With her cutting wit and melodious accent Ruth Jones has long been a national treasure in her home nation - to the extent that she is affectionately nick-named 'the first lady of Wales'.

And the actress, 58 best known for her BAFTA-winning role as Nessa in Gavin and Stacey, has basked in that acclaim, previously saying: 'I'm a hugely proud Welsh person. I just love it, it's something very special being Welsh.'