school was a bit of a shock because I realised my 15 hours of lectures at Warwick was a breeze compared to a 40-hour week of rehearsals, voice classes, dance and stage combat lessons. Incidentally, I was rubbish at stage combat. Hardly surprising.

Who inspired you to become an actress?

I’m afraid I don’t have any romantic tale to tell about being inspired to become an actress. I always got involved and enjoyed doing school musicals and youth theatre and stuff but I never really thought I’d be any good at it professionally.

To be honest, I left drama school pretty unconfident about the whole thing… I even thought about becoming a solicitor!

But a friend of mine from Warwick, Dominic Cooke, who’s now the artistic director of the Royal Court Theatre, was putting together a theatre company called Pan Optic and doing a middle scale tour of The Marriage of Figaro which he asked me to be in. He was very encouraging and he later got me into the RSC when he was working there.

He was definitely an inspiration.

You play salon assistant, Linda in the BBC comedy Nighty Night. How did you come up with her crazy character?

The ‘look’ of Linda was actually based on a Cardiff shop assistant – the buns and the goth make-up… she should really have had Nana Maskouri glasses as well, but they would have got in the way. Julia Davis and I did a lot of improvisation to come up with the character and story line. We just both liked the idea of having a beauty salon assistant who was really BAD at her job – because normally they’re so good at what they do, confident and clean and efficient, playing relaxing pan pipe music as they massage away your troubles. Linda conversely is really grubby, eternally nervous and the only music she likes is Judas Priest. She’s definitely one of my favourite characters.

Most people will recognise you as Myfanwy from the Little Britain sketches. Little Britain has become such a huge success, what was it like working with Matt Lucas and David Walliams on the show?

They’re great. Really good fun as well as very professional and hardworking. I’m looking forward to filming the live show DVD with them in Blackpool.

You have done a variety of work including theatre, film and television drama and comedy. Which for you is the most enjoyable?

There’s been nothing really that I haven’t enjoyed. I suppose favourite jobs include the second series of Nighty Night mainly because we were filming in Cornwall in gorgeous sunshine by the sea and I just love working with Julia because we laugh so much. I also loved doing East Is East.

I haven’t actually done any theatre now for eight years and am terrified but excited at the prospect of going on stage again. I think doing a live performance will be thrilling.

Did you enjoy writing an episode of Fat Friends? Are you planning on writing more?

The episode I wrote for Fat Friends featured in the final series and it was made doubly enjoyable because by then I knew the actors/characters that I was writing for.

Fat Friends was a great show to work on – I made some really good friends on it. Sadly I don’t think there’ll be any more though. I have just written an episode of The Chase which is Kay Mellor’s new project and it’s about vets. My story line involves a swollen boa constrictor and two gay tortoises. Kay Mellor is very encouraging of new writers and I learned a lot from her.

You have worked with lots of great comedians, actors, actresses and writers. Is there anyone in particular that you would love to work with in the future?

I loved working with Alison Steadman who played my mother in Fat Friends and hope to work with her again some time. I’ve also recently enjoyed working with Steve Coogan playing his girlfriend in his new series Saxondale – I was quite nervous about working with him but he was so lovely – and a real comic genius! Julia Davis and I would really like to write and be in a film together so that’s definitely a dream of mine, and my colleague and friend from Fat Friends, James Corden, and I have written a six part comedy series which films in the autumn.

This is your Welsh theatre debut. Are you looking forward to the opening night in your home town at the Sherman Theatre?

Yes, I’m really really looking forward to it though Steve Speirs and I are both terrified as neither of us have been on stage for so many years! I did perform at the Sherman when I was in the National Youth Theatre of Wales, in 1984 – but it’s great to be doing something there professionally – albeit 22 years later! I think it’s a terrific theatre and I’m really looking forward to working with artistic director Phil Clarke.