Earlier this year, James Corden gave Gavin and Stacey fans an unexpected treat: news of another Christmas special. “It’s official!!!” he wrote on Instagram, alongside a photo of him and fellow creator Ruth Jones holding a script – and bringing an end to years of speculation.
But the news was also bittersweet, confirming the show would be coming to an end. “We have finished writing the last ever episode of Gavin and Stacey. See you on Christmas Day.”
It’s been a while: since launching in 2007, the show has gone onto become one of the UK’s most beloved sitcoms, spawning countless quotes and drawing in 18.5 million viewers for its last festival special in 2019.
With one last episode incoming, what better time to round up our favourite moments from the show? From Pam’s penchant for ham to literally everything Gwen’s neighbour Doris says, here’s what made the cut.
Nessa’s pregnant – and Smithy’s the father
One of the most surreal scenes in the entire series sees Shipman/West family sit down for a meal at an Italian restaurant – but there’s a problem.
Nessa is pregnant, and rather than telling everybody at once, people are dragged one by one into the ladies’ room for the big reveal, with the exception of the actual father, Smithy. Oh, and Dawn and Pete are having marriage problems again (the image of Pete’s red wine teeth will never leave us). Every line in this episode is a killer, including the bit where Nessa orders her food in fluent Italian. Grazie mille.
Bryn and Nessa’s duet
Turns out, Bryn and Nessa are a bit of a secret double act. For Gwen’s secret birthday party (which Bryn almost has a nervous breakdown trying to keep a secret) the pair take to the stage to croon out a version of Kenny Rodgers and Dolly Parton’s classic lover’s ballad Islands in the Stream.
Their (actually rather good) vocals, combined with a bit of drama (Gavin and Stacey aren’t getting on) and a roomful of people in cowboy hats solemnly dancing along, are what make it so good.
The Christmas party fight
Only a fool wouldn’t watch the Gavin and Stacey Christmas specials – not only are they hilarious, but they also add important lore to the show’s canon. Case in point: the 2008 Christmas special, in which the cast get together for a party that goes terribly wrong when Gavin announces he and Stacey are moving to Barry Island to save their marriage.
Needless to say, the whole thing devolves into a massive fight, which culminates in Pam calling Gwen, Nessa and Stacey “the bitches of Eastwick.” Solid gold.
You’re eating ham, Pam
Does it get more relatable than Pam’s fake vegetarianism? After a complicated series of misunderstandings, Gwen and the rest of her family are left with the impression that Pam is vegetarian. And rather than correct them, she decides to continue with the act – British awkwardness on full display – and gets Mick to feed her secret bits of meat when the rest of the family aren’t looking.
This all comes to a head when Stacey catches Pam frantically eating supermarket ham out of the packet as her carnivorous cravings catch up with her – leading to the iconic line, “Is that ham, Pam!?”
Though Pam tries to deny it, Stacey isn’t having it: “I’ve seen you, Pam. A scotch egg here, a bit of bacon there, putting those regular sausages into the Linda McCartney box.” Haven’t we all done that?
What happened on the fishing trip?
The eternal skeleton in the closet of Stacey’s family. At some point in the past, Bryn and his nephew Jason went on a fishing trip together, which ruined their relationship to the point that they can barely talk to each other.
“I know there’s times that he’s wondering how a man and his nephew ever could…” Bryn says to Jason at one point – before Dave Coaches walks in on them.
What makes it better is that the reality of what happened on the trip has never been revealed, leaving fans’ imaginations to run wild. And though we got close in the last Christmas special, we were ultimately left hanging once again.
“You may know what happened, David, but you don’t know why it happened!” Bryn shouts at Dave. “It was freezing cold, it was! And when you are that cold…” And then it’s cut off. Cue frustrated groans around the country.
Ordering a takeaway
Why are we all still ordering takeaways together in 2024 – when almost 20 years ago, Smithy was telling us how fruitless the whole exercise was?
“What is it about a group of people ordering an Indian or Chinese or something, that it is somehow unacceptable to eat your own food that you order yourself?” he asks as Pam and Mick stress about what to order and whether or not they should share.
“I can guarantee someone – probably Stacey – will have ordered the korma, Mick, am I wrong, am I wrong? In my book, a korma is pointless! Futile!” Make way for the most frequently-quoted food order in TV history: a chicken bhuna, lamb bhuna, prawn bhuna, mushroom rice, keema naan, and nine poppadoms.
Doris the rockstar
Gwen’s elderly neighbour Doris (Margaret Johns, dearly missed) is a bit of a dark horse - in addition to loving a good filthy tirade, telling everybody who will listen about her parade of young male lovers, and refusing to make the salad for any social events whatsoever, she also loves a bit of a jam.
Case in point, when she whacks out the acoustic guitar at a family barbecue to serenade Shipmans and Wests with a rendition of The Smiths’ There Is A Light That Never Goes Out. Rock on, Doris.
Smithy and Rudi rap American Boy
Here’s a fun experiment for you: approach virtually any millennial on the street at random, and ask them to spontaneously perform Kanye West’s rap verse from Estelle’s 2008 track American Boy on demand. I guarantee that almost everybody will be able to reel off the whole thing in full without even faltering – largely thanks to an entire generation memorising this iconic phone call scene between Smithy, his sister Rudi (Sheridan Smith) and a totally perplexed Gav.
Dawn and Pete renew their vows
Constantly-bickering couple Pete and Dawn Sutcliffe (played to comic perfection by Adrian Scarborough and Julia Davis) are one of the funniest fixtures of Mick and Pam’s family get-togethers, and after narrowly avoiding divorce in season one, they can’t resist the temptation to start scrapping again during their vow renewals.
Though it starts out swimmingly (Pete recites the lyrics to Coldplay’s Fix You, while Dawn opts for retitled rendition of Michael Jackson’s Ben) things take a turn mid-ceremony when she discovers Pete has commissioned himself a gigantic, blingy eternity ring, and hits the roof. Poor old Pete ultimately spends his second wedding night in the shed.
