Gavin and Stacey Christmas special leak was mean, says Ruth Jones

Jones said she was initially unsure about taking on the role of Mother Superior in Sister Act.

“I turned it down initially because I just thought, ‘oh that’s not me’. And when I think about the people who played Mother Superior before, Sheila Hancock, Maggie Smith… it’s a very specific performance.

“I just thought, well everybody’s English and quite RP (received pronunciation), and I just didn’t feel it was me, so I didn’t really automatically think I was ideal casting for it.

“But they were so open to me interpreting it in my own way. I said, ‘can I do it Welsh?'”

Jones said she drew inspiration from the many links between Wales and Pennsylvania, the USA state where Sister Act is set.

“My Mother Superior, she moved to Philadelphia 30 years ago, but she’s still got her [Welsh] accent,” said Jones.

“I end up putting my feet up on the desk… and you’ll see that I’m wearing a pair of Welsh flag socks, which often gets a cheer from the Welsh contingent in the audience!”