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.’
So it will surprise many to discover a little known detail about Jones’ life away from acting: she lives much of it in another country entirely – and we don’t mean England.
In fact, the place she heads for to get away from it all is almost a thousand miles away from the South Wales coast and valleys which have shaped her.
MailOnline can reveal that Ruth has also developed a profound love for – the Scottish Highlands, where she enjoys a tranquil ‘second’ life in one of Britain’s remotest corners.
Tucked away on the north-west coast of the wilds of the Scottish Highlands, more than five hours north of Edinburgh, lies the pretty fishing village of Lochinver, which after her beloved South Wales is the place that Ruth has most come to love.
With a population of just 600, it is centred around just a handful of shops and restaurants – one of which she co-owns – and sits on a sheltered bay on the edge of Loch Inver, offering spectacular views of the 2,389 feet high Mount Suilven, considered one of Scotland’s finest.
What’s occurring? Despite being synonymous with Wales, Gavin & Stacey star Ruth Junes actually has another ‘secret’ life, living in the Highlands of Scotland where she spends time
Ruth, 58, who plays Nessa in Gavin & Stacey, has a house in south Wales – but from time to time gets away from it all and enjoys a tranquil ‘second’ life in one of Britain’s remotest corners
The BAFTA award winner and her husband David Peet own a seafood restaurant named Peet’s in the quiet village where from time to time Ruth even serves customers
Ruth and David (pictured) have been together for 26 years and the actress took on David’s three children from his previous marriage after they got together while working for BBC Wales
Dotted all around are sparking lochs, gushing freshwater rivers and waterfalls and stunning mountainous terrain with an array of wildlife that give this spectacular corner of the Highlands a surreal, magical air.
One of Lochinver’s most popular local eateries is Peet’s, and this is the one she heads to – as it is owned by Ruth’s husband David.
Ruth, on her frequent visits, is often spotted personally waiting tables: serving food and drinks.
The cosy restaurant overlooks the village’s tranquil harbour and offers some of the finest seafood in the area caught locally by trawlers bobbing on the water just yards away.
The couple also own a detached four-bedroom holiday home around two miles away which looks out onto a remote, windswept loch accessible by a winding narrow road that cuts through rugged hills and mountains so spectacular that they look as if they have been created as a film set.
Sheep and lambs meander across it, bringing the odd passing vehicle to a halt while the silence is only punctuated by the wind and the bleating of the animals and chirping of birds.
Both Ruth and David, who is 13 years her senior, are well known by everyone in Lochinver – with Ruth reportedly rarely leaving more than a few months between visits and gets up as often as her schedule allows.
The couple – who are hugely popular in the village of Lochinver opened Peet’s in 2014
When she is not rolling up her sleeves to help out in the restaurant, Ruth is regularly spotted nonchalantly walking around the village enjoying its breath-taking scenery, popping into its only convenience store or visiting a van parked by the village hall to buy fish and locally caught langoustines.
It is a world away from the showbiz glamour and glitzy award ceremonies she has become accustomed to – most recently in May when she fought back tears after picking up the Best Actress award at the BAFTAs for her role in the Gavin and Stacey finale last Christmas.
David McDonald, 51, who drives around the Highlands selling local seafood told MailOnline: ‘I supply fish to Peet’s, and Ruth has also come to my van to buy fish. I must admit that I’ve never watched Gavin and Stacey, but I know she’s very famous and can tell you what fish she likes.
‘It’s very quiet and beautiful around here and couldn’t be more different from Ruth’s celebrity life. She’s famous for her love of Wales but the Highlands are very dear to her too but not a lot of people know that.’
Georgia Riggins, 24 who works at Peet’s restaurant said: ‘Ruth has been known to do a couple of shifts in the restaurant when she’s up here and we’ve been told that she’s coming again in July. She’s not been coming as much recently but that’s because she’s probably busy with her work.
‘David comes up here more often. He’s a lovely man and great to work for. Everybody around here knows how famous Ruth is and when’s she’s working in the restaurant is happy to pose for selfies with the tourists. But the locals don’t bother her.’
David opened Peet’s in 2014 with the couple buying their stunning holiday home a year earlier for £240,000.
They have kept their interest in the area low-profile but David did once speak to a local newspaper to say: ‘We love it here and the people are lovely too. We have been coming here for many years.’
They married in 1999 after meeting when they both worked at BBC Wales. He has three children from a previous relationship and Ruth is also involved in their lives.
The couple also share a professional bond, co-writing Stella a popular Sky TV series set in the Rhondda Valley in which Ruth played the principal role of Stella, a single mother down on her luck.
The restaurant is permanently managed by a local man and David is said to visit more regularly than Ruth to check on the business, which in recent years has been booming with Peet’s fully booked on most nights in season mainly with tourists.
Ruth and David, who also originate from South Wales, have told locals that they developed a love for the Highlands during family holidays to the area as youngsters.
Sarah, who has lived in Lochinver all her life and knows them said: ‘Both Ruth and David came with their parents to Scotland for family holidays and that’s where their connection with the Highlands started.
David McDonald, 51, supplies local seafood to Peet’s said Ruth had come to his van to buy fish. He said: ‘I’ve never watched Gavin and Stacey, but I can tell you what fish she likes’
Sarah (left), who has lived in Lochinver all her life, said that Ruth and David bonded over their love for Scotland as their parents both took them for holidays as children. Georgia Riggins (right), who works at Peet’s, told MailOnline that Ruth and David are very popular in the village
David and Ruth are in their eleventh year of running their popular fish restaurant. They bought a holiday home in the village in 2013 and then purchased the eaterie the following year
During the summer months the showbiz couple’s restaurant is packed out with diners
A waitress at Peet’s said that David (left) is there at the restaurant in the remote Scottish Highlands more often than his actress wife Ruth, who has a busier work schedule
‘Being here probably reminds Ruth of her happy childhood and she loves it in Lochinver. There are also a lot of similarities between the Highlands and South Wales. Both have beautiful mountains and coastline and a strong cultural identity. That’s probably why this area has become like a second home to her although sadly, she’s not here as much.’
The couple’s holiday home, tucked away in the corner of a secluded bay with mountains looming overhead is made up of four bathrooms and two reception rooms with a garden that stretches to the water’s edge.
At one stage an extension they had built was being used to accommodate staff from the restaurant, but neighbours revealed that it now lies empty and is only used by Ruth and David when they visit.
Tom, who lives nearby said: ‘It’s a beautiful house but is empty most of the time apart from when they’re here. They don’t need to rent it out as a holiday let because they obviously don’t need the money. David has got a local man to pop in from time to time to keep an eye on it.
‘They’re a lovely couple, very friendly and Ruth is not big headed at all. She’s just a Welsh lass who loves the Highlands and that’s fine by us.’
Locals in Lochinver speak about life in the village in a way that would be unfathomable to most people in the UK. There are no concerns about crime, houses and cars are left unlocked, even overnight and the sedate pace of life means that neighbours have the time to look out for each other.
Hilary MacDonald, who runs a local gift shop said: ‘Ruth might have found something of a home here but regardless of if you are famous or not, what’s there not to like about this place? It’s incredibly safe and peaceful, is surrounded by some of the most beautiful countryside in the world and really is the perfect community.’
Despite Wales giving Scotland a run for its money when it comes to stunning mountain and coastal scenery, the couple’s life in the principality is more suburban than the wildness of their Scottish second home.
They bought their semi-detached mock Tudor semi overlooking leafy Roath Park in one of Cardiff’s most sought after suburbs shortly after marrying in 2001.
The couple paid £325,000 then but have seen the house’s estimated value rocket to well over £1m in the 24 years they’ve lived there.
Ruth and David’s jointly owned TV production company Proper Tidy Ltd is registered to the property.
Ruth’s life in the remote Scottish Highlands is a far cry from her role as Nessa in Gavin & Stacey, which she created with TV funnyman James Corden, who plays Smithy in the comedy
The TV comedy staring Ruth and Corden alongside Matthew Horne and Joanna Page had its grand finale last Christmas where Nessa and Smithy finally got together as millions tuned in
Diners at Ruth’s restaurant in Scotland sometimes get a shock when Nessa serves them food
Ruth has previously told how she loves the anonymity of living in the Penylan area of the Welsh capital where she can jog around the park and shop at her local Tesco without being bothered by fans.
But she and her husband have been around the area less frequently in recent years as Ruth juggles her writing and acting careers, as well as those trips to Scotland.
In the long-running show she’s best known for, her character Nessa is Stacey’s sassy and lugubrious best friend..
Ruth co-wrote the show with her close friend and co-star James Corden.
She is also a best-selling author and has a host of other TV credits to her name. But aside from this, Ruth has also won hearts for the way in which she has not let fame dilute her unique Welsh identity.
Born in Bridgend and raised in the seaside town of Porthcawl, South Wales, Ruth has chosen not to permanently relocate to London like many of the A listers she rubs shoulders with and lives in Cardiff with her husband David Peet, a producer and writer.
She has been involved in a number of Welsh culture projects and credits her popular comedy style and success to the ‘hilarious people of South Wales’ with whom she was brought up.
But it seems she has developed an affection almost as deep for a remote corner of Scotland.
