Gavin and Stacey star Ruth Jones wonders if Nessa will just 'fade away' after Christmas finale

Ruth Jones has wondered if her 'Gavin and Stacey' character will "fade away" after the upcoming finale.

The 58-year-old actress created and played the role of Nessa Jenkins on the hit BBC comedy and has reprised the role on a number of occasions outside of the show but has wondered what will happen to her after the final ever episode has aired on Christmas Day.

She told The Sunday Times: "It’s funny, really, because she’s never gone away for me. I did a charity night for the RNLI in 2016 as Nessa. At the end Rob Brydon and I sang Islands in the Stream together.

"Do you know what was beautiful about it? It was at the Grand Pavilion in Porthcawl, which is where Rob and I used to do our school shows. It’s always useful to channel my inner Nessa when I need to. It’ll be interesting to see whether she fades away after the finale. But she’s a great character. I love her."

Ruth recently appeared as her alter-ego on the final of 'Strictly Come Dancing', where she read out the voting terms and conditions for hosts Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman.

Prior to finding mainstream success with 'Gavin and Stacey' in 2007, Ruth played Kelly Chadwick in Kay Mellor's 'Fat Friends', where she met and struck up a writing partnership with James Corden.

But she recalled that her very first performance was in the Nativity at school and knew then that she "loved performing" although she is still not sure why.

She said: "It was the Nativity. I was an angel who had to kneel next to the crib for the duration of the performance. I remember thinking that the stage was such a marvellous place to be, even though I didn’t say anything. I just loved performing. I can’t put my finger on why. There’s something about that exchange between the audience and a performer: it’s like making a really nice meal."