Gavin and Stacey Trivia
0Loading crowd target
0Loading crowd target
6correct to beat the crowd
46 free Gavin and Stacey trivia questions with answers — trivia quiz, new questions added Sep 2026.
Gavin & Stacey began as a small BBC sitcom about a lad from Essex and a girl from Barry who fell in love before they had ever met in person. By its Christmas Day finale in 2024 it was the most-watched scripted programme Britain had seen in more than two decades, and its lines — 'Tidy', 'Oh!', 'I panicked' — had become part of how the country talks. These 46 questions cover both families: Pam and Mick in Billericay, Gwen and Uncle Bryn across the road in Barry, Nessa and Smithy and the son they never planned, Dave Coaches, Doris, Pete and Dawn, and the Essex lads. They take in the catchphrases, the running gags that were never explained, the real places used for filming, the charity singles and sketches, the 2019 special and the finale, and what James Corden, Ruth Jones and the cast did next. It works for a Christmas quiz, a pub round or a long coach trip. Play it on your mobile with instant answers and explanations, or print it for the table.
30 of 46 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01Which notorious Englishmen lent their surnames to Gavin & Stacey's Shipman, West and Sutcliffe families?
Serial murderers
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.
Q 02Which singer-songwriter's 2005 single 'Run' opens every episode of Gavin & Stacey?
Stephen Fretwell
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.
Q 03Which duet did Gavin & Stacey's Bryn and Nessa take to number one for Comic Relief?
Islands in the Stream
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.
Q 04Pam and Mick's Essex home in Gavin & Stacey was filmed in Wales, but which town is it set in?
Billericay
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.
Q 05Gavin & Stacey's 2019 special drew Britain's biggest comedy audience since which sitcom?
Only Fools and Horses
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.
Q 06Gavin and Stacey, best mates in tow, first meet in person at which London landmark?
Leicester Square
Leicester Square is where months of phone calls finally become a meeting, and the night ends with both pairs in a hotel room.
Q 07Which diet does Pam Shipman pretend to follow around her Welsh guests in Gavin & Stacey?
Vegetarian
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.
Q 08What is the deadpan greeting of Nessa, Stacey's tattooed, chain-smoking best friend in Gavin & Stacey?
What's occurring
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.
Q 09Which never-explained outing with nephew Jason haunts Uncle Bryn throughout Gavin & Stacey?
A fishing trip
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.
Q 10The idea for Gavin & Stacey first came to James Corden at what kind of event?
A wedding reception
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.
Q 11Series two of Gavin & Stacey opens with the newlyweds returning from a honeymoon in which country?
Greece
Greece was the honeymoon, and the welcome-home meal with both families is thrown into chaos when Nessa makes a confession.
Q 12What does Pam Shipman call her son Gavin in Gavin & Stacey?
Her little prince
Her little prince is Pam's name for her only son, who in series three moves to Wales with Stacey.
Q 13Where does Nessa work in the first series of Gavin & Stacey?
An amusement arcade
An amusement arcade on Barry Island is where Nessa works, and in series three Smithy halts her wedding to Dave Coaches with a speech.
Q 21Who is Smithy due to marry when the Gavin & Stacey finale opens?
Sonia
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.
Q 22In the Gavin & Stacey finale, everyone piles onto Dave's coach to catch Nessa before she sails from where?
Southampton Docks
Southampton Docks is where Nessa is due to go back to sea when Smithy arrives having walked out of his own wedding.
Q 23Which Motherland star plays the celebrant at Smithy's abandoned wedding in the Gavin & Stacey finale?
Anna Maxwell Martin
Anna Maxwell Martin's celebrant is at the altar when Smithy calls the wedding off and goes after Nessa.
Q 14Which haulage firm does Nessa say she once drove lorries for in Gavin & Stacey?
Eddie Stobart
Eddie Stobart is the firm Nessa claims she drove for, a haulier whose individually named lorries became so popular that fans formed a club.
Q 15Which dish does Gwen, Stacey's widowed mother in Gavin & Stacey, offer to cook at every opportunity?
An omelette
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.
Q 16What is Smithy and Nessa's son called in Gavin & Stacey, a name Gavin jokes honours Noel Edmonds?
Neil
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.
Q 17Which History Boys actor plays Gavin's big-eared mate Budgie in Gavin & Stacey and later led Being Human?
Russell Tovey
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.
Q 18Which Ghosts star, later James Corden's co-creator on The Wrong Mans, plays Smithy's workmate Deano in Gavin & Stacey?
Mathew Baynton
Mathew Baynton and Corden took The Wrong Mans to Showtime for a US remake in 2018, but Showtime dropped the pilot the next year.
Q 19Which comedian plays Jammy, whom Smithy meets at the wedding fair in Gavin & Stacey?
Matt Lucas
Matt Lucas's Jammy turns up in series one's fourth episode, when the Shipmans drive down to Wales for the wedding fair.
Q 20Smithy's much-quoted Indian takeaway order begins with three versions of which curry?
Bhuna
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.
Q 24Dave Coaches pops the question to Nessa in Gavin & Stacey's 2008 special with the jewellery hidden inside what?
A cigarette packet
A cigarette packet hid the ring, and Nessa said yes, but the wedding to Dave was called off in series three.
Q 25What do Pam, Mick, Pete and Dawn share before the drive to Wales in the 2019 Gavin & Stacey special?
A cannabis joint
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.
Q 26Who plays Pam Shipman in Gavin & Stacey?
Alison Steadman
Alison Steadman's Pam plays host in the 2008 special, when the Welsh side of the family travel to Essex for Christmas.
Q 27James Corden and Ruth Jones first met as castmates on which ITV drama, years before writing Gavin & Stacey?
Fat Friends
Fat Friends is where they met, and though they called the third series the last, they brought the show back for Christmas 2019.
Q 28Which actor plays Gavin's father Mick in Gavin & Stacey?
Larry Lamb
Larry Lamb's Mick becomes a minor celebrity for the night in series two after he is interviewed for a news report.
Q 29Which actor plays Uncle Bryn in Gavin & Stacey?
Rob Brydon
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.
Q 30How did James Corden and Ruth Jones reveal in May 2024 that the Gavin & Stacey finale was written?
An Instagram photo
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.