Stella's Ruth Jones: 'I was very self-conscious in the underwear!'

TV & Satellite Week gets the gossip from Ruth Jones on the lush Stella Christmas special (Sky1, Monday, Dec 22)...

So just how festive will this Christmas special be?

"When Sky asked for it, they said, 'You cannot be too Christmassy.' So David (Peet – Ruth’s husband and Stella producer) and I wrote it this time last year and it’s oozing Christmasness."

Stella and her new boyfriend, Michael, are forced to spend the holidays apart. We hope he bought her something nice to make up for it…

"Michael’s bought Stella sexy underwear and wants to see her in it (over Skype). Things get a little bit heated between them and then his mother walks in and sees him. Michael’s caught with his pants down, which is a nice comedy sex moment. But it’s all very tastefully done. I was very self-conscious in the underwear."

You filmed some of the scenes in your hometown, didn’t you?

"We filmed the panto in my hometown of Porthcawl, on the stage where I did all my school plays with Rob Brydon in the old days. That was really lovely, especially when my parents invited all the cast over for gin and tonics."

Congratulations on the MBE you received earlier this year. What was that like?

"The Queen asked me, 'Tell me what happened on the fishing trip in Gavin & Stacey!' Seriously it was a really special day."