Gavin and Stacey star announces separation from partner after more than 25 years
A Gavin and Stacey icon has announced they have ended their marriage with their partner.
Ruth Jones, known for her role as Nessa on the popular BBC show, has said she and her producer husband David Peet have legally separated.
Jones, who co-created Gavin and Stacey with friend James Corden, married in 1999.
Despite the split, they "remain good friends", the couple said in a statement.
Ruth Jones played Nessa in Gavin and Stacey (Image: Ian West/PA Wire)
The couple told the PA news agency: 'We amicably went our separate ways 18 months ago and are now legally separated. We remain good friends.
'Since our separation, Ruth is living in London and David is living in Canada, where he is in a new relationship.'
Jones married Peet, a television and radio producer, in 1999.
She is a stepmother to three children from his previous marriage.
The Mirror reported that the pair met when she was working on a BBC Radio Wales series.
Ruth Jones rose to fame as the co-writer and star of Gavin and Stacey.
The BBC sitcom first aired in 2007 and tells the story of two families from Billericay in Essex and Barry in the Vale of Glamorgan, Wales.
Jones played Vanessa 'Nessa' Jenkins in three series and three Christmas specials.
The show's finale episode, which aired on Christmas Day last year, saw Jones's character Nessa marry Neil 'Smithy' Smith, played by fellow co-writer and close friend James Corden.
At this year's TV Baftas, Jones won the best female performance in a comedy for her role in Gavin and Stacey.
Jones has also appeared in ITV drama Fat Friends, BBC sketch show Little Britain, BBC sitcom Saxondale, and BBC black comedy Nighty Night.
Other roles include playing Carry On star Hattie Jacques in a BBC biopic.
In 2014, Jones was made a Member Of The Order Of The British Empire (MBE) in the New Year Honours for her services to entertainment.
It was recently revealed that Jones has landed a role in a new BBC Drama series, which is currently being filmed in Wales.
Jones will play Mrs Bennet in an adaptation of Janice Hadlow's novel The Other Bennet Sister for BBC One and BBC iPlayer.
She will be joined in the series by the likes of Richard E. Grant (Saltburn, Star Wars: Episode IX - The Rise of Skywalker, Loki), Indira Varma (Obi-Wan Kenobi, Luther, The Night Manager) and Ella Bruccoleri (Call the Midwife, Bridgerton).
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Filming for the 10-part series is already underway.
Director of BBC Drama, Lindsay Salt, said: "It's a joy to see cameras rolling on our vibrant, witty and clever new take on Jane Austen's beloved world.
"With a pitch perfect cast led by Ella, Ruth and Richard, The Other Bennet Sister will be an irresistible treat for viewers when it launches on the BBC next year."
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