The first pictures of the Gavin and Stacey finale are upon us and fans are eager to see if the Christmas Day special will finally fill in some loose ends.
The original show ran from 2007 to 2010 but, after the titular characters made good on their long-distance relationship, a one-off in 2019 ended in a cliffhanger.
The wait is now nearly over to see whether Smithy accepted Nessa’s proposal – and if we will ever find out what happened on THAT fishing trip.
Here are 10 facts you may or may not have known as fans celebrate the show’s return.
Alison Steadman, James Corden, Sheridan Smith and Ruth Jones all previously acted together
The four actors go back several years and were all on a less well-known ITV drama called Fat Friends, which ran for four series in the early 2000s.
The Essex locations are actually in Wales
The show is based on the premise of an Anglo-Welsh relationship – but both the Shipmans’ Essex house and their local pub are actually in Wales. Gavin’s family home is a house that is really in Dinas Powys while The Colcot Arms is a pub on Barry Island.
There is a real-life Smithy
James Corden based Smithy on his cousin’s friend, a man named Lee Andrews. While nobody would aspire to be like the loutish yet immature Smithy, Andrews apparently doesn’t mind being the inspiration – and the two are still mates.
James Corden loves a Barry Island chippy
Smithy loves a takeaway, and so does James Corden, who reportedly always calls in on one particular Barry Island fish and chip shop.
Several characters are named after serial killers
A dark joke at the centre of the show is that several characters are named after serial killers. Gavin’s surname is Shipman, after Harold Shipman – the infamous doctor who killed more than 200 patients in his care. Stacey’s family is West after Fred and Rosemary – while Peter Sutcliffe takes his name from the Yorkshire Ripper.
An ultrasound is actually Buzz Lightyear
In series two, episode seven, Stacey is at the hospital and for a split second you can see an ultrasound image on the wall. Well, that graphic is not a baby but is actually an ultrasound of a Buzz Lightyear toy.
Smithy’s first name is not revealed until late on in the series
There comes an awkward point at the end of the second series when it turns out that nobody knows the first name of Smithy. The famously loud character becomes sheepish when he has to say he’d like his and Nessa’s baby to be named after him, and that his name is Neil. Thankfully that is the same name as Nessa’s father, so all was well.
Curry club
Nessa orders a “jamdani hash” curry at the beginning of series three. This duck, honey and lime dish did not exist prior to the show, but Ruth Jones’s favourite Indian in Cardiff has now put it on the menu in her honour.
Matthew Horne and James Corden have not always been best buds
Gavin and Smithy have always been pals but their actors have not always been on the best of terms. Corden and Horne were a double act in the late 2000s but their relationship has been rocky since then although they now appear to be mates once more.
Corden and Sheridan Smith dated in real life
They played a warring brother and sister on the show, but James Corden and Sheridan Smith were reportedly once an item. Rudi will not be back, Smith has said, for the Christmas special so fans will not be seeing their rapping once more.
