David Peet: Ruth Jones Husband, His Job And Their Love Story
Ruth Jones, star of the co-writer of award-winning Gavin and Stacey with James Corden, met David Peet in the nineties and fell head over heels. The only problem? He was happily married with three children.
Opting to remain largely outside of the public eye, the couple leave us intrigued as to who they are behind the scenes and how their love story came to be.
The Welsh actress rarely opens up about her personal life, so just what do we know about her husband, David Peet? Here is everything you need to know about their love story, his job and their life together.
How Did They Meet?
Ruth and David met nearly twenty years ago. At the time, he was married to someone else with whom he had three children.
Image Source/Daily Record
Ruth and David met when they both filming the pilot episode of a BBC comedy pilot. The stars aligned for the couple and David later split from his wife to start a relationship, living happily with Ruth ever since.
In 2018, Ruth promoted her novel called Never Greener and the actress admitted to her and David having an affair when their relationship began.
She confessed in an interview that her husband was married when they first met therefore there was an overlap between them dating and him splitting up with his wife. She admitted to having an affair in that sense.
Ruth’s novel chases the story of an actress who has an affair with a married man, however, she insists the book is not based on her life.
She said:
“Of course you have to ask. But my imagination is quite ferocious, in that I can imagine the worst possible scenarios.
“Affairs cause a lot of pain, they’re not something one aspires to do. You don’t aspire to cause pain to people in their life.”
How Old Is Ruth Jones And Who Are Her Family?
Ruth and David married in 1999. Ruth Jones is now 53 years old and her and David now live in Cardiff with David’s three children, Fiona who is 35, Louise who is 33 and Alex who is 31.
Image Source/Daily Feed
Ruth once wrote:
“My family are the people I know best in the world and they can always make me laugh.
Although she doesn’t manage to see them as much as she would like, Ruth praises technology and Whatsapp for helping them stay in touch and praises her family for always recharging her batteries.
She has spoken about how much she has enjoyed her parental role joking how she had experienced:
“all the joy of motherhood without the pain of childbirth”.
What Is David Peet’s Job?
David is a writer, producer and executive producer, best known for co-creating the British comedy-drama Stella. The other creator? Wife, Ruth.
The series centres around family with mum, Stella, played by Ruth Jones, attempting to juggle the drama and demands of love and life, airing in 2012, originally on Sky 1. The last episode ran in 2017 with a Christmas Special airing on the 23 December.
The series was nominated for a Broadcasting Press Guild Award in 2013.
Executive Producer On Gavin & Stacey Special
2019 saw the return of the beloved sitcom Gavin & Stacey to our television screens after nine years of silence.
The one-off episode saw the return of the original cast, even Neil the baby – now, definitely all grown up. Despite not working on the original series, David Peet joined the team for the Christmas Special.
With the excitement surrounding the comeback universally felt, the stakes were high. Naturally, the episode did not disappoint. In fact, the episode was so impressive and impactful, it won an award at the 2020 NTA’s without even being nominated for one.
While it was was not eligible for the NTA shortlist for this year, it took home a Landmark award presented by Olly Murs and Tom Jones to which Ruth accepted the award solo, greeting Olly with the quip ‘”oi…what’s o-Murr-in’?”. Her co-writer, James Corden was tied up in America but Rob Brydon, Joanna Page and Larry Lamb looked on from the audience.
18.5 million viewers watched the episode, making it the most watched show of 2019. Much to the heartbreak of viewers, news of another series is yet to be announced but after the cliffhanger, everyone is still holding out hope.
Tidy Productions
In 2008, David Peet co-founded Tidy productions with Ruth Jones. A name many of us will associate with Ruth’s character Nessa in Gavin & Stacey.
Together, the two produced the Ruth Jones’ Sunday Brunch which Ruth presented on BBC Radio Wales in 2008-2009.
The company also made two 90-minute dramas for S4C as well as light-entertainment shows for BBC Wales.
It was also Tidy Productions which made the 58 episodes of Stella. When the series came out in 2012, it was Ruth’s first major hit since Gavin & Stacey.
Alongside her husband, she executive produced the comedy series. Not only that, Jones starred in the title role and write several of the episodes.
When speaking about the show, the actress admitted that she had fears about the comparisons people might draw between the two comedy hits as they were both set in Wales. The company had originally planned to set the comedy in Bristol, however, the decision was made to set it in the Rhondda Valley.
Ruth said of the decision:
“I know people from the Valleys and it is just a joyously colourful place and full of characters.“
In January 2018, Ruth Jones accepted the role of Mandy Haveez in the radio series Splott. The series was written by David Peet and made by Tidy Productions.
Who Is His Wife Ruth Jones?
Ruth Jones is a Welsh actress, screenwriter and novelist who trained at the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama for and has degree in Theatre Studies and Dramatic Arts from the University of Warwick.
Image Source/University of Warwick
The actress, born in South Wales, lived in Porthcawl where she attended Porthcawl Comprehensive School; incidentally, the same school that Rob Brydon attended.
She landed her first acting role in 1989 playing Countess Almaviva in Dominic Cookes adaptation of The Marriage of Figaro yet difficulty came after the tour finished as Ruth found it difficult to land any acting work.
To fill the time, she worked as a clerical assistant in the Education Contracts dept of Kensington and Chelsea Borough Council. She even considered giving up acting to become a solicitor.
Then, luckily, in 1990, Stan Stennet, comedian and pantomime producer, offered her a role moving scenery and playing a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle in Dick Whittington
How Much Is Ruth Jones Worth?
Starting off her career, Jones worked in TV and radio comedy for BBC Wales and in 1999, she starred in the British film East is East before, of course, going on to Fat Friends, Gavin & Stacey and Stella.
Ruth Jones’ estimated net worth in 2019 was between $1 million – $5 million, with the main source of her income coming from acting.
Meanwhile, co-creator of Gavin and Stacey, James Corden’s net worth is currently worth around $12 million after finding success in America. Playing the role of Stacey, Joanna Page is worth approximately over $1 million, now living in South London.
Ruth Behind The Scenes
In an interview with The Guardian, we got to know a bit more about Ruth behind the scenes.
She described her most embarrassing moment as:
“Meeting Simon Callow at a party and congratulating him on his performance in a film called Peter’s Friends. He wasn’t in it. I’d mistaken him for Stephen Fry.”
Then, when asked how she would like to be remembered, she joked:
“As an accomplished dancer and tennis player, because I do neither, so my loved ones would be very confused.”
How Did James Corden Meet Ruth Jones?
Ruth Jones met James Corden when they were both acting in the ITV comedy Fat Friends.
Together, they started developing Gavin & Stacey based on James’ friend Gavin who met his wife over the phone at work and although the pair originally pitched the concept as just a one-off play due to be called It’s My Day, however, BBC requested it to be turned into a series – much to the appreciation of the general public.
Image Source/Instagram
Speaking of their relationship, Ruth said that although they can argue, she is proud of their relationship. She said:
“We have very brotherly sisterly relationship but our friendship at the heart of it is so strong.”
James married Julia Carey, who he met through Dominic Cooper; his co-star on The History Boys. James married Julia back in 2012 and the couple now have three children together.
Whilst James’ life has taken an alternative route, living large in America, Ruth has previously admitted that she has little lust for that life. Ruth has expressed wishing she had an appetite for America, she also admits it must be hard trying and failing. For now, she is perfectly content shopping at her local supermarket in Wales.
