James Corden in Barry, south Wales, working on the sitcom finale (Image: Getty)
Can Gavin & Stacey save Christmas television? The cast certainly think so. Gavin star Mathew Horne calls the festive special “nothing short of a masterpiece”, and Rob Brydon – who excels as Stacey’s excitable Uncle Bryn – agrees, saying, “The script moved me to tears.”
So what’s occurring? The warm-hearted, award-winning BBC1 sitcom bows out for good with a 95-minute finale on Christmas Day. Although nominally about the title characters, it’s their best pals Smithy and the fearsome Nessa, played by James Corden and Ruth Jones, who once again steal the limelight.
The penultimate episode, screened in 2019, saw Nessa drop to one tastefully faux-leather-clad knee in a south Wales street and tell Smithy, “I loves you…will you marry me?”
“What?” was his dumbstruck response.
17.1 million viewers watched that cliffhanger ending, making it the biggest Christmas Day special since the Only Fools & Horses finale in 2002. So expectations for this year are high.
“We’ve thrown absolutely everything at this,” promises Corden, 46, who co-created and co-writes the sitcom with Jones, 58. “We’ve tried our hardest to make it as satisfactory as it can be,”
The down-to-earth comedy revolves around two families, Gavin Shipman’s in Essex, and Stacey West’s in Barry. Joanna Page’s Stacey is sweet and dippy, he’s soft and level-headed, and their love story has captivated viewers since 2007.
The show began with 500,000 viewers on the relative obscurity of BBC3. “It was a bit of a gamble back then,” says Ruth. “We had no idea how big it would grow.”
Why did it catch on? “I think because it’s so relatable – people recognise themselves or people they love in it. And it’s not cynical, everyone in it loves each other.”
Back then, tattooed Nessa tottered about on stiletto heels. “I look at them now and think, ‘How the hell did I ever wear these?’,” laughs Ruth who goes on, “I love Nessa. I wish I could be more like her in real life. I loved the wedding fair scene in series one when she tries on all this S&M gear and says: ‘Oh love, I’ll take all this. But I don’t need another whip’.”
Larry Lamb and Alison Steadman play Gavin’s parents, Pam and Mick; and Melanie Walters plays Stacey’s mother Gwen. Brydon’s uncle Bryn is haunted by a never-explained fishing trip incident involving his nephew, Jason.
By 2019, the Shipmans had three kids and the spark had gone out of their marriage, while Smithy had new love interest Sonia to introduce to the clans, and to “Neil, the baby” – the son, then 12, he has with Nessa.
Ruth Jones, MBE, and James Corden met on the set of ITV slimming club drama Fat Friends in 2000, and have stayed pals ever since. They cooked up the idea for Gavin & Stacey in the Crowne Plaza, Leeds, writing the pilot episode in a West End hotel after appearing on This Morning.
Jones has since added best-selling author to her impressive acting CV, while Corden went from award-winning roles on Broadway and in the West End to hosting his own talk-show on US TV.
His Carpool Karaoke segment became an internet sensation with everyone from Adele to Michelle Obama taking part.
Now he interviews fellow celebs on This Life Of Mine, a podcast series on SiriusXM, with guests ranging from Kim Kardashian to Martin Scorsese. James’s production company Fulwell 73 made his CBS Late Late Show and have filmed the G&S finale with Ruth’s own company, Tidy.
The rest of the cast had no idea Ruth had been jetting to Los Angeles to finish the script with him, though.
Nottingham-born Mat Horne says James rang him in January out of the blue and said, “Are you aware of the work of Ruth Jones?”
Mat replied, “I am actually, I’ve read one of her novels.” And then Corden said, “Well, I’ve been writing…” and broke the good news.
The final episode airs on Christmas night, and it’s beautiful – funny, sad, touching and loaded with of unexpected twists.
Drama graduate Horne, 46, was on the comedy circuit in a student sketch double act before landing a part in Channel 4’s comedy-drama Teachers before Catherine Tate cast him as Nan’s grandson, Jamie, in her sketch show.
Gavin & Stacey propelled him and Corden to instant fame but it burnt out fast. Their 2009 sketch show Horne & Corden flopped as did their movie Lesbian Vampire Killers. James relocated to the USA stoking rumours that the pals had fallen out, which they strongly deny.
“He’s a brilliant working-class success story,” Horne says of west London born Corden, whose big heart and enthusiasm inspires love and loyalty among his co-workers.
Mat, 46, is currently playing Trinculo in the Theatre Royal production of The Tempest, with Sigourney Weaver as Prospero; he’s married to Norwegian set designer Celina Bassili, 30, and has son Finn, two.
On the last day of shooting the Xmas special, Mat says “Everybody was crying, some more than others. I was inconsolable. It’s the perfect ending to the best representation of love, friendship and family.”
All the catchphrases are back for the occasion – lush, tidy, what’s occurring? – along with all the other characters, including Dave Coaches, Jason, and Dawn and Pete who spend most of them time bickering or, ahem, bonding.
Dawn star Julia Davis, 58, thinks the show caught on because the dynamics between families and friends are so recognisable.
“At heart, they are love stories but always underpinned by comedy that has a little bit of edge sometimes, so it can be deeply poignant one moment and funny the next. The unique chemistry between the actors makes it all flow…”
Filming the finale “felt fun, warm and familiar, much like the show”, she says, but tempered with the sadness of knowing they’d never do it again.
Swansea-born Jo Page agrees. “It’s basically what everybody’s family life is like. Ruth and James are brilliant at writing relationships and hearing the different characters voices.
“People can recognise their own families [in the characters] and it makes us feel warm and safe. It’s so well written, and it captures real life and relationships so well.”
James and Ruth worked hard on the script, rewriting elements to make it perfect.
“We’re told today that speed is important, but maybe time, patience and care are what gives comedies a longevity beyond what we consume on our phones,” said James at Wednesday’s Soho launch.
Despite his subsequent international success, Corden says, “Gavin & Stacey is just a huge part of my life, it changed my life in every way. The thing it means to me most, is my friendship with Ruth.
“To have an idea with a friend in a Leeds hotel 20 years ago and to see what it’s become…if you think about it too much you could really just start crying all the time. I love her so much and I’m so proud of what we’ve done.
“I think fundamentally the show is about love and about people who like each other. It’s about family and friendship. There’s just so much warmth and love within them as a group. None of that is faked, that’s all there in our relationships as a cast really. I think there’s something very pure about watching people who get on and love each other without conflict.
“I hope people feel that on Christmas day.
“This show is a very special thing, an extraordinary thing, and I’m just really excited for people to see it.”
James likens writing a festive comedy to being called up for the England football team “in terms of something meaning a lot to a lot of people; you are representing your country in a sense. It’s a lot of responsibility, but we’ve tried our absolute best.” Tidy.
*Gavin & Stacey: The Finale is on BBC1 on Christmas Day at 9pm. Documentary, Gavin & Stacey: A Fond Farewell will air at 7pm on New Years Day.