Gavin & Stacey star reveals surprising place in Ireland she tried her first Guinness

The creator and star of the classic sitcom also told JOE she will be back in Ireland soon, where she'll likely try more.

The Welsh actress is part of the cast of the very fun and addictive new Netflix thriller series, Run Away, which was created by best-selling author Harlan Coben (Fool Me Once, The Stranger).

The show stars Irish actor James Nesbitt as Simon, a husband and father in Manchester who gets sucked into a dangerous underworld as he searches for his missing, runaway daughter.

Jones, meanwhile, plays Elena in the thriller, a private eye whose own separate investigation ends up intersecting with Nesbitt's character's search, leading to the pair teaming up.

JOE caught up with Jones and Nesbitt ahead of the series' release, where we asked the two about an emotional scene that opens episode three of the show, involving Elena and a Guinness can (which we won't spoil).

The Gavin & Stacey star revealed that it was actually a Guinness 0.0 can used in the scene, to which Nesbitt quipped: "Not like the old days.

"In the old days, every character I played drank Guinness because they couldn't fake it."

It was then that Jones told JOE about her own history with Guinness, saying:

"In truth, I've only ever drunk Guinness once, and it was in a pub in Skerries just outside Dublin.

"It was in 1990, and it was one of the best nights I've ever had in a pub. There literally were people playing the guitar and singing, and that's the only time I drank Guinness. 

"I was there working... I was doing a play. Cast members had family in Dublin, and then we went over, and we had a night in this pub in Skerries."

Jones, however, added that she will be back in Ireland soon, where she will likely try more of the classic beverage.

"I am going to the Wales-Ireland rugby [match] next March, and I'm sure I will be persuaded to drink some Guinness then," she said.

Also during the conversation, JOE mentioned to Nesbitt how Coben recently told us - while promoting his previous show, the underrated Lazarus, which is streaming on Prime Video - that he would love to set a future mystery thriller in Ireland.

When asked if this is something the actor would want to be a part of, he joked: “If I’m not part of it, I won’t be watching it.”

Speaking to us from Belfast over Zoom, he added: “I’d love that. Working at home excites me so much. I’ve loved it so much in my life, and so much of it has been about the conflict [in Northern Ireland]. 

“So to do something like that here would be really brilliant, and I think it would sit well here. 

“Belfast is a fantastic place to work. I’ve got a business outside of just acting. I’ve got a facilities company here, and we’re very, very busy. 

“The mountains are there, the seaside is there, the studios are there, the urban sprawl is there. They’re all closely connected. So it really lends itself to filming here. 

“Also, I think it would be great for a dark and twisty thriller [to film] here. So, bring it on. 

“If I’m not in it, I’m walking into the sea," he also quipped.

On the influx of international productions coming to Ireland to film in recent years, Nesbitt added: “I love it. It’s been so good as Northern Ireland continues to evolve from its past, to now have the world knowing that things like [Game of] Thrones were filmed here, and alongside things like the success of the golf.

"Anything that shows where I come from, where I’m sat right now in Belfast, in an attractive and alluring light, I’m all for.”

Run Away is streaming on Netflix now. You can read more from JOE's interview with Jones and Nesbitt right here.