Gavin and Stacey’s Joanna Page recalls ‘traumatic’ final day on set of BBC comedy admitting ‘I couldn’t stop crying’
THE stars of Gavin and Stacey have been bidding an emotional farewell to their characters and the series ahead of the last episode which airs on Christmas day.
Joanna Page, who has played the loveable Stacey since 2007 has been talking about how she found her last day filming particularly emotional.
She said: “Being on set for the last time with everybody for the last day was traumatic. I knew I was going to cry as soon as I walked on set.
“I saw Steve’s face, our first AD, and I just burst out crying. Then I saw Sophie Hebron, our second AD, and I burst out crying again.
“So then I went into my trailer and Julia Davis came in and sat with me, and I couldn’t stop crying, because it just felt it was such a huge journey that was ending.”
The comedy that brings together a Billericay boy and a Barry Island girl has run for three series on BBC and the festive specials have become must watch Christmas Day viewing.
This year will see the very last episode aired, written by two of its stars, Ruth Jones and James Corden, with fans keen to see a resolution to the last special’s cliff-hanger when Nessa proposed to Smithy in the street.
For Ruth, who plays Nessa, the final days of filming were a chance to look back at a fantastic era writing with her co-star.
She revealed that they have a special way of working together: “It’s always so enjoyable to be in the room writing with James.
“We act out the characters when we write – I love playing Bryn and Stacey and James does a great Pamelarr!”
Mathew Horne, who plays leading man Gavin, says that the script for the final episode was a joy to work with: “ It made me laugh, it made me cry and upon completion I thought it was nothing short of a masterpiece.
“Not just in terms of an episode of Gavin & Stacey, but frankly any script I’ve ever read.”
The iconic character of Uncle Bryn is played by Rob Brydon and he’s also been speaking about how emotional the last few days on set were.
He said he felt “Hugely emotional,” adding: “And it would hit me at times when we were filming big scenes with lots of people.
“We do a fair bit in Pam and Mick’s house, and just seeing everybody there, I would find myself filling up with tears just looking at them.
Gavin and Stacey's Best Moments
With the news that the show is set to make an exciting return to screens, let's take a look at some of the comedy programme's biggest and best moments...
- Smithy and Rudi’s American Boy rap – No one will ever forget when James Corden and Sheridan Smith rapped perfectly word for word the Kanye West and Estelle hit American Boy as they walked across the car park on the phone to Gavin.
- Pam’s Vegetarian faux pas – Despite loving a cheesburger, Pam found herself caught up in a web of unexpected lies when she claimed to be Vegetarian. She is forced to keep up the secret throughout the entire show and uses hubby Mick to help her scoff meat. She is later rumbled when Stacey catches her in the act as she scoffs ham in the kitchen. Stacey says to her: “Is that ham, Pam!?… “I’ve seen you, Pam. A scotch egg here, a bit of bacon there, putting those regular sausages into the Linda McCartney box”.
- THAT fishing trip – It remains one of the biggest mysteries in Gavin and Stacey history as to just exactly what did happen on the ill-fated fishing trip. Bryn appears to be hiding a secret as to an occurance between him and his nephew Jason which has left relations fractures. Ness’ on-off boyfriend, Dave, is the only other person to know the whole truth. Bryn did appear to allude to him and Jason lying together naked to keep warm as he said to Dave: “We’re going to have this out, once and for all, man to man, you may know what happened, David, but you don’t know why it happened! It was freezing cold, it was! And when you are that cold…”
- Islands in the Stream – No one can ever forget the classic Karaoke performance of Islands in the Stream. Nessa and Bryn performed the track in front of all their nearest and dearest. It saw the whole pub burst into some line-dancing as they enjoyed a boozy night out.
- The Xmas special proposal – In 2019, fans were left overjoyed when the show made a comeback but it ended on the ultimate cliffhanger. Nessa asked Smithy if she would marry him as she finally laid bare her feelings for him. Fans were gutted as the show then cut straight to the credits as they never found out just how Smithy answered. Will all be revealed in the brand new episode?
“That might sound a little bit overly dramatic I suppose to some people, but you have to understand that it’s been 17 years. That’s a long time. It was just wonderful, and unlike anything else I’ve ever done.
Fans will have to wait to see the resolution of the much loved tale but Joanna says that in the end the two main characters had an emotional moment together off camera.
She said: “I delivered my last lines, the way that I wanted to, and the way that I needed to, and then when they shouted, “it’s a wrap” and then they clapped all of us goodbye and I just hugged Mat, and we both stood there crying.
As a celebration of the final ever episode the BBC has produced a documentary to air on New Years Day looking back at the show’s 17 year history.
Gavin & Stacey: The Finale will air at 9pm on Christmas Day on BBC One and iPlayer
Gavin & Stacey: A Fond Farewell will air at 7pm on New Years Day on BBC One and iPlayer.