20 hours ago

Beth Alaw WilliamsBBC Wales

PA Media

Ruth Jones is best known as the co-creator of Gavin and Stacey, in which she also plays Nessa

Gavin and Stacey star Ruth Jones has revealed her excitement at taking on her first role away from comedy in a top Netflix crime series.

The actress and writer appears as private investigator Elena Ravenscroft in Run Away, an eight-episode series based on the Harlan Coben novel.

Despite Jones' impressive history of comedic performances, she told BBC Radio 2 that she "had never played" a drama role before.

The series has already been watched over 12.7 million times since its release on the streaming site on January 1, with only the final series of Stranger Things proving more popular.

Run Away follows Simon Greene, played by James Nesbitt, who teams up with investigator and former police officer Elena Ravenscroft to find his daughter Paige, who has gone missing after running away from home.

Speaking on Radio 2's breakfast show about what drew her to the role, Jones said: "I read the script and the first thing I saw of Elena is that she steals a dog from a park and that just appealed to my sense of humour."

"Then you discover she's got another life going on. There's lots of different things going on for Elena so I just loved it straight away and I have never played that type of role before.

"I was just really excited."

Netflix

Ruth Jones and James Nesbitt star as Elena Ravenscroft and Simon Greene in Coben's latest crime drama

This is the 13th book by Coben to be adapted for screen, with a 14th adaptation expected to be released later this year.

Nesbitt, who has worked with the author before, said: "What Harlan does is create extraordinary worlds for sometimes ordinary people.

"People are so invested in these stories because they know it's like a rollercoaster, they know that [Coben] is a juggernaut and the show is a juggernaut and will take them on twist and turns.

"As much as it is thrilling and dark and complicated, also people can see the human element of what Harlan does."

Jones added: "The minds that make drama like that are just incredible because you look at it and go, all of these threads, how do they come together?"

James Nesbitt and Ruth Jones stopped by the Radio 2 Breakfast Show on Wednesday

Jones also discussed her cameo on Radio 4 drama The Archers, which she said she listened to every night.

She said: "I'm a big fan of The Archers.

"They asked me to visit the studios, where they were recording their New Year's Eve special.

"I was a little trepidatious about going because I thought 'is it going to ruin it for me?', because when you listen to radio dramas, you know what everyone looks like.

"But I went in and it was so lovely to meet them, and I said to them 'you're in my bed every night!'"

The last time Jones appeared on Radio 2's Breakfast Show was as a host, where she and co-writer James Corden hosted a Gavin and Stacey takeover two days before the programme's record-breaking finale on Christmas Day 2024.

As well as playing songs from the iconic show, they were joined by cast members Joanna Page, Mathew Horne, Larry Lamb, Alison Steadman and Rob Brydon for a trip down memory lane.

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