In the 1960s, Kettlewell's television career unfolded and she worked alongside the likes of Harry Worth, Joan Sims and Deryck Guyler.

She is perhaps best known for her role in the early episodes of All Gas and Gaiters, [6] where she played Mrs Grace Pugh-Critchley, the Dean's wife.

[8] In her obituary, The Independent noted that "By her own admission ...Ruth Kettlewell often played battleaxes, but it kept her in regular work...for half a century, sometimes only in fleeting roles.

"[9] A devout Anglo-Catholic and an active member of the Actors’ Church Union, she visited the shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham on numerous occasions.

[3] She directed many amateur productions with a devotional theme for her church, St Augustine of Canterbury, Highgate,[10] where she also served as a churchwarden and a sacristan.