Latest news with #SteveSpiers
BBC News
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Gavin & Stacey's Ruth Jones pops in to Sheringham Little Theatre
Gavin & Stacey star Ruth Jones has returned to a small seaside theatre where she appeared more than 30 years ago to watch a family friend's new actress and writer visited Sheringham Little Theatre in Norfolk with Pirates of the Caribbean actor Steve Spiers for the opening night of his son's new described it as a "trip down memory lane" as she recounted how her summer run in 1993 overlapped with her contract at the Royal Shakespeare Company."I had three days where I would get up at the crack of sparrow's, drive to King's Lynn, get the train to London, rehearse all day, get back on the train, head back to Norfolk and do a performance of Absent Friends," she said. "I'm so excited to return to Sheringham after all this time."We did John Godber's Teechers and Alan Ayckbourn's Absent Friends and it was such great fun."It was a very special time in my life - I was 26 years old and during the run I also auditioned for the Royal Shakespeare Company."I was the bottom rung of a very long ladder, with one line in All's Well That Ends Well and lots of understudying."She has since appeared in a host of TV series including Fat Friends, Little Britain and Fat Friends, as well as the long-running BBC hit Gavin & Stacey, which she co-created and co-wrote with James Corden. More recently, she has worked with Spiers on the BBC documentary From Merthyr with Love, looking at his home town in the Welsh were in the audience, alongside actress and theatre president Suranne Jones, to watch Spiers' son Lewes Roberts perform in a new play on Thursday at the 160-seat has co-written The Case of the Three Eyed Elephant - which traces the origins of Sherlock Holmes - with Laurence Akers and actor Ryan show is also being staged at Wolterton Hall, near Aylsham, on 26 July and Bylaugh Hall, near Dereham, on 27 the show, Jones said she was "absolutely gobsmacked by the talent and energy". "If anyone needed an advert for live theatre, this was it – a truly great experience." Follow Norfolk news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
Powys County Times
09-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Powys County Times
Mid Wales railway to feature in BBC show with Ruth Jones
Gavin & Stacey's Ruth Jones visited a Mid Wales railway as part of an upcoming BBC documentary. Writer and actor Ruth Jones, best known for starring in and co-creating Gavin & Stacey, and comedian Steve Spiers took a trip on Brecon Mountain Railway, which will feature in a BBC One Wales documentary Ruth and Steve: From Merthyr with Love. The one-hour documentary will showcase the Welsh town's past and present, as well as a standout visit to the nearby railway through Mid Wales. As part of the documentary, Jones and Speirs spent a day immersed in the operations of the railway. They met volunteers and staff, examined restored steam locomotives, and gained an insight into the effort taken to run and operate the Brecon Mountain Railway. The segment underlines the line's role not just as a tourist attraction, but as a tribute and reminder of the region's industrial roots and community spirit. The programme forms part of a broader season on BBC Cymru Wales marking the bicentenary of Cyfarthfa Castle, exploring Merthyr's significance as the world's first industrial town and celebrating its ongoing cultural rejuvenation. Broadcast across four new shows on BBC One Wales, the series aims to challenge outdated perceptions and highlight the county borough's evolving identity. The railway was originally built in 1859 and constructed on part of the abandoned Brecon & Merthyr Railway, the 10-mile round journey takes travellers in all-weather observation coaches to let them admire the mountain views as the railway climbs to Torpantau before returning via Pontsticill Station. The Brecon Mountain Railway offers a stunning journey through the breath-taking Bannau Brycheiniog (Brecon Beacons) National Park aboard meticulously restored steam locomotives.
