#stevespeirs — Public Fediverse posts
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RUTH JONES: Cameras roll on new BBC comedy ‘Better Later’ — 35 years after star first met her co-writer
Filming has begun on a warm new BBC comedy co-written by and starring Porthcawl-raised Ruth Jones and her long-time friend Steve Speirs — a project Jones says has been “35 years in the making”.
The six-part series, Better Later, follows two strangers who strike up an unlikely friendship after meeting at a knee trauma clinic, and is being filmed across South Wales, including in the Bannau Brycheiniog, also known as the Brecon Beacons.
It is set in a fictional Welsh village called Brynfach.
Jones — born in Bridgend and raised in Porthcawl — plays Shelley Anne, a 55-year-old environmental health officer going through a bitter divorce.
Speirs plays Clive, a 60-year-old retired teacher adjusting to life after being widowed.
The pair first announced the comedy last autumn, and with cameras now rolling, the production has moved from script to screen.
Jones said the show had been a long time coming. “In a funny way this show has been 35 years in the making, which is when I first met Steve,” she said.
“It’s not that we’re slow writers, it’s just that we’ve been up to other things. It’s fantastic to be back in front of the camera with him again.”
Speirs joked that the reunion could test his composure on set. “Our first time acting together for quite a long time, Ruth makes me laugh more than anyone and I’m a terrible giggler,” he said. “This could be a long shoot.”
It is not the first time the two friends have worked together recently. Last year they returned to Jones’s Porthcawl roots for a nostalgic BBC programme marking the seaside town’s 200th anniversary, revisiting childhood haunts and sharing unseen home movies.
Jones is best known for co-creating and starring as Nessa in the hit comedy Gavin & Stacey, much of which was filmed in Barry. Speirs is known for the south Wales family sitcom The Tuckers.
The two also previously wrote and starred together in Stella, the comedy-drama set in a fictional valleys town, which ran from 2012 to 2017.
The new series is made by Tidy Productions in association with BBC Studios Comedy, and was commissioned by BBC Cymru Wales and BBC Comedy with support from Creative Wales.
It will run to six half-hour episodes, and is being made for BBC iPlayer, BBC One and BBC One Wales.
A transmission date for Better Later has not yet been announced.
Related stories from Swansea Bay News
Ruth Jones and Steve Speirs reunite for new BBC Wales comedy
The pair first announced the six-part series last autumn.Ruth Jones returns to her Porthcawl roots with Steve Speirs
The friends revisited the seaside town for a special marking its 200th anniversary.Ruth Jones honoured for lifetime achievement at Welsh TV awards
#BBC #BetterLater #GavinStacey #Porthcawl #RuthJones #SteveSpeirs
The Porthcawl-raised star received the RTS Cymru Special Award earlier this year. -
Port Talbot actress wins drama prize as Gavin and Stacey star takes lifetime achievement honour at Welsh TV awards
Gabrielle Creevy, the Port Talbot actress best known for her BAFTA-winning role in BBC Three’s In My Skin, has won the Drama Performance Award at the RTS Cymru Wales Awards 2026 — as Ruth Jones received the night’s top honour for her lifetime contribution to Welsh television.
Creevy, who grew up in a council flat in Port Talbot and trained at the Mark Jermin Stage School in Cardiff, won for her performance in The Guest, a BBC One Wales drama produced by Quay Street. The award adds to a growing list of recognitions for one of Wales’ most compelling screen talents — she won the BAFTA Cymru Best Actress award in 2019 for In My Skin, and is now building an international profile with further productions in the pipeline, including Amadeus, currently in post-production.
Gabrielle Creevy as Ria in BBC Thriller – The Guest (Image: BBC)The evening’s top honour went to Ruth Jones, who received the RTS Cymru Special Award for Lifetime Achievement in recognition of her exceptional contribution to Welsh television and the wider creative industries. Born in Bridgend and raised in Porthcawl, Jones trained at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama in Cardiff — the same venue that hosted Friday’s ceremony — before becoming one of the most celebrated writers and performers in Welsh screen history.
The lifetime achievement honour caps an extraordinary run of recognition for Jones. She won the BAFTA for Best Female Comedy Performance in 2025 for her role as Nessa in Gavin and Stacey, and received the First Minister’s Special Award at the St David Awards in March 2025. The RTS honour acknowledges not just Gavin and Stacey but the full breadth of her career as a writer, performer and producer — from Stella to her three published novels.
It was also a night of double celebration for Jones in another sense. Her BBC Wales comedy Ruth and Steve, made with longtime collaborator Steve Speirs and rooted in her connections to Porthcawl, won the Factual Entertainment Award on the same night she received her lifetime honour.
The ceremony, held at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama in Cardiff and co-hosted by Jennifer Jones and Leroy Brito, was supported by the Welsh Government through Creative Wales. S4C dominated the night overall, picking up seven awards across a wide range of categories.
Seren Jones was named Presenter of the Year at the RTS Wales Awards 2026
(Image: S4C/Andrew Pirtchard)Seren Jones was named Presenter of the Year for her S4C documentary Seren Jones: Yn Fyw yn y Dŵr — a Rondo production exploring why so few Black and Asian people swim, available on S4C Clic and BBC iPlayer. Malen Meredydd won the Rising Star Award for her work as casting producer on S4C game show Y Deis, a Slam Media production that brings pairs of contestants from across Wales together.
The Factual Documentary Award went to Y Crwydryn — a Docshed production for S4C that follows country singer Wil Tân on a journey across Wales as he confronts love, loss and mortality. The News and Current Affairs (Series) Award went to ITV Cymru Wales for The Hospice: Caring to the End, while the News and Current Affairs (Item) Award went to Newyddion S4C for BBC Cymru Wales’ coverage of Bangor Cathedral.
The Comedy Award went to The Change — an Expectation TV production for Channel 4 — while the Children’s Award went to Dreigiau Cadi – Y Briodas, produced by Yellow Barrels for S4C. The Live Event Award went to Y Sioe 2025, a Boom/Slam production for S4C, and the Digital Original Award went to Beth yw Pwynt yr Eisteddfod?, produced by Cwmni Da for S4C.
A Special Recognition award was presented to Iris Prize, marking 20 years of the Cardiff-based international LGBTQ+ film festival. Student awards were also presented to outstanding graduates from the University of South Wales, Bangor University, Coleg y Cymoedd, Cardiff Metropolitan University and Screen Alliance Wales.
Related stories from Swansea Bay News
Ruth Jones and Steve Speirs reunite for new BBC Wales comedy
The pair came together for Ruth and Steve — which also won a prize at the RTS Awards.Ruth Jones returns to her Porthcawl roots with Steve Speirs for new BBC Cymru Wales special
How the production drew on Jones’s deep connections to South Wales.Gavin and Stacey star Ruth Jones gets a tidy welcome at the St David Awards
Ruth Jones was also celebrated at this year’s St David Awards.Ruth Jones says getting honorary doctorate from Open University was ‘tidy, lush and crackin’‘
#GabrielleCreevy #GavinAndStacey #RoyalTelevisionSociety #RTSCymruWalesAwards #RuthJones #SteveSpeirs #tv
More recent recognition for one of Wales’ most celebrated creative figures. -
Hendy BAFTA winner calls for Tourette’s understanding after BBC apology over racist slur broadcast
Lauren Evans, who won the Best Casting BAFTA for her work on the film ‘I Swear’, said her incredible achievement has been “overshadowed” by the controversy. The incident occurred when John Davidson, the Tourette’s campaigner whose life the film is based on, had an involuntary tic that included a racist slur while two black actors were on stage.
The BBC has since admitted it aired the slur in error and that a second slur was edited out of the coverage. In an email to staff, the corporation’s chief content officer Kate Phillips apologised for the failure.
Speaking to BBC Radio Wales, Ms Evans said the situation was “really upsetting” for everyone involved.
“It’s really upsetting I feel for for John and Michael B Jordan and Delroy Lindo that the whole evening has sort of been overshadowed by this conversation,” she said. “There must be more education and more understanding about the base-guarding of things like this, and the tics and the language and what comes out.”
Her comments highlight the complexities of Tourette syndrome, a condition where only a small percentage of sufferers, between 10% and 30%, experience tics that involve swearing or socially unacceptable language.
Viral Acceptance Speech
Ms Evans’ viral acceptance speech, in which she declared she had no speech prepared and that her kids “will not give a damn” about her win tomorrow, was celebrated as a refreshingly honest moment. However, the subsequent controversy has shifted the focus from her success and that of the film, which also saw its lead actor Robert Aramayo win a BAFTA.
Llanelli MS Lee Waters had praised her win on social media, calling it “the most Hendy ever acceptance speech.”
New BBC Comedy Project
Despite the controversy, Ms Evans is already working on her next project – casting for an upcoming BBC comedy series starring Welsh favourites Ruth Jones and Steve Speirs. She is currently looking to cast a nine-year-old boy with a Merthyr Tydfil accent to play Speirs’ grandson.
Her win was for her work on ‘I Swear’, a film about the life of Scottish campaigner John Davidson. She told the BBC that casting the role was a “unique” process that required looking beyond acting skills to find someone with the right commitment and tenacity for the low-budget film.
Ms Evans, whose impressive CV includes casting for Netflix‘s ‘Sex Education’, ‘Gavin & Stacey’, and ‘Paddington 2’, said she felt “privileged” to work on projects that “make a difference and prompt a discussion.”
Related stories from Swansea Bay News
Llanelli teen invited to Parliament after years of agony from invisible illness
A young woman’s long fight for answers finally reaches Westminster.Hendy BAFTA winner calls for Tourette’s understanding after BBC apology
A powerful plea for respect after a broadcast sparks outrage.Swansea favourite Kev Johns recovering after minor stroke
Much‑loved entertainer thanks supporters as he begins his recovery.Carmarthenshire mum says Guide Dogs support was a lifeline
A family shares how early help transformed life after their baby’s diagnosis.More health stories
#BAFTA #BBC #casting #FilmTV #Hendy #ISwear #LaurenEvans #LeeWatersMS #Llanelli #Netflix #RuthJones #SteveSpeirs #TouretteSyndrome
The latest updates on health, care and wellbeing across our region. -
‘Gavin & Stacey’ Co-Creator Ruth Jones Sets BBC Comedy About Middle-Aged Relationships
#News #RuthJones #SteveSpeirshttps://deadline.com/2025/10/gavin-and-stacey-ruth-jones-new-bbc-comedy-1236571970/
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‘Gavin & Stacey’ Co-Creator Ruth Jones Sets BBC Comedy About Middle-Aged Relationships
#News #RuthJones #SteveSpeirshttps://deadline.com/2025/10/gavin-and-stacey-ruth-jones-new-bbc-comedy-1236571970/