Joanna Page admits snubbing Gavin and Stacey co-star Ruth Jones for new TV project
Joanna Page has revealed how she snubbed her Gavin and Stacey co-star Ruth Jones as she opted to indulge in her unique new hobby instead.
Chatting to the TV Times, the Swansea-born actress opened up on her love of the natural world and how it was behind her decision not to attend her co-star's recent on-stage performance.
Taking part in a new 15-episode BBC series, Joanna Page's Wild Life, the TV star is set to train alongside experts at a Wildlife Aid hospital.
Joanna revealed how she snubbed Ruth Jones in favour of the new show, saying: "One evening, I was supposed to see Ruth Jones in the musical Sister Act but cancelled to be with a baby owl!"
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And, with Gavin and Stacey having come to an end following the Christmas special finale last year, the actress revealed how her initial expectations of appearing in the new nature show were a little skewed at first: "I thought it would be like a Disney film, cuddling cute cubs and robins landing on me! In the beginning, I broke all the rules as I named the animals and couldn't stop talking to them. I had to retrain myself because your aim is to make them better and release them back into the wild, not for them to feel relaxed around humans."
Having forged a career for herself on-stage, Joanna would later embark on a career in front of the camera as she initially featured in films including From Hell, Mine All Mine, Love Actually and Miss Julie.
But, it was playing the role of Stacey Shipman alongside Matthew Horne, James Corden and Ruth Jones in the hit BBC sitcom, Gavin and Stacey, where she became a household name.
Appearing on the One Show recently, Joanna opened up on exactly what it was that made her fall in love with the character of Stacey 17-years ago: "I just opened this script and I thought 'I know this person'. To actually have something were I could be Welsh, I could use my own voice, you just feel closer to the character and I thought I know these people (characters in the show)."
Joanna Page's Wild Life airs tonight, January 6 on BBC Two at 6.30 pm.
