Gavin and Stacey - Ricky Hanson Videos

Gavin & Stacey is a British sitcom created, written by and starring James Corden and Ruth Jones about two families: one from Billericay in Essex, and the other from Barry in the Vale of Glamorgan. Mathew Horne and Joanna Page play the eponymous characters Gavin and Stacey, while Corden and Jones star as their respective friends Smithy and Nessa. Alison Steadman and Larry Lamb co-star as Gavin’s parents Pam and Mick, Melanie Walters plays Stacey’s mother Gwen, and Rob Brydon plays Stacey’s uncle Bryn.

Baby Cow Productions produced the sitcom for BBC Cymru Wales. The first series, consisting of six episodes, premiered on BBC Three in May 2007 to positive reviews and strong ratings. It returned for a second series of seven episodes in March 2008, before being transferred to BBC One for a Christmas Eve special, due to the show’s growing mainstream popularity. The third and final series aired from 26 November 2009 to 1 January 2010, forming a significant part of the prime-time BBC Christmas programming for 2009.

Gavin & Stacey was directed by Christine Gernon, who had previously directed other BBC sitcoms such as One Foot in the Grave. Acclaimed as both a hit and a breakthrough show for the BBC, it was the most nominated show in the 2007 British Comedy Awards. It won several awards, including the British Academy Television Awards (BAFTA) Audience Award, and the British Comedy Awards Best TV Comedy Award, both in 2008. In 2019, Gavin & Stacey was named the 17th-greatest British sitcom in a poll by Radio Times.[2]

Corden and Jones wrote another Christmas special, which aired on 25 December 2019. With 18.49 million total viewers (11.6 million overnight), the broadcast in the United Kingdom was the most-viewed non-sporting event in a decade and the most-watched comedy in 17 years.[3][4][5][6] The final episode of Gavin & Stacey aired on 25 December 2024, 17 years after the show was first broadcast.[7][8][9] The finale was the most-watched scripted show in over two decades.[10]

Synopsis
The story revolves around Gavin, from Billericay in Essex, England, and Stacey, from Barry, Vale of Glamorgan, in south Wales. Gavin lives with his parents, Pam and Mick, and spends most of his time with his best friend, Smithy. Stacey lives with her widowed mother, Gwen, and is frequently visited by her uncle, Bryn, who lives across the road, and by her best friend Nessa. The show follows the key moments in their relationship: their first meeting, meeting each other’s families, getting engaged, marrying, looking for a flat, briefly splitting up, looking for new jobs and trying for children.

The characters of Gavin and Stacey provide the emotional core of the story, focusing on the situations that arise when their relationship brings their two different families together. As a result, episodes often focus on the key events in life that bring wider families and close friends together such as weddings, christenings, birthday parties and Christmases. However, the show also presents the families interacting in deliberately non-dramatic situations, such as a visit to the beach and nights out. In these scenes, the subtle dialogue between the characters often contains underlying jokes or comedic value.

The series also follows the contrasting relationship between Smithy and Nessa. Despite their dislike for each other, they have several one-night stands, leading to Nessa becoming pregnant and having their baby. Whilst Gavin and Stacey are the clear main characters, towards the end of the show’s run, the dramatic emphasis switches slightly from them, as they resolve their distance issues, to Smithy and Nessa, as Nessa becomes engaged to another man.

Other storylines in the three series include Pam’s fake vegetarianism, Bryn and his nephew Jason’s struggle to keep the events of their fishing trip a secret, and the rocky marriage of Pam and Mick’s friends Pete and Dawn.

The surnames of well-known English serial killers were used for most of the main characters – Harold Shipman, Fred West and Peter Sutcliffe.[11] Ruth Jones commented in 2009: “I suppose we were hoping that people wouldn’t realise and then when it does come to light, it’s even more delicious…”[12]

Main
Mathew Horne as Gavin Shipman, the enthusiastic level-headed protagonist and Stacey’s husband from Billericay in Essex
Joanna Page as Stacey Shipman (née West), a woman from Barry who in the first episode works with the same company as Gavin, and later becomes his wife.
James Corden as Neil Noel Edmunds “Smithy” Smith,[13] Gavin’s oldest and closest friend, who lives in Billericay. He has a complicated relationship with Nessa.
Ruth Jones as Vanessa Shanessa “Nessa” Jenkins, Stacey’s oldest and closest friend, who lives in Barry. Nessa has several celebrity connections, such as MP John Prescott, and later begins a relationship with Dave “Coaches”.
Larry Lamb as Michael “Mick” Shipman, Gavin’s down-to-earth father.
Alison Steadman as Pamela Andrea “Pam” Shipman (née Gryglaszewska), Gavin’s house-proud and over-protective mother.
Rob Brydon as Brynfor “Bryn” West, known as “Uncle Bryn”; Stacey’s protective, naïve and eccentric uncle, and Gwen’s brother-in-law. Bryn’s brother and Stacey’s father, Trevor, died prior to the time depicted in the series, and Bryn helped the family cope. He has a difficult relationship with his nephew, Jason, due to a seemingly disturbing incident on their fishing trip. He is also gay.[14][15]
Melanie Walters as Gwen West, Stacey’s caring, kind, widowed mother.

David Lloyd Gooch, known as “Dave Coaches” (Steffan Rhodri, series 1–3, 2024 special) – Barry’s local coach driver, later Nessa’s fiancé. He appears in the first episode when Stacey travels to London to meet Gavin. He also announces his relationship with Gwen in the finale aired on Christmas day 2024.
Dawn Sutcliffe (Julia Davis) – a close friend of Pam and Mick, who frequently has public arguments with husband Pete.
Peter “Pete” Sutcliffe (Adrian Scarborough) – a close friend of Pam and Mick, husband to Dawn, with whom he frequently has public arguments.
Doris O’Neill (Margaret John, series 1–3) – Gwen’s next-door-neighbour and close friend. The 2019 Christmas special refers to Doris as having died aged 84 and left her house to Gavin and Stacey.[a] Nessa is contesting the legacy through the courts.
Jason West (Robert Wilfort) – Stacey’s gay older brother, who lives in Spain.
Dominic “Dirtbox” (Andrew Knott, series 1–3, 2024 special) – a friend of Gavin and Smithy.
Karl “Budgie” Barratt (Russell Tovey, series 1–3, 2024 special) – a friend of Gavin and Smithy.
Chinese Alan (Dominic Gaskell, series 1–3, 2024 special) – a friend of Gavin and Smithy, he enters a room with his infamous catchphrase “Did someone order a Chinese?”
Craig “Fingers” (Samuel Anderson, series 1, 3, 2024 special) – a friend of Gavin and Smithy, who has an on/off relationship with Stacey’s friend Louise, after they meet at the wedding and have sex in a back room.
Jesus (Daniel Curtis, series 1) – a friend of Gavin and Smithy, whom Smithy insults on Gavin’s stag night, claiming he had to get his T-shirt made at the last minute.
Gary Finch (Jason Gregg, series 1–3, 2024 special) and Simon (Daniel Jeffrey, series 1–2, 2024 special) – friends of Gavin and Smithy, who are never just Gary or Simon, though in series 3 an undisclosed event means Gary comes up to Barry alone.
Louise Evans (Ffion Williams, series 1, 3) – a friend of Stacey and Nessa, who has an on/off relationship with Gavin and Smithy’s friend Fingers, after they meet at the wedding and have sex in a back room.
Dick Powell (Gwynfor Roberts, series 1, 3) – the only fully Welsh-speaking inhabitant of Barry (aside from the Welsh nationalists in the caravan park), he sells meat on the black market and rarely appears in person.
Ruth “Rudi” Smith (Sheridan Smith, series 2–3, 2024 special) – Smithy’s immature, but loving, younger sister who also likes to be called “Smithy”. She works at a KFC in Billericay.
Dean “Deano” (Mathew Baynton, series 2–3) – a friend of Gavin and Smithy, who works with Smithy as a builder and appears to be very dim-witted.
Catherina “Cath” Smith (Pam Ferris, series 3, 2024 special) – Smithy and Rudi’s single mother, who suffers from “a mild form of narcolepsy” (which Pam thinks is a cover for a drinking problem).
Neil Jenkins (Huw Dafydd, series 3) – Nessa’s father and bit part actor (he was an extra in Lark Rise to Candleford), rarely seen in Barry although it is never disclosed why he does not “show his face in Barry”.
Owain Hughes (Steve Meo, series 3) – Website Manager in Gavin’s new job in Cardiff. He has the obscure catchphrase: “Owain Hughes, and before you ask, no I don’t.”
Angie (Beth Granville, series 3) – a friend of Stacey and Nessa.
Swede (John Grisley, series 3) – a friend of Gavin and Smithy.
Neil “the Baby” Smith (Scarlett Humphreys;[16] uncredited series 2, Lewis Merchant and Cari Kiernan; 2008 special, Ewan Kennedy; series 3, Oscar Hartland; series 3–2024 special, Rocco Romanello) – Smithy and Nessa’s son. He is named after Nessa’s father and Smithy (who are both called Neil), Nessa’s friend from Hear’Say (Noel Sullivan), and Smithy’s grandfather Edmond. In the episode of the christening, Gavin jokes that Neil is named after Noel Edmonds, which annoys Smithy.
Sonia (Laura Aikman, 2019 and 2024 specials) – Smithy’s new girlfriend and subsequent fiancée.
Harri Shipman (Gabriel Mitell, 2019 and 2024 specials) – Gavin and Stacey’s eldest child, who was born shortly after the third series in 2010.
Caitlin Shipman (Martha-Eve Tregonning, 2019 and 2024 specials) – Gavin and Stacey’s elder daughter.
Megan Shipman (Maddison Belle Platt, 2019 and 2024 specials) – Gavin and Stacey’s younger daughter.
Guests
Matt Lucas makes a guest appearance in the fourth episode of the first series; his name helped the series to secure the filming locations in Barry.[17] Noel Sullivan and John Prescott made cameo appearances in the final episode of series 3.