Gavin and Stacey features a dark reason behind the character’s names (Image: PA)
After a five-year hiatus, fans are eagerly awaiting their return to Barry Island for the final ever episode this Christmas.
The iconic hit comedy first aired in 2007, created by co-stars Ruth Jones and James Corden. The beloved show – which came to an end in 2010 – follows the lives of Welsh beauty Stacey Shipman (played by Joanna Page) and Essex lad Gavin West (Matthew Horne).
The series explores how the loveable couple manage to make things work long-distance travelling between Essex and Barry Island.
The TV show returned with a bang back in 2019 for a surprising Christmas special, which left viewers on the edge of their seats after Nessa (Ruth Jones) popped the question to Smithy (James Corden) after years of dating.
As the beloved show prepares to return for one final hurrah, Express.co.uk has taken a deep dive inside the show’s dark history which fans may not have noticed before.
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The pair share surnames with British serial killers (Image: BBC/GS TV Productions Ltd/Tom Jackson)
In the long-running show, fans have always been baffled as to why the Welsh goth keeps her surname a mystery. But what viewers should be more worried about is the haunting story behind some of the other characters’ monikers.
: “Gavin and Stacey’s surnames (Shipman and West) are named after the famous British serial killer Dr Harold Shipman (One of the most prolific serial killers ever, believed to have had at least 200 victims) and Fred West.”
Fred and Rose West, from Gloucester, faced trial for killing 12 young women between 1967 and 1987. Meanwhile, Harold Shipman was an evil GP who murdered more than 200 people over 30 years, earning him the nickname Dr Death in the press.
Though none of the cast or writers have commented on the baffling choice directly, the show references the serial killer titles in the script.
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Fans finally learned Dave’s surname in the Christmas Special (Image: BBC/Toffee International Ltd./Tom Jackson)
In one memorable scene before Gavin and Stacey’s big wedding, Doris notes: “She lives for the day she can change her name from West – what with all the connotations and what have you – and what does she become? A Shipman.”
But there not the only characters who have chilling connections to British killers. IMDb adds that Pete, the long-suffering husband of the equally-frustrated wife Daen, is named after the Yorkshire Ripper, Peter Sutcliffe.
But – like his former girlfriend Nessa – viewers only discovered his surname in the original Christmas special. The Yorkshire Ripper, who was responsible for the deaths of at least 13 people, shared both a first and last name with the Welsh coach driver.
The Gavin and Stacey Christmas Special airs on Christmas Day at 9pm on One or catch up on the iPlayer.