It’s not everyday that we get excited about a TV star but Ruth Jones is a starlet that gives us that warm fuzzy feeling.
Not only has this talented actress penned and starred in the 21st century’s most famous sitcom – Gavin and Stacey if you’ve been asleep for a few years – but she’s also shown that you don’t have to be a stick insect to be successful in the world of television.
In fact it’s her curves that have made the nation fall in love with her and her character Nessa.
Away from Gavin and Stacey, Ruth has successfully appeared on the likes of Would I lie to you, as well as a host of other comedy game shows. She’s also a regular alongside James Cordon on charity event sketches and although it would be unfair to draw comparisons, her style and sketch show contributions remind us very much of Dawn French.
To celebrate the starlet’s success we’ve put together a mini gallery.
Archive for the ‘Why I love…’ Category
Why I love Ruth Jones
Wednesday, April 27th, 2011Red Nose day events begin
Thursday, February 3rd, 2011I love Comic Relief. Every two years in March we get to watch a range of celebrities doing comical stuff to raise money for charity and this year looks set to be no different.
The four stars of the The Inbetweeners have begun paving for this by embarking on a naughty road trip to visit the rudest and crudest place names in the country and we can expect to see some funny antics from the likes of James Cordon as well as singing from faces such as Cheryl Cole.
Stars have already been showing their backing for the cause. Today Christine Bleakly and Adrian Childs showed us what we could buy to sponsor the event and a range of celebrities have taken part in a photoshoot to urge us to don our red noses.
Lara Stone turned all Marylin Monroe on us to help raise awareness re-creating the famous image from 1955 film The Seven Year Itch, while Fearne Cotton, Alesha Dixon and Amanda Holden to name a few, are also backing the charity campaign, which this year features T-shirts designed by Vivienne Westwood.
We’ll keep you updated with the line up and antics for the big day on 18 March.
Why Peep Show is so successful
Friday, November 26th, 2010Peep Show. There’s got to be something seriously wrong with your humour if you don’t find it funny.
And many people seem to agree with the series still flying high after seven years.
We’re not quite sure what the magic formula with this is, but the pairing of Mark (David Mitchell) and Jeremy (Robert Webb) just seems to work. And since series one the partnership has moved on in leaps and bounds.
They’ve grown up – Mark’s obviously going to be a dad in the next series – and begun to understand each other more, meaning that they get on far better than they once did. However, whilst some comedies may have suffered with this part, this one has only grown. This has no doubt got to be the dry humour that has run through the show since they pair first said hello. And of course let’s not forget the slightly seedy, sometimes a little bit gross, moments that we’ve all come to love.
In fact, we’ll be bold and even say that we imagine Mark is the guy Will from the Inbetweeners would grow up to be… we suppose that would make Jeremy Jay?
We don’t want to ruin the ext series too much, even though many of you would have seen the first episode thanks to Channel 4 putting it “On-Demand”, much to David’s chagrin, but we really hope the pair’s relationship remains as funny as it after the “Sophie gives birth” scenario.
Don’t go all dad like on us Mark.
Why I love….Dawn Porter
Tuesday, November 16th, 2010I’m not ashamed to admit that I have a massive girl crush on Dawn Porter.
Unlike many TV presenters/journalists she makes programmes that appeal to many of us and look at the less normal things in life, and she’s also not afraid to venture into the unknown.
She’s tried nearly every diet under the sun for Supersize vs Superskinny and stripped off to show us that we don’t need to be sticks to look good.
She’s also taken on Geisha lessons to show us how important this culture is in Japan and debunk all the associations many of us had with this, in Geisha Girl.
And of course Extreme Wife was another programme she succeeded with, showing us the way other people decide to live.
I could go on for hours talking about all the great shows she’s made but instead I thought I’d show you with some of her shows in pictures.
The Best Thing On Television? Step Forward Popatron
Monday, November 15th, 2010
Comedy on television is, shall we politely say, not in the healthiest of positions. Quite often, shows are lazy and old-fashioned, sticking to tired formats or promoting someone who is (whisper it now), not funny in any way at all. So we should all be really depressed right? Not in the slightest because, weirdly, the best shows are all creeping under the radar well away from primetime and leading the pack is the brilliantly sarcastic Popatron. (more…)
Catch it while you can! Starsuckers on 4oD
Wednesday, April 7th, 2010
Last night I watched Starsuckers (More4) and was pleasantly blown-away. I was all set to give it a glowing review on these pages before I stopped and thought: “Hang on! Instead of reviewing it, I should do something else… something nicer!”
Teletext RIP
Thursday, July 16th, 2009
Teletext is going to be put to sleep by television doctors with a lethal injection. It was 17 years old and a victim of the internet. Teletext launched in ’93, taking over from Oracle which kicked off in 1974. There, you could get news, reviews and play Bamboozle by pressing buttons on your remote. As a kid, it seemed like the most futuristic thing in the whole world. “We investigated and researched every means to keep the news service going but in the end we couldn’t find a viable option,” said Mike Stewart, the group managing director at Teletext. “The continued fragmentation of television audiences and the boom in online use for news, information and commercial services have contributed to a significant reduction in Teletext’s viewing figures over recent years.” Of course, sites like ours are part of the demise, but that won’t stop me reminiscing.
Why I Loved… last week’s TV!
Monday, July 13th, 2009
Sometimes, shows come randomly together to create one fantastic schedule. At Christmas, of course, it’s not so random, but last week, it really was, and no matter what your taste, there was quality fare for all. The grim but rather classy Torchwood ran through the week, arts TV suddenly picked up with Imagine, Theatre Live and The Culture Show, there were some good docs from Dawn Porter and as part of the Moon season, You Have Been Watching started, as did Getting On and Taking The Flak, Mock The Week and Uni Challenge returned and – my highlight of the week – there was that jaw-droppingly brilliant episode of Psychoville…
Related: Torchwood – Children of Earth | Psychoville ‘The Special Episode’ | The Naked Office | Celebrity Masterchef Final | You Have Been Watching | Sky Arts Theatre Live! | Apollo Wives | University Challenge | Dawn Porter – My Breasts Could Kill Me | The Supersizers Eat… The French Revolution
Why I Love… BBC Sport theme tunes
Saturday, July 4th, 2009
Not many TV sites talk about sport all that much, but here at TVScoop we recognise that some of the greatest telly moments are provided by people running, jumping, swimming, riding, rowing and kicking and/or throwing balls of various shapes. You know, in a competitive, organised kinda way. But the excitement of sporting events has certainly been intensified over the years by the anticipation created by familiar and rather brilliant theme tunes, usually plucked from the archives. Head on over the cut for those BBC Sport tunes that never fail to bring a smile to the face (and sometimes butterflies to the stomach…)
Related: All the telly we love… and why
Why I Love… Toby Stephens as Prince John in Robin Hood
Sunday, May 24th, 2009
I watched the first ever episode of Robin Hood, because for some reason we all thought it was going to be a worthy replacement for Doctor Who. In fact, we found that it is Division Two to Doctor Who‘s Premier League and I, like many others, didn’t return to the series very often after that. This series, however, has something a little special to elevate it above its predecessors, something to add a little sparkle and fun to proceedings. That all comes courtesy of Toby Stephens as Prince John, and so I say long live the (wannabe) king.
Related: Toby Stephens in Jane Eyre
TV Scoop: Top 5 TV snooker commentators
Friday, April 24th, 2009
Well the first week of the World Snooker Championship is drawing to a close, and what a week it’s been. Some fantastic snooker played and over the top of it all the drone of the commentators. Unfortunately quite a few of today’s commentators have not learned the gentle art of when to shut up, and they prattle on incessantly telling you that Higgins has just missed the blue, when you’ve just watched Higgins missing the blue for yourself. It wasn’t always like this. Not so long ago, commentators were made out of better stuff.
Top 5 quintessential TV Englishmen!
Thursday, April 23rd, 2009
Happy St. George’s Day to anyone determined enough to celebrate a day we’ve not been arsed about for thousands of years. I hope that anyone celebrating tonight will be drinking real ales, eating pies, listening to Cornish folk music and enjoying Morris Dancers as opposed to drinking Belgian beers and vomiting Turkish kobeda kebabs… the latter would surely make a mockery of the argument for us needing it as a national holiday. Simply wanting one “because the Irish have one” isn’t enough. I mean, theirs is a religious holiday, so you’ll have to start going to church or something. Anyway, enough of the polemic, with it being St George’s Day, I thought it might be nice to celebrate TV’s most English of Englishmen. Whether it be quiet reserve or stiff upper lippety, they’re out there, being all English all over us. So get over the jump in the most reserved manner possible and let’s applaud our Englanders.
Why I love… Curb Your Enthusiasm
Friday, April 17th, 2009
It’s nice to see that Curb Your Enthusiasm is back on More 4 once again, even if it is being shown at a ridiculously anti-social hour. It is however one of those rare programmes that it’s worth staying up past one’s bedtime for, especially if you’ve never seen it. It’s actually quite difficult to put into a few words just how influential Larry David’s reality-com has been, but Ricky Gervais has cited it as one of his favourite shows (and hands up all those who can see the resemblance between its cod-docu style and that of The Office). And I’m sure that’s not the only show that it has given a helping hand to along the way.
Why I Love… In The Night Garden
Monday, March 30th, 2009
When, as I do, you have a small child, chances are you’ll find yourself watching a lot more kids TV than you have done in several decades. Of course when I was a small child myself this largely consisted of some random Watch With Mother programme for around 10 minutes at lunchtime followed by another two hours worth in the afternoon (the best bit being the five minute show which rounded the whole thing off, usually of the Captain Pugwash or Roobarb and Custard variety). Now you get things like In The Night Garden, which is a whole world away.
Why I love… The Great British Menu
Monday, March 30th, 2009
It pleases me greatly that the Great British Menu (BBC Two, Tonight, 6.30pm) is back on our screens. I’ve missed having it around. I’ve been catching the slithers that they show of shows past on Saturday Kitchen, but it’s not enough – just like Nouvelle Cuisine. And now it’s back we get to see some real chef action. You see, we all know how competitive they all are, but let’s be honest, they don’t give a fig if they win on Ready Steady Cook or not… because, in TV terms, this is the daddy of all competitions for our foodie deities.
Related: More foody TV shows on TV Scoop
Why I love… The Channel 4 News
Wednesday, March 11th, 2009
I find it incredibly difficult to trust just about any journalist. Or any writer for that matter. They’ve always got some kind of agenda (and I’m no different I suppose). The press is full of half-truths, scandal and sensationalist crap and I get no pleasure in trying to pick it to bits. However, in the newsroom maelstrom, there’s one team of people who I’ve found myself inherently trusting… almost always. That’s the brilliant Channel 4 News team.
Related: More Why I Love… on TV Scoop
Why I love… Pulling
Monday, January 12th, 2009
This weekend, the telly has been pretty crap. Sure, there’s been new shows like Prancing on Ice and Your Country Needs To Wake Up And Smell The Coffee… but really, save for the new QI, there’s been little to get worked up about. That is, unless you watched two whole series of the amazing Pulling on BBC Three. Of late, there’s been increasingly fewer reasons to tune into BBC Three as it seems adamant to aimed only at people aged between 14-19. It’s a channel more stupid than Five. It’s a mid-life crisis channel, run by 40somethings in Frankie Says Relax t-shirts. The last truly great thing, Pulling, may have been nixed, but in this weekend marathon, it only served to show what an incredible show we had.
Related: Pulling review | BBC get it badly, badly wrong by cancelling ‘Pulling’
Strictly Why I Love… Craig Revel Horwood
Wednesday, November 26th, 2008
Why I Love… BBC weatherman Daniel Corbett
Thursday, November 6th, 2008
Watching the news pretty much all day as I did yesterday, I was confronted by BBC weatherman Daniel Corbett every half an hour or so. He had me in fits of giggles (or maybe that was the sleep deprivation), thanks to his slightly camp delivery of the weather and his liking for a simile or nine. This cloud is like a big spaghetti thing, this weather front is like a two-legged octopus… it went on and on and on. Do you know who he reminded me of? Bob Monkhouse. He’s got that slightly smarmy, slightly bonkers delivery. I have to say I enjoyed him and his ramblings. Have a look at Daniel in action after the jump.
Strictly Why I Love… John Sergeant & Kristina
Wednesday, November 5th, 2008
Who would have thought that the oldest and, let’s face it, heaviest contestant would still be in the competition past the halfway point? What is it about John Sergeant that everyone loves so much?
From:Coronation Street fans apply here