The actor, 64, has spent three years trying to stop neighbours Theo Langton and Ruth McGill turning a temporary woodland encampment into a permanent travellers' site.
As she talks, Ruth starts to cry. They're not the kind of pretty tears that can be whisked away by a manicured finger, but the proper sort that make her voice catch and thicken.
Planning officials have come out in support of the bid by Mr Clunes' neighbours Theo Langton and Ruth McGill to make a woodland encampment a permanent site.
The TV presenter, 65, made the rare personal admission during a discussion on Monday's episode of Loose Women, where the panel debated whether intimacy became more daunting in later life.
Ruth Sparkes, whose husband Simon also served in the Royal Navy, told the Daily Mail of her concerns after a report revealed the extent of armed forces harassment.
After 27 years together, 14 of which they were married, Ruth is said to be 'officially and emotionally' done, with the publication closing that chapter of her life.
The TV star, 65, often shares her favourite products for younger-looking skin on social media, and there's one particular product you'll want add to your basket immediately.