Gavin And Stacey star says Christmas special is ‘nothing short of a masterpiece’
By Casey Cooper-Fiske, PA Entertainment Reporter
Gavin And Stacey star Mathew Horne has said the show’s Christmas special will be “nothing short of a masterpiece”.
The 46-year-old, who plays Gavin Shipman in the series, said the script for the sitcom’s final episode made him laugh and cry, and said the finished product “hasn’t disappointed”.
He said: “I want to say I was nervous about reading the script as it’s always been Ruth’s (Jones) and James’s (Corden) priority to get the script perfect in the first instance, to tell a story the right way.
“And I had no evidence to suggest that this final script wouldn’t adhere to those principles and be anything other than brilliant. I did have a nervous compulsion to read it immediately and my expectations were exceeded.
“It made me laugh, it made me cry and upon completion, I thought it was nothing short of a masterpiece. Not just in terms of an episode of Gavin And Stacey, but frankly any script I’ve ever read.
“I immediately took to our WhatsApp group to say as much. The nerves started upon finishing reading the script in as much as I hoped we could all meet the quality of the script upon shooting it. It hasn’t disappointed.”
Speaking about crafting the script, co-writer Jones, who also plays Vanessa “Nessa” Jenkins, added: “It was a mixture of excitement, nostalgia and sadness.
“Sad of course because this is the last time these characters will ever be on screen again, but so exciting to bring them to life again. And nostalgic because we’d be on set with the cast and we’d go down memory lane remembering the early episodes.
“We often reminisced about Maggie John (who played Doris O’Neill) who’s no longer with us but we felt she was in spirit, especially when we were on Trinity Street. It’s always so enjoyable to be in the room writing with James. We act out the characters when we write.”
Melanie Walters, who plays Gwen West, Stacey Shipman’s (Joanna Page) mum, said one moment in the festive script particularly surprised her.
The 62-year-old said: “Firstly, I was completely taken aback when Ruth rang to tell me that they had written a final script.
“When it came through the post I had, of course, conjured up many a possible storyline, none of which came close to what was written.
“Our director Chris Gernon had warned me that there would be a moment that, when reading the script, I would scream out loud and she was right.”
Corden, who co-writes the series alongside Jones, also spoke about a documentary, which will air on New Year’s Day, and feature behind-the-scenes footage.
He said: “The documentary really is based on this idea that we just had so much footage, from our first ever day, from the first Christmas special and from series two and three.
“For the 2019 Christmas special and on this finale, we had a film crew following the entire time. It’s very emotional watching everybody because the very last thing that we shot is the very last moment of the show.
“So there were a lot of tears that day and I hope that people that like the show will enjoy getting a little glimpse into it.”
The hit TV series aired between 2007 and 2010 and returned in 2019 with a one-off festive special that ended on a cliffhanger when Nessa proposed to Corden’s character Neil “Smithy” Smith.
Gavin And Stacey: The Finale will air at 9pm on Christmas Day on BBC One and iPlayer. The documentary Gavin And Stacey: A Fond Farewell will be shown at 7pm on New Year’s Day on BBC One and iPlayer.