My Bristol Favourites: Jayde Adams

Jayde Adams is an actor, standup comedian, TV host and proud Bristolian who recently returned to live in her home city.

Jayde’s new sitcom, Ruby Speaking, which is based on working in a Stokes Croft call centre, airs on ITVX on Sunday.

Bristol24/7’s person of the year 2022 is set to have a bumper 2023, from appearing in the film Greatest Days, a musical featuring the songs of Take That, to touring her standup show, Men I Can Save You, which is on at Bristol Old Vic for its last date on June 25.

These are Jayde’s top-five Bristol favourites:

The Crown

The Crown can be found in St Nick’s Market and was built in 1741 – photo: the Crown

“I hate that this is the first place I’m saying, but somewhere I’ve been the most is the Crown pub off St Nicholas Street. When me and all of my mates have a comedy gig, we need somewhere to go after. The beer is really nice, it’s open quite late and the decor isn’t shit. There’s often some quite good-looking people in there as well. As an incredibly single woman, it’s a bit of a treasure trove for nice alternative people. I think people are up for pretty much anything in there at 3am. Same goes for the Mothers’ Ruin.”

Bristol Fish

The fishmongers has “an ever changing market” of local and seasonal where possible fish and shellfish – photo: Betty Woolerton

“I love Bristol Fish on North Street. It really helped me out in a clinch last year. It’s also really reasonably priced, really fresh and the fishmonger cares about the produce. My mum was a fishmonger when I was growing up so it’s got a really nostalgic smell when you go in there. One Christmas, I nearly gave my parents gout from how much shellfish I gave to them from there.”

Victoria Park

Victoria Park is a hilly green space sandwiched between Totterdown, Bedminster and Windmill Hill – photo: Betty Woolerton

“If Victoria Park could talk, there would be a lot more salacious stories about me from my youth in the press. All I can say is a lot of firsts happened there. It’s also the park that I played in with my sister and where my brother protected me from being picked on. Also, back in the day before the red tape brigade, we used to build bonfires together which kept us local kids out of trouble in an area that was loads of trouble.”

ASDA Bedminster

Jayde can still fillet a trout after her expeirnce of working on the fish counter at ASDA on East Street – photo: Betty Woolerton

“I worked there for nine months and got sacked for eating a prawn wonton off the fish counter. But my mum was there for 37 years, so the connection of fish is really in my family. When Ian Wright came to Asda Bedminster, my mum was in the advert with him. It’s not one of my skills that I often utilise but, as a trained fishmonger, I did skin a fish really quickly the other day and my mate was like ‘oh my god, you’re amazing at that’. All you need is a sharp knife and the technique. I think I could fillet a trout still.”

St Mary Redcliffe Church

St Mary Redcliffe’s central aisle – photo: Emily Whitfield-Wicks

“We went to Sunday school to get into St Mary Redcliffe School but we aren’t a religious family, although I am spiritual now as I’m older and have experienced death. When we got into the school, I joined the choir and met these girls who changed my life. We used to hang out in the music room together. I never got bullied because of it because we had our crew and our room every lunchtime. We were in the chamber choir and some of us were in the orchestra as well so we played in that church every week for six years. Then my sister got married in the church, and had her funeral there as well.”

Main photo: Jordan Rossi

Read next:

• Jayde Adams: ‘There’s no art without failiure’
• Jayde Adams: Strictly is ‘the best thing I have ever done in my life’
• Wetherspoons chef among cast for Jayde Adams’ new sitcom

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