A prisoner sent me a fan letter offering to help me exercise! EXCLUSIVE GAVIN & STACEY STAR RUTH JONES.

Byline: BY ALUN PALMER

IT's taken a long time for Ruth Jones to become an overnight success and get her first taste of red carpet fame.

The co-creator and star of surprise hit sitcom Gavin & Stacey is up for a Bafta tomorrow.

But in fact she's been around long enough on our TV screens, with parts in Fat Friends, Saxondale and Nighty Night, to earn her stripes.

Now the 41-year-old Welsh actress has legions of fans thanks to her role as Nessa, the feisty trucker in Barry, South Wales.

Ruth says: "It's a bit weird when you have people shouting your name.

"I feel self-conscious about these situations but once I am inside the awards on Sunday, hopefully it will be all right. It's nice to have some glamour in your life."

In an exclusive interview with the Daily Mirror, Ruth also has a confession to make about her choice of dress for the glittering awards bash in London.

She says: "I'm a bit worried because I'm wearing the same blue dress I wore to the comedy awards. But as it wasn't televised, I'm hoping nobody will notice.

"Or maybe someone will and they'll go, 'Aaaahhh, that's really sad'.

"It's a blue satin dress a friend of mine had designed for me. I had it specially made so it has got to have two airings to get its money's worth, hasn't it?"

(Sorry, Ruth, we've tracked down a photo of you winning a British Comedy Award last year and we just had to print it - see right).

The gentle comedy about an Essex lad Gavin falling for a Welsh girl Stacey has been a big success for BBC3.

The second series, which ends tomorrow with Ruth's character Nessa giving birth to Smithy's baby, has seen ratings soar past the two million mark.

Ruth is slightly stunned by how things have changed.

She says: "People say it's my big break but I'm 41 and for the last 10 years it's been getting better and better."

The actress has worked solidly for the last decade but always in supporting roles, most famously as lesbian barmaid Myfanwy alongside Dafydd - Matt Lucas' "only gay in the village".

Now she is also set for primetime success as Tess's mum in the forthcoming period drama Tess of the D'Urbervilles from the makers of Cranford.

While Ruth is up for a Bafta for programme of the year, her cuddly co-writer and co-star James Corden, who plays Smithy, is up for best comedy performance. And she hopes they'll do the double.

She says: "I really want James to win because I think he's a comedy genius and he really deserves to win. We've had such a great response from people I would be over the moon if we won.

"It's been absolutely phenomenal.

After the first series not many people had seen it. Then when the second series came out, it went up to 1.3 million and was second highest comedy after Little Britain in the ratings.

"Then it seemed everyone had seen it - even black cabbies mentioned it!"

Ruth's long and varied career means she's always had her fair share of fan mail. She says: "I once got a letter from a guy who was in prison when I was in Fat Friends and my character was on an exercise regime.

"He said he would be happy to help me with some exercise routines when he was home on leave from his open prison!"

Now with her latest success, Ruth's seen her fan mail quota go through the roof. She says: "The amount of fan letters I get has gone up. And my sister told me that there's a Gavin & Stacey appreciation group on Facebook - it has 45,000 members!"

Born in Bridgend, Ruth was the youngest of four children and was brought up in Porthcawl in the 70s. Her mother, Hannah was a doctor (her sister later followed her into the profession) and father, Richard, was a businessman.

The comedy genius first discovered her passion and talent for acting when she played Eliza Doolittle in My Fair Lady at her south Wales comprehensive.

"Ruth had the audience in the palm of her hand," recalls Roger Burnell, 57, her former drama teacher at Porthcawl Comprehensive. "She brought a very special gift to every performance.

"And she was incredibly versatile. She could do both serious and comedy roles.

I'm delighted she's being recognised as the wonderful all-round talent that she is."

After studying drama at Warwick University, Ruth snapped up theatre roles. But when the work dried up, she considered quitting.

She says: "I was living in London and after the first play I was expecting it all to fall into my lap - but it didn't.

"I had to start temping in London so I thought I would move back to Wales and become a solicitor.

"But I had written to a panto producer in Cardiff looking for work and he rang me up and asked if I would be assistant stage manager and a ninja turtle in a panto - so I did. It's all been uphill from then," she laughs.

Now Ruth lives with the "joy of her life" and husband of almost eight years David Peet, and his three children from a previous relationship, Fiona, 24, Louise, 22, and son Alex, 20.

Ruth and David, a self-development counsellor, live in an exclusive area of Cardiff just 30 miles from her seaside home town. The actress has no plans to move to London to be nearer the showbiz world. She says: "I love Cardiff - it's a great place to live. I go to London twice a week so I get the best of both worlds really."

There is one other couple who have been surprised by the success of Gavin & Stacey - the real-life inspiration for the show.

"There really is a Gavin and Stacey," Ruth reveals. "James has a friend who met his wife through talking on the phone at work and they ended up getting married. It was such a sweet thing and the idea took off from there."

Tomorrow night Ruth may triumph at the Baftas. But on Monday, back at her Cardiff home, her designer dress will be packed away for her next glam night out.

Are you the real Gavin & Stacey? Email [e-mail] or ring 020 7293 3743.

Nessa's Welsh wit

"What's occurrin'?"

"I just can't believe I'm pregnant by Smithy... out of all the people I slept with... not Nigel Havers, John Prescott... not any of Goldie Lookin' Chain!"

Stacey: "You need your toothbrush." Nessa: "I won't, I got tic tacs."

"By the way, Gwen, happy belated birthday... but since I owed you for that Chinese it's not really a present but times is hard, I won't lie to you. Plus I got a baby on the way."

"The roads have been kind, I won't lie to you. The M25 can be a cruel mistress but she's been good today."

On Dodi Fayed: "Cracking little fellow, used to take me to the football every Saturday. Haven't heard a peep from him in years, and I mean years."

CAPTION(S):

COMEDY DUO Ruth and James as Nessa and Smithy; Look out for this tomorrow DOUBLE TAKE In that dress at Comedy awards; VALLEY GIRL Cardiff-based Ruth is stunned by her success Picture: PETER ROSENBAUM/SCOPE; Her long road to overnight success GIFTED Age 15 at school; FAT FRIENDS As Kelly in 2000; NIGHTY NIGHT As Kelly with Kitty Fitzgerald, 2004; SAXONDALE With Steve Coogan 2006; LITTLE BRITAIN As Myfanwy with Dafydd (Matt Lucas), 2006