Ruth Jones went to great lengths to achieve drastic 4-stone weight loss

Ruth Jones has opened up about the lengths she went to in the past when trying to lose weight.

The writer and actress, who is returning to screens on Christmas Day for the final-ever episode of Gavin & Stacey, appeared on the Table Manners podcast recently when she was discussing her four-stone weight and the drastic way she stuck to a diet.

Ruth, who will reprise her role as Nessa in the beloved Christmas episode, explained how she underwent “aversion therapy” with acclaimed hypnotist Paul McKenna to train herself to hate chocolate.

“I hate the word ‘struggled’ with my weight, but I have been in a battle with my weight all of my life. As long as I can remember. I can’t ever remember being slim,” Ruth told singer Jessie Ware and her mum Lennie.

“One of my attempts to lose weight was to go to a Paul McKenna workshop. Hypnosis. He said, ‘What’s your aim?’ And I said, ‘Look, if I could stop eating chocolate, I’d be fine’. Chocolate was my main thing.”

Ruth then explained how Paul had told her in a workshop that he was going to teach her a technique that would make her stop craving chocolate for good.

“I was a little bit cynical,” she admitted. “You think of something you hate eating, then think of the chocolate and keep alternating. I remembered when they were on the menu in school dinners. 

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“Anyway, it worked. It completely worked. I didn’t eat chocolate for five years. I couldn’t stand the smell of it.”

The author managed to drop to a size 12 in 2011 after losing four stone thanks to her strict regime. However, she then explained how after dropping off from emails and communication from Paul following treatment, she then admitted that she went back to eating chocolate, and still enjoys it as a snack today.

The Gavin & Stacey Christmas special

Meanwhile, Ruth is, of course, in promotion mode ahead of the Gavin & Stacey festive episode. She’s teamed up once again with writing partner James Corden, who also appears in the show as Neil ‘Smithy’ Smith, for the final-ever episode.

It comes five years after the last Christmas special in 2019 which saw Ruth’s character get down on one knee to propose to Smithy in a shock cliffhanger moment.

The longevity of Gavin & Stacey – despite the third and final full-length series ending almost 15 years ago – is a testament to its brilliance and adoring fan base.

© Dave Benett

Speaking at a press event, James, who moved back to the UK last year after a stint hosting his late-night talk show in Hollywood, said: “In the last few months, people have spoken a lot about why do we think that the show may have garnered the attention that it’s got now?

“I sort of wonder if it’s actually a lesson in patience. Here’s a show that ended 15 years ago, waited 10 years to tell another hour of the story, and waited five more years to end it.”

© BBC/Toffee International Ltd./Tom Jackson

He added: “Maybe the lesson for all of us, for people that write about television, for people that talk about television, for people that write television – is maybe time and patience and care might be the answer for things to have a longevity outside of what we consume on our phones.”