When your respective partners are nowhere to be seen, what better thing to do than rely on an old friend for company.

Welsh singers Tom Jones and Cerys Matthews were thrilled to see each other at the Q Awards in London yesterday lunchtime, and promptly spent the rest of the day partying together.

The pair, who duetted on a cover of Baby, It’s Cold Outside in 1999, were deep in conversation at the awards after-party at the Shepherds Tavern in Mayfair.

Baby, it’s warm outside: Cerys Matthews leads her former duet partner Tom Jones out of the Shepherds Tavern pub in Mayfair

Earlier that evening, the former Catatonia singer had snubbed the advances of Kaiser Chiefs frontman Ricky Wilson.

But it wasn’t long before the trademark Tom Jones hand was around her waist, and she was rescued by her fellow countryman.

The two later left the pub hand in hand and shared a cab together at the end of the evening.

Notably absent at the star-studded bash were the pair’s partners.

Cerys has recently bought a house with her I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! co-star and boyfriend Marc Bannerman, while Tom has been married for 51 years to his wife Linda.

Old smoothie: Tom embraces Cerys as they have an intimate chat outside the ladies’ toilet

Farewell: Cerys and Tom share a cab home at the end of the night

I Predict A Failure of Kaiser’s attempts to pull Cerys

Kaiser Chiefs frontman Ricky Wilson might be wincing this morning after trying his hardest to pull Welsh beauty Cerys Matthews.

The pair were among a throng of stars who hit the pub after the Q Awards, shunning the official afterparty to instead sink some pints at the Shepherds Tavern in Mayfair.

It was quite a surreal evening  –  Tom Jones chatted to Alex Turner in one corner, while Kelly Jones from the Stereophonics waited at the bar with the Ting Tings.

But all of the action was happening between Ricky and Cerys, after they became locked in an intimate conversation outside the pub.

Ricky was fairly well refreshed at this point  –  no-doubt celebrating the fact that his band had won the best live act award at the ceremony, held at Grosvenor House Hotel in Mayfair.

A partygoer said: ‘They were very flirty with each other, and Ricky asked her for her number. He put her hand on her bum as he put her number into his mobile phone.

‘His bandmates knew exactly what was going on and gave him a ribbing  –  he went red and sheep-ishly told them, “I’m not going to pull her”.

‘He then asked her if she wanted to go somewhere more quiet for a drink, but she refused and told him they should stay there.

‘He tried to tell her no-one would notice if they sneaked off, but she was more interested in her pal Tom Jones.’

Indeed, Cerys left in a cab by 10pm with Welsh sex bomb Tom.

Kaiser Chiefs drummer Nick Hodgson was in awe of Tom: ‘I’ve chatted to Tom Jones before. He shook my hand when he’d just come off stage and I was covered in Tom Jones sweat. It was amazing.

‘Yeah  –  I was irresistible to women afterwards. It’s like a love tonic. I can still smell it now. Don’t tell him I said that.’