46 Fun Facts About Gavin and Stacey

Which notorious Englishmen lent their surnames to Gavin & Stacey's Shipman, West and Sutcliffe families?

Serial murderers Harold Shipman, Fred West and Peter Sutcliffe supplied the surnames, and on screen Doris remarks that Stacey has swapped one notorious name for another.

Which singer-songwriter's 2005 single 'Run' opens every episode of Gavin & Stacey?

Stephen Fretwell's 'Run' only reached No. 79 in the UK chart, and Q once called him 'Scunthorpe's finest export... ever'; his song 'Darling Don't' later turned up in Skins.

Which duet did Gavin & Stacey's Bryn and Nessa take to number one for Comic Relief?

Islands in the Stream came with a Comic Relief sketch that sent Bryn and Nessa to the World Karaoke Championships in Las Vegas, where Tom Jones joins them.

Pam and Mick's Essex home in Gavin & Stacey was filmed in Wales, but which town is it set in?

Billericay is the Shipmans' town on screen, but their house was really in Dinas Powys, and the show went on to boost tourism in nearby Barry.

Gavin & Stacey's 2019 special drew Britain's biggest comedy audience since which sitcom?

Only Fools and Horses drew 17.4 million with its penultimate Christmas special in 2002, and the 2019 Gavin & Stacey cliffhanger was only resolved in the 2024 finale.

Gavin and Stacey, best mates in tow, first meet in person at which London landmark?

Leicester Square is where months of phone calls finally become a meeting, and the night ends with both pairs in a hotel room.

Which diet does Pam Shipman pretend to follow around her Welsh guests in Gavin & Stacey?

Vegetarian is what Pam claims to have become, to explain the veggie shopping, so she has to keep up the act whenever the Wests visit.

What is the deadpan greeting of Nessa, Stacey's tattooed, chain-smoking best friend in Gavin & Stacey?

What's occurring sits in a catchphrase kit with 'Oh', 'Tidy', 'Immense' and 'Truth be told', and Ruth Jones wrote the part for herself while James Corden wrote Smithy for himself.

Which never-explained outing with nephew Jason haunts Uncle Bryn throughout Gavin & Stacey?

A fishing trip with nephew Jason is Bryn's great secret, and even the 2024 finale never reveals it, though Dave Coaches, whom Bryn told, nearly blurts it out.

The idea for Gavin & Stacey first came to James Corden at what kind of event?

A wedding reception gave Corden the idea, and he and Ruth Jones pitched it to the BBC as a one-off play, but the BBC demanded a full series instead.

Series two of Gavin & Stacey opens with the newlyweds returning from a honeymoon in which country?

Greece was the honeymoon, and the welcome-home meal with both families is thrown into chaos when Nessa makes a confession.

What does Pam Shipman call her son Gavin in Gavin & Stacey?

Her little prince is Pam's name for her only son, who in series three moves to Wales with Stacey.

Where does Nessa work in the first series of Gavin & Stacey?

An amusement arcade on Barry Island is where Nessa works, and in series three Smithy halts her wedding to Dave Coaches with a speech.

Which haulage firm does Nessa say she once drove lorries for in Gavin & Stacey?

Eddie Stobart is the firm Nessa claims she drove for, a haulier whose individually named lorries became so popular that fans formed a club.

Which dish does Gwen, Stacey's widowed mother in Gavin & Stacey, offer to cook at every opportunity?

An omelette is Gwen's answer to everything, and when Nessa falls pregnant Gwen takes her in, leaving Stacey shocked at her mum's new living arrangements.

What is Smithy and Nessa's son called in Gavin & Stacey, a name Gavin jokes honours Noel Edmonds?

Neil is the first name of both Smithy and Nessa's father, while the middle names Noel Edmund honour Nessa's Hear'Say friend Noel Sullivan and one of Smithy's relatives, hence the Noel Edmonds gag.

Which History Boys actor plays Gavin's big-eared mate Budgie in Gavin & Stacey and later led Being Human?

Russell Tovey, Samuel Anderson (Fingers) and Andrew Knott (Dirtbox) all came from Corden's History Boys cast; Budgie's real name, Karl Barratt, appears only on the wedding table plan.

Which Ghosts star, later James Corden's co-creator on The Wrong Mans, plays Smithy's workmate Deano in Gavin & Stacey?

Mathew Baynton and Corden took The Wrong Mans to Showtime for a US remake in 2018, but Showtime dropped the pilot the next year.

Which comedian plays Jammy, whom Smithy meets at the wedding fair in Gavin & Stacey?

Matt Lucas's Jammy turns up in series one's fourth episode, when the Shipmans drive down to Wales for the wedding fair.

Smithy's much-quoted Indian takeaway order begins with three versions of which curry?

Bhuna three ways was for Smithy alone: when the others talked of sharing, he ranted that he'd order his own and eat it in the car.

Who is Smithy due to marry when the Gavin & Stacey finale opens?

Sonia, Smithy's girlfriend in the 2019 special, is the bride, and the Welsh side of the family pack up and head to Essex for the wedding.

In the Gavin & Stacey finale, everyone piles onto Dave's coach to catch Nessa before she sails from where?

Southampton Docks is where Nessa is due to go back to sea when Smithy arrives having walked out of his own wedding.

Which Motherland star plays the celebrant at Smithy's abandoned wedding in the Gavin & Stacey finale?

Anna Maxwell Martin's celebrant is at the altar when Smithy calls the wedding off and goes after Nessa.

Dave Coaches pops the question to Nessa in Gavin & Stacey's 2008 special with the jewellery hidden inside what?

A cigarette packet hid the ring, and Nessa said yes, but the wedding to Dave was called off in series three.

What do Pam, Mick, Pete and Dawn share before the drive to Wales in the 2019 Gavin & Stacey special?

A cannabis joint of Pete's that Dawn found set off the couple's latest row, and once the row was patched up all four smoked it together.

Who plays Pam Shipman in Gavin & Stacey?

Alison Steadman's Pam plays host in the 2008 special, when the Welsh side of the family travel to Essex for Christmas.

James Corden and Ruth Jones first met as castmates on which ITV drama, years before writing Gavin & Stacey?

Fat Friends is where they met, and though they called the third series the last, they brought the show back for Christmas 2019.

Which actor plays Gavin's father Mick in Gavin & Stacey?

Larry Lamb's Mick becomes a minor celebrity for the night in series two after he is interviewed for a news report.

Which actor plays Uncle Bryn in Gavin & Stacey?

Rob Brydon's Bryn arranges a surprise treat for Gwen's birthday in series two, but the stress of organising it gets the better of him.

How did James Corden and Ruth Jones reveal in May 2024 that the Gavin & Stacey finale was written?

An Instagram photo of the pair with the finale script made it official, though Ruth Jones had earlier dismissed the return on Irish radio as a rumour.

Which production company, co-founded by Steve Coogan, made Gavin & Stacey for BBC Wales?

Baby Cow takes its name from Coogan's early characters Paul and Pauline Calf, and it was Baby Cow that sold NBC the remake rights in 2008, the first of three failed American attempts.

Gavin & Stacey launched in May 2007 on which channel, where its first episode drew under 600,000 viewers?

BBC Three was the launchpad, and when the channel signed off as a broadcast service in February 2016 its very last programme was a Gavin & Stacey episode, introduced by Corden.

What does Nessa do to Smithy at the end of the 2019 Gavin & Stacey special?

Proposes to him on one knee is how it ends, and fans waited five years for the finale to reveal that Smithy never gave her an answer.

Which US network ordered Us & Them, the American Gavin & Stacey starring Alexis Bledel, then never aired it?

Fox shelved Us & Them without airing a single episode, and the streaming service Crackle finally released it in 2018, with Jason Ritter as Gavin.

Which American series did Smithy actor James Corden host on CBS from 2015 to 2023?

The Late Late Show ended in April 2023 after eight years, and a year later Corden and Ruth Jones finished writing the Gavin & Stacey finale.

After Nessa, Ruth Jones created and starred in which Sky One comedy-drama set in the Rhondda valleys?

Stella does the locals' washing and ironing for a living, and a familiar face from her past returns to throw the family off balance.

Which politician plays himself at Nessa's wedding in Gavin & Stacey's third series?

John Prescott had been named by Nessa several times as one of her famous old flames before the former deputy prime minister turned up in person.

Which pre-wedding event brings out a secret about Stacey that threatens the wedding?

Gavin's stag night brings out a secret that could jeopardise the wedding, yet series two opens with the newlyweds home from honeymoon.

In the 2019 Gavin & Stacey special, what has Gwen's neighbour Doris left to Gavin and Stacey in her will?

Her house is the legacy, and Nessa, sure it should have come to her, has left the matter to the courts.

In Gavin & Stacey's 2008 special, Gavin takes a job in which city so the couple can live in Barry?

Cardiff is where he starts series three while Smithy comes to terms with life in Essex without him; the move answers the homesickness that nearly broke the marriage in series two.

Which actress plays Rudi, the younger sister of James Corden's character, in Gavin & Stacey?

Sheridan Smith's Rudi arrives in series two, the run in which her brother goes AWOL on hearing he is to become a father.

Which actress plays Dawn Sutcliffe in Gavin & Stacey?

Julia Davis's Dawn has a rocky marriage to Pete, yet the couple renew their wedding vows in series three.

Which Welsh actress plays Stacey in Gavin & Stacey?

Joanna Page's Stacey finds married life in Essex leaves her so homesick that the couple move back to Wales.

Which 2009 comedy-horror film paired Gavin & Stacey stars Mathew Horne and James Corden?

Lesbian Vampire Killers was panned by critics, and so was the pair's sketch show Horne & Corden, which aired that same year.

When Gavin turns up unannounced in Barry in episode two, Uncle Bryn is convinced he is what?

A Jehovah's Witness is what Bryn takes him for on the doorstep, yet the visit ends with Stacey going back to Essex to stay with him.

Smithy's mother Cath in Gavin & Stacey claims to suffer from which condition, which Pam blames on her drinking?

Narcolepsy, 'a mild form' in Cath's words, arrives with Pam Ferris in series three alongside rumours of a fling with the primary school headteacher; Ferris went on to play Sister Evangelina in Call the Midwife.