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Ruth Jones: What's occurring is a lot of nerves, because I'm completely out of my comfort zone. I've been up before to be on the panel and I've always avoided it. It's quite a scary thing, even people I've told I'm doing it have gone "oh my God!", so I'm really scared doing it. I might forget who the Prime Minister is... mind you, the Prime Minister might have changed by then. So yeah, I am quite scared, but kind of excited as well.

HIGNFY: If Paul and Ian were to write a sitcom together what would it be about?Ìý

Ruth Jones: I think Ian was born in Swansea so I was just thinking: Gavin and Stacey is this sweet love story between a girl from South Wales and a boy from the London area, so maybe they could do their take on a boy from South Wales and a girl from London.

Or it could be a boy and a boy maybe, a sweet story between those two friends. Or maybe it would be a love story. They say to write about what you know, so it would be nice to see a fictional Ian Hislop and a fictional Paul Merton living together. What do they talk about over their cocoa at night? The minutiae of their lives would be very interesting.

HIGNFY: Tell us about the G20 Ladies Dinner Night - what was your highlight?

Ruth Jones: I think probably the Bakewell tart that Jamie Oliver cooked - it was really fabulous. I did have a fantastic night, I must say, meeting people like JK Rowling. Sarah Brown and Maggie Darling were so lovely - they just seemed like they'd be a really good laugh.

It was just a lovely warm evening, and when Michelle Obama came in it was like a new popular girl at school and everybody was trying to be her friend. It was quite funny watching everybody sidling up to her and just introducing themselves.

And what was nice is that everybody was quite nervous about the night. I thought everybody was going to be putting on this bravado but they were like "oh my God I'm in Downing Street".

The one time I was completely awestruck was meeting Barack Obama: I wasn't expecting to, and he was so massive, he's really tall and I just went really Welsh when I met him. I kind of ended up going, "Can I just say congratulations, it's really brilliant, well done" and gave him a thumbs up. He was so gracious and he bent down (he's so tall he has to bend down to you) and said: "I really will have to learn how to talk like that (said in mock Welsh accent) b-r-i-l-l-i-a-n-t". It was one of those once in a lifetime events.Ìý

HIGNFY: Can you give us any indication of what will happen in Series 3 of Gavin and Stacey?

Ruth Jones: Well, this series unlike the previous two is set in the summer, so that will bring a whole new take on Barry, and I think Barry is a beautiful place. See it in the sunshine, it's amazing. The new series will have a different feel to it. As was set up at the end of the Christmas special, Gavin has got his job in Barry so we are going to be spending a little bit more time there... but I'm not going to give you anything.

We wrote the last episode about six weeks ago now, and they filmed us reading through the last episode and I just said to James, "Mr Corden it's been a pleasure". We got emotional. James and I would love to write a film together but I don't think that will happen because we've got other commitments. It's probably good to have a little rest anyway. I think we've got a good relationship so we would love to write together again. I'd love to write a good romcom.ÌýÌý

HIGNFY: You've had some great opportunities to dress up in Little Dorrit and Nighty Night. Tell us more.

Ruth Jones:Ìý It's interesting when people go, "I didn't know that was you". I love when that happens. I think it's great to work with the costume designer I work with, Claire Finlay, and it's such a creative thing when you're working out the look. Or if you're with a make-up artist and you're working out the look. Linda's look in Nighty Night was based on a girl in this printing shop in Cardiff who had the telephone/Princess Leia buns.

With the period costumes in Little Dorrit I had a corset made for me. A corset is custom-made and it's a real, absolute skill and a craft to make the thing. Of course everybody is different, but you just feel so fantastic in it. You stand differently, you feel very comfortable because they're made for you, and then you put the dresses on top of that and they're just fantastic. Tess wasn't glamorous but I love Hardy, and because we were filming in Thomas Hardy country I felt I was Joan D'Urberville. It's all about dressing up - you never grow up.Ìý

HIGNFY: Tom Jones: what was it like working with him and can he still charm the birds from the trees?

Ruth Jones: I didn't know what to expect. I thought he was going to be, well, he's a superstar isn't he so I thought he was going to have this kind of superstar attitude. He was so down to earth, really still a Ponty boy, but he's got this self-assurance which is so different from cockiness or arrogance. A self-assurance that was so attractive to anybody that was around him. He really did have a magnetic personality.

When he talks he talks with great gratitude for this gift that he has, he's grateful every day for that. There's such humility in that, it's very, very charming. You can see why women fall for him, he's got this little twinkle in the eye, you know, and I think it's a great move that he's gone grey. Grey's the new black.

Read more HIGNFY interviews in the archive.