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The Independent UK
The Independent UK
Lifestyle
Ellie Harrison

The one demand Joanna Page has made about Gavin & Stacey Christmas special

Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images

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Louise Thomas

Louise Thomas

Editor

Joanna Page has made it clear there is one thing she won’t do in the Gavin & Stacey Christmas special.

The show, which originally ran from 2007 to 2010, is returning for a one-off episode this Christmas, with all the sitcom’s leading stars coming back, from Page to James Corden, Ruth Jones, Rob Brydon, and Matthew Horne.

Page, who plays the sweet lead character Stacey in the sitcom, has said she will not be donning a bikini for the show.

Speaking on BBC Breakfast, the actor said: “I just hope that I haven’t signed on to be running around on Barry beach in a bikini because I’m not doing that at 47.”

One of Page’s most famous screen appearances was her role as body double Judy in Love Actually. In the 2003 romcom, she shared an excruciating nude scene with Martin Freeman, who played another body double, in which he massaged her breasts while making small talk about traffic.

Page also said she can’t wait to find out what happens next in Gavin & Stacey, after the cliffhanger in the 2019 Christmas special saw Jones’s Nessa propose to Corden’s Smithy.

“I am the same as everyone else. I can’t wait to find out what has happened,” she said.

Joanna Page
Joanna Page (Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images)

“I remember all those years ago reading the script for the last special, and I was doing it on my phone. I got to the end, and it said, ‘Nessa goes down one knee,’ and I remember scrolling through thinking, ‘That can’t be the end.’ I am the same as everybody, what happens?”

In a recent interview with The Independent, Brydon – who plays Stacey’s father figure Uncle Bryn – said of the beloved series: “There’s certainly not a week where somebody doesn’t come up and tell me how much they love it, or call me Bryn, or ask me what happened on the fishing trip [one of the show’s long-running jokes].

“And that’s all fantastic, because most actors don’t work, let alone get something that people want to celebrate and tell you how much they love.”

The show will air on BBC One on Christmas Day.

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