Copyright walesonline
Gavin and Stacey's Ruth Jones and Joanna Page were mistaken for sex workers whilst on the set of the much-loved Welsh comedy . When filming for the first ever episode of the cult classic show, the actresses were "accosted" by men who believed they were prostitutes as Joanna and Ruth wore inexpensive outfits for the scene. The scene itself was filmed in Leicester Square, when Gavin played by Matthew Horne and Stacey played by Joanna initially meet after starting their relationship on the phone. Ruth's character Nessa, tags along for moral support before later hitting it off with James Corden's character Smithy . For the latest TV and showbiz gossip sign up to our newsletter Whilst launching her new memoir 'Lush!' in Somerset, Joanna disclosed: "Ruth and I actually got mistaken for prostitutes when we were filming because I was dressed in tight white jeans and Ruth was dressed as Nessa. "We were filming in Leicester Square and we basically got accosted on the way to the toilet. And Ruth said, 'Excuse me... but we are serious actresses.'" In other revelations, Joanna recounted an occasion whilst working on a theatre production when she was "sexually bullied" by one performer, and another actor on a separate project. Speaking to Bryony Gordon on her The Life of Bryony podcast, she said: "I can always speak up for myself, but there have been moments where I've gone completely mute. "There was a time working with one actor in the theatre, and oh my God, he was so full on and degrading in the language he used towards me. "I told him that nothing was going to happen between us, and the way he dealt with that was by being so derogatory. "Then, on a different job – I had a scene with this fellow, just me and him. The sexual language he used... it was so awful, it wasn't banter. "I remember calling the producers and saying: 'I think I have been sexually bullied." She also recalled an incident where a theatre director entered her dressing room while she was undressed and kissed her as she held a curtain around herself, stating: "I had to stay there and wait it out until he left. "I just said to myself, I am not letting this curtain go and will wait for it to be over. There was such a huge power imbalance." Despite facing "uncomfortable" situations even now, Joanna has chosen not to report these incidents for fear of being labelled "difficult" and losing work. She expressed: "I do think actresses have more control now, and you do have a number on call sheets now you can phone if you feel you're being bullied or something uncomfortable has happened. "But I still think this industry is so floaty and all over the place. It's run by men with money. I have been on jobs at this age, where uncomfortable things are going on – you know, ways you are spoken to. "If I call that number on the call sheet – what is actually going to happen? The next day, you turn up and has that person just disappeared? Then everybody knows: you become the person responsible for them going, and that's quite a frightening thing to take on board." She shared how directors have offered to intervene, but she declined, saying: "Directors have come up to me and said, 'Look, do you want me to have a word?'" "I just go, 'No, absolutely not. That will make it really difficult for me work-wise. I'll sort it out myself out now – and that's recently, like now.'"
