Ruth Jones talks becoming ‘honorary Merthyr girl’ in Ruth And Steve: From Merthyr With Love
- Brendan John
- 2 days ago
- 4 min read
Steve Speirs’ takes Ruth Jones on a tour of his hometown, Merthyr Tydfil, in a charming film showcasing all there is to love about the Welsh town.
“I think it’s also a thing about being Welsh – we are a very melodramatic people!” muses actress, writer and comedian Ruth Jones.
“And we can be incredibly passionate and reactive but also we can be very down to earth seconds later.”
The Bridgend-born actress, 58, is talking about the writing process between her and fellow Welsh actor Steve Speirs, who have teamed up for the BBC’s Ruth And Steve: From Merthyr With Love, which sees them explore the Welsh town and see it in a new light.
Over the years, a frequent collaborator of Jones’ has of course been her Gavin And Stacey co-star James Corden, with whom she not only wrote the hit show, but worked on a book: When Gavin Met Stacey And Everything In Between: A Story Of Love And Friendship.
“Obviously I write a lot with James Corden and we have a different way of working together than me and Steve,” Jones explains.
“I don’t know if it’s because we have the same Welsh thing going on and we share that and both of us being actors we tend to sort of improvise. We act out who the characters are and what they’d say, what they’d do. And I know what’s going to make you laugh, Steve.”
For Speirs, 60, whose TV credits include The Tuckers, Upstart Crow, and Sky comedy-drama Stella, humour is key.
“I think that humour is pretty universal in a fundamental way. It’s about the detail. As soon as somebody sees something that they recognise, they emphasise with it and then they’re part of it. Laughing is a shared experience,” he says.
It goes without saying, then, that there were plenty of laughs along the way during Jones and Speirs’ visit to Merthyr Tydfil.
The pair meet for breakfast in a local cafe at the start of the film, where Jones reels off what she knows about the history of the town: its strong industrial backbone, its status as ‘Iron Capital of the World’ in the early 19th century, thanks to the scale of its iron production, and how the town pioneered the world’s first steam railway. But, as Speirs points out, this trip isn’t about the history of Merthyr as you’d read in books: it’s a history of the town through Speirs’ eyes, and through the eyes of its residents.
“I suppose that everybody’s Merthyr is slightly different,” Speirs says.
“This show is specifically about my Merthyr. It was important to me to make it a personal journey about the Merthyr I grew up in, but also to make it about Merthyr now.
“I think that people have preconceptions about Merthyr from the past, and reputations that are not aligned with what’s vibrant about this place in the now. Merthyr constantly rediscovers itself.
“I know I’m biased, but the drone shots from flying over Cefn viaduct and the aerial scenes of the hills and the valleys literally took my breath away. We probably take it for granted, but I thought ‘Wow! We live in a beautiful place’.”
Indeed, during a relatively whistle-stop tour of the vibrant Welsh town, Speirs shows Jones all manner of things that make Merthyr, Merthyr.
From a visit to the aforementioned Cefn viaduct, which Speirs says boasts the best view of Merthyr, to a local bowls club; a market selling local produce which Speirs whips up into a delicious meal, to a taste of the town’s vibrant nightlife scene – it’s all there.
Jones certainly sees just how much Merthyr loves a night out. After getting glammed up by some local beauticians who reveal the eye-watering amounts locals spend on getting ready for a night on the town, the pair hit Merthyr’s newest bar – a fun-loving queer club showcasing the finest local drag acts – before ending up at one of its oldest, the Merthyr Labour Club.
“Coming into Merthyr Labour Club, I said it in the film, but I thought it was going to be just a small little bar with an intimate little karaoke machine in a corner! But it was this massive room with a big stage,” Jones says.
“What I loved about that night was that it was a really mixed crowd age-wise. Really young and not so young, all enjoying a night out together – it was such a beautiful sense of community.”
Naturally, the duo had to hit the mic and sing a karaoke special of their own.
“The karaoke sequence was at the end of a long day, we’d been shooting in various locations and I think it’s fair to say that we were both tired,” Speirs says.
“But the atmosphere in the room and the vibrancy and energy of the people really lifted me. That and a couple of large medicinal G&Ts!
“It really was a perfect sequence to end our show on.”
So, does Jones feel like a Merthyr girl now?
“I am indeed an honorary Merthyr girl!” she smiles. “I just loved the people that I met. I loved the positivity. I loved the scenery. I just didn’t know that it was such beautiful place.
“There was something really special about finding out more about a friend who I’ve known for 34 years, but not really knowing about his life before we met. That for me was really special. And I’m so grateful for the welcome that I was given here. I’ve just had the best time."
It didn’t feel like work, it was joyous. It upsets me sometimes that Merthyr seems to be a place that’s consigned to the history books,” Speirs adds.
“Its massive role in the industrial revolution means that Merthyr is known because of its past…
“But Merthyr is about now, and here, and the future, and it’s brilliant.”
Watch Ruth And Steve: From Merthyr With Love on BBC One Wales and iPlayer on Friday, June 13 at 9pm.
