Interview: Ruth Jones and Steve Speirs on Merthyr, friendship and why being Welsh is so special

National treasure and BAFTA winner Ruth Jones is hitting the road with her good friend, actor and comedian Steve Speirs for a nostalgic weekend in Steve’s hometown of Merthyr Tydfil.

Once the ‘iron capital of the world’, Merthyr boasts a rich history – from pioneering the world’s first steam railway, to being home to the famous Hoover factory that produced the short lived Sinclair C5.

But this trip isn’t just about Merthyr’s history; Steve wants Ruth to experience his Merthyr – the places, moments, and memories that shaped him.

Across one unforgettable weekend, the pair visit some of Steve’s favourite places from his childhood, from one of Wales’ largest viaducts which he used to visit with his grandad, to the woods – described by Steve as the jewel in Merthyr’s crown – where he’d pick holly at Christmas with his dad, and the local bowls club in Troedyrhiw where Steve spent a lot of his youth.

They also tackle the tricky trails at Bike Park Wales, drive a steam train along Brecon Mountain Railway, get involved with post-match hotdogs at Merthyr RFC, and get glammed up in a local salon before heading out on a show-stopping karaoke night at Merthyr Labour Club.

After a weekend filled with laughter and reflection, will Ruth have fallen in love with the town that means so much to Steve? And will Steve feel Ruth is ready to be an honorary Merthyr girl?

Did you have fun making the programme?

R: I had the best time ever. It was just joyful. We filmed over four days to make it a weekend – I loved meeting all the people and enjoying everyone’s positivity. It was so life affirming. I loved it.

Ruth, what was your reaction when Steve rang up and you up and said would you like to come to Merthyr?

R: Well the thing is I’ve known Steve for years and I’ve known him as a Merthyr boy, a Troedyrhiw boy – but I’d never actually been with him to his home town. I knew how passionate he was about the place and the idea of spending a few days in his company, learning about the place that he loved – what wasn’t to like? I love being around Steve because he’s so funny and lovely. So I didn’t need a lot of persuading. All I really knew about Merthyr before was that my sister had worked there as a GP and she loved the sense of community there and how lovely the people were.

Steve, you were involved in the planning of this and some of these of places are really special to you?

S: I suppose that everybody’s Merthyr is slightly different. This show is specifically about my Merthyr. It was important to me to make it a personal journey about the Merthyr I grew up in, but also to make it about Merthyr now. I think that people have preconceptions about Merthyr from the past, and reputations that are not aligned with what’s vibrant about this place in the now. Merthyr constantly rediscovers itself.
I know I’m biased, but the drone shots from flying over Cefn viaduct and the aerial scenes of the hills and the valleys literally took my breath away. We probably take it for granted, but I thought “Wow! We live in a beautiful place”.

How much rehearsal went into the karaoke we see at the end of the programme?

R: Zip. Absolutely none. I mean, I knew it was the song we were going to sing, but we never actually practiced it once. You always think with these things that if you get plenty of warning (which we did) it would mean getting lots of rehearsal in, but that never happened because life got in the way. Having said that, it’s much more fun when it’s off the cuff.

S: The karaoke sequence was at the end of a long day, we’d been shooting in various locations and I think it’s fair to say that we were both tired. But the atmosphere in the room and the vibrancy and energy of the people really lifted me. That and a couple of large medicinal G&Ts. It really was a perfect sequence to end our show on.

R: Coming into Merthyr Labour Club, I said it in the film, but I thought it was going to be just a small little bar with an intimate little karaoke machine in a corner! But it was this massive room with a big stage.

What I loved about that night was that it was a really mixed crowd age-wise. Really young and not so young, all enjoying a night out together – it was such a beautiful sense of community.

S: It upsets me sometimes that Merthyr seems to be a place that’s consigned to the history books. Its massive role in the industrial revolution means that Merthyr is known because of its past… But Merthyr is about now, and here, and the future, and it’s brilliant.

What comes across in the film is your genuine friendship, tell us more about this

R: I knew of Steve… He’s obviously a lot older than me… (Haha, it’s two years’ difference, that’s all). He was in youth theatre before I was, so his reputation went before him a little bit. He was known as big Steph, that’s what they used to call him. And then we met, through Rob Brydon in fact – because Rob was a mutual friend – and we did this comedy pilot together back in the early 90s and have stayed friends ever since. So we’ve done a lot of things together, haven’t we? A lot of jobs, like Under Milkwood, Educating Rita and Stella of course, but we’ve also gone through a lot of life’s milestones together.

S: Of course we have worked together many, many times over the years. Sketch shows, The National Theatre, movies, and of course doing Stella together. But I think what’s been constant between us is our friendship outside of work. Ruth’s been to christenings of my children, my birthdays, my weddings, my divorces… I think that’s what has cemented us. Of course you can act a friendship in a written comedy or drama… but in this world of factual entertainment that we’ve entered into, when you are just being yourselves you can’t act it. What’s on the screen is what you see and is very real about us. And it’s what made it such a special job to do. 

R: What’s lovely is when we talk in the film about our dads… you met my dad a few times – and experienced his legendary gin and tonics!

S: Oh my God, Ruth’s father made the best gin and tonics. Fantastic.

R: We’ve got loads of connections, like my sister was in youth choir with your brother… and we’ve got loads of mutual friends. You were at the start of the creation of Stella – the first writers’ meeting… all of that. But I think we share a sense of humour, we do make each other laugh and so I’ve got to say, spending those four days with you was absolutely gorgeous. It didn’t feel like work at all. I mean going to Sparkles! What fun did we have that night.

S: What’s wonderful about that night is that we went from the youngest club in the town to the oldest and it shows that Merthyr is about lots of different people. And everyone is accepted. There’s only one thing you can’t be in Merthyr and that’s someone who thinks you’re somehow special or above it. And we’ll let you know that pretty quick.

You both mentioned the National Youth Theatre of Wales, you were there at different times, but you also both mentioned you couldn’t see yourself making a career out of acting, did the Youth Theatre help you grow?

R: I think we’ve been very lucky to have had the influence and the guidance of people like drama teachers and youth theatre directors etc over the years. My old drama teacher Roger Burnell has encouraged hundreds of young people into the industry both on and off stage, behind and in front of the camera. He set up It’s My Shout which has given so many people the opportunity to make careers in TV, film and on stage. And I don’t want to get political about it, but youth drama courses like the one me and Steve both went on in Ogmore in the 80s (a week long drama course for kids in Mid Glamorgan back then), to my knowledge don’t exist anymore – I think the Ogmore Centre has even been knocked down now hasn’t it? There used to be music courses and choir courses and they’re so helpful to young people and that’s where the funding gets cut. The arts. Like as if the arts aren’t as important as science. But what happens if we don’t have musicians anymore? Who’s going to make the music? There are now fundraisers done (my brother Mark did one) just to buy musical instruments for kids in school because of the cuts. It’s the same with drama. What people don’t realise is that drama isn’t just about being in the school show, or auditioning for drama school – it’s not just about on stage or in front of a TV camera. Drama is so helpful to kids that find it difficult to communicate, to give them confidence. Steve and I were so lucky to have had the opportunities with youth theatre – both in Mid Glam and the National Youth.

S: When I was in school, we had two or three choirs, there was a brass band and we would do plays every year. The arts were very important. And education should not just be about from the neck up. The driver of the steam train at Brecon Mountain Railway has been driving trains since he was 10 years old… He’s had a lifetime in the education of a really specialised field and doing something fantastic with his life.

There’s a lovely bit in the film where you’re in the bowls club where you both talk about being great observers of people and watching characteristics of people. How does that feed into your work?

R: I always say, everyone is interesting. Everyone has a story to tell. Like Steve, I just really enjoy people watching, or listening to the way people talk. And it’s funny actually because when we were filming this, we both said – because obviously we worked together before, we co-wrote episodes of Stella – that we got quite creative talking about characters and about the people that you meet and the inspiration that you get from the people around you, and it did make us think about writing together again.

S: Which we are going to do, at some point…

How does the writing process work between you?

R: Obviously I write a lot with James Corden and we have a different way of working together than me and Steve. I don’t know if it’s because we have the same Welsh thing going on and we share that and both of us being actors we tend to sort of improvise. We act out who the characters are and what they’d say, what they’d do. And I know what’s going to make you laugh, Steve.

S: I think that humour is pretty universal in a fundamental way. It’s about the detail. As soon as somebody sees something that they recognise, they emphasise with it and then they’re part of it. Laughing is a shared experience.

R: But I think it’s also a thing about being Welsh – we are a very melodramatic people! And we can be incredibly passionate and reactive but also we can be very down to earth seconds later.

Ruth, it’s fair to say you’re an honorary Merthyr girl now. What do you take away from this experience? 

R: I am indeed an honorary Merthyr girl. I think it’s what I said in the film really, I just loved the people that I met. I loved the positivity. I loved the scenery. I just didn’t know that it was such beautiful place. There was something really special about finding out more about a friend who I’ve known for 34 years, but not really knowing about his life before we met. That for me was really special. And I’m so grateful for the welcome that I was given here. I’ve just had the best time. It didn’t feel like work, it was joyous.

Ruth and Steve: From Merthyr With Love (1 x 60) is part of a collection of programmes and content commissioned by BBC Cymru Wales to celebrate the history, the culture, and the people of Merthyr as the town marks 200 years of Cyfarthfa Castle.

The programme is produced by ITV Cymru Wales and has been commissioned by Nick Andrews, head of commissioning for BBC Cymru Wales. The commissioners for BBC Cymru Wales are Sorelle Neil and Julian Carey. The executive producer is Jonathan Hill, and the producer and director is Matthew Tune.

Watch Ruth and Steve: From Merthyr With Love on BBC One Wales and iPlayer on Friday 13 June at 9pm.