I'm With Stupid by Danny Peak

Ruth Jones plays Jean

Ruth plays Jean, the warden of Bramble Lodge, in I'm With Stupid.

 

She describes her character as having "a big heart and she feels for everybody" but that she's also a bit odd as "'she's often seen carrying things around the place, like enema kits and stuff!"

 

Jean is the slightly sexy Nurse Gladys-type character that likes to be totally in control of the residents staying at the home.

 

Ruth says: "She's a little bit obsessive in her thinking but I think she's a really likeable character. I really enjoyed playing her."

 

Ruth's character Jean offers Sheldon (Mark Benton) a place to stay and a job at Bramble Lodge - the sheltered accommodation where she is warden - after he strikes up an unlikely friendship with Paul (Paul Henshall).

 

In fact Jean takes quite a shine to Sheldon much to the annoyance of Sergeant Swithenback (Steve Edge) who uses any excuse to visit Bramble Lodge to spend some time with Jean.

 

Ruth says that her character has "quite a sexual energy. She's not really aware of it but she's always hugging the residents and stuff like that."

 

On filming the series Ruth says she's never laughed so much.

 

"We used to laugh every day watching Mark winding Paul up about stuff. Paul is such a giggler it's incredible. It got to a point where he literally just couldn't say his lines because he was laughing so much."

 

But she also recalls the slightly unpleasant conditions of filming on location in Manchester in a very cold February: "It was freezing cold in this disused residential home. We were outdoors in the courtyard and we literally could not speak!

 

"We couldn't say our words, our mouths were just frozen. We had hot water bottles and everything."

 

Ruth and Mark worked together before in a BBC series called Human Remains which also starred Rob Brydon, who Ruth also went to school with, and Julia Davies, Ruth's co-star on Nighty Night. Mark played Ruth's fiancé in the series.

 

She says she always wanted to work with Mark: "We did a script reading together at the National Theatre years before, but we always wanted to work together. I really enjoyed working with Mark, it's been fantastic."

 

In fact Ruth loved filming with the cast of I'm with Stupid: "I've really enjoyed the shoot because it wasn't all kind of 'lovey' at all. Everybody was really down to earth."

 

She also found the experience of shooting with a disabled cast inspirational; "If I'm honest I hadn't really given much thought to what it's like to be disabled. Just seeing on the day to day basis of filming the practicalities that it involves was a real eye-opener."

 

Hailing from Porthcawl, a seaside village in Wales, Ruth has a raft of acting credentials to her name from Myfanwy in the multi-award-winning Little Britain to Linda in Nighty Night.

 

She is also well known for her roles in ITV's Fat Friends, and more recently in BBC TWO comedy Saxondale alongside Steve Coogan.

 

Ruth is also a keen writer and was given her first TV script writing break by Kay Mellor whilst working on Fat Friends.

 

"At the end of series two I talked to Kay about this script idea that I'd had about a Welsh character who was an overeater. I sent Kay the script and she suggested maybe I thought about writing an episode of Fat Friends. I wrote one for series four and that was my first TV script."

 

At around the same time Ruth entered a BBC short story writing competition in association with the series Babyfather. There were about 600 entries and she got picked as one of the five which was then recorded.

 

Ruth has now gone on to write an episode of BBC drama series The Chase, also by Kay Mellor.

 

She gets recognised by the public for most of her roles, particularly from Little Britain and Nighty Night, but doesn't really like the fame associated with her job and would prefer to be anonymous.

 

If she wasn't acting and writing Ruth says there are two things she'd love to do:"I would love to have a sandwich shop and make really nice fresh sandwiches with good bread and have a variety of fillings.

 

"The other thing I would love to do is to be a registrar. I would love to marry people although I think I would cry all the time!"

 

When Ruth does get some time off she enjoys a bit of fishing, baking her own bread and going to the cinema.

 

She also goes to the gym but says: "I do actually go to the gym which I enjoy believe it or not, looking at me you wouldn't think I went to the gym but I do!"

 

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