What Occurred With James Corden and Ruth Jones’ Gavin And Stacey? How A Small Show With Humble Origins Became A Nation’s Favourite

It started without any fanfare and very little by way of publicity. On 13th May 2007, Gavin and Stacey did not burst onto our screens with any fanfare, but was first aired on BBC Three. Seventeen years later and it has grown to be one of Britain’s best-loved sitcoms, spanning three series, a number one hit single, BAFTA awards, an (unsuccessful) US re-make and, as of Christmas Day 2024, three specials. You can visit Barry Island (where the show is partially set), and take a guided tour of where many scenes were shot. Merchandise from the show, much of it fan made, is readily available on-line. The 2019 Christmas special was the most watched original T.V. programme of the decade.

How and why did the show manage to grow from such humble origins to the point of being such a well-loved and well-known success?

To begin with, it grew organically. In 2007, streaming and catch-up services (along with on demand T.V.), were very much in their infancy. These days, entire T.V. series are available in one hit, allowing viewers to watch them back-to-back in one go, before moving on to the next. It’s very easy for shows and films to become buried – even popular and well-reviewed ones. Gavin and Stacey came out at a time when, whilst it may not have been as accessible as shows are these days, it was able to grow over time via word of mouth and pick up fans via occasional repeats and home physical media. It took time – series two aired in 2008 still on the digital channel BBC Three, before the first Christmas special had a prime slot on BBC One on Christmas Eve – but time is what it had in what was a still busy, but  much less crowded market place.

Yet what was it about the show that made it so endearing? To all intents and purposes, the programme, from a narrative perspective, is quite uneventful. A couple in their twenties meet and get married (series one), come to terms with the ups and downs of married life (series two) and then try to start a family (series three). Yet there in lies its genius - creators James Corden and Ruth Jones wanted to make a show (initially a one hour drama) that was just about a normal wedding. Nobody getting jilted at the altar, no shocking revelations about past infidelities and none of the heightened melodrama that feature regularly in soap operas and the like, but rarely occur in reality. 

It was an idea that had oddly never been done before and grounded the show in the real world and with a cast of relatable, likable and life-like characters. The show found much of its humour in day-to-day life and as a result, viewers were able to relate to it.  Sometimes the simple ideas are the best ones.

The plot may not have lent itself to much by way of drama or excitement but series one, as was the aforementioned intention, examined a wedding and all the joy, expense, traditions and farce that such an event entails.

Series two explored Gavin and Stacey coming to terms with the reality of married life, with Stacey struggling to adapt to life in Essex, whilst equally not making much by way of an effort to do so. The relationship fractures, but the arguments between the pair, again, felt real. Stacey might be lazy and act spoilt, but Gavin is somewhat dismissive of her feelings and when the drama is heightened, and the pair argue, it’s both relatable and measured. There are valid points on both sides and the audience could connect with both the shows more serious elements.

The opening of the 2008 Christmas special revealed that Stacey had actually bothered to get a job whilst Gavin had taken advantage of a job opportunity in Cardiff, demonstrating how they had both matured since the climax of series two. The episode itself saw the show demonstrating its grounding in everyday – it was just a normal Christmas that viewers could easily relate to. There is a family argument, a Dad fussing over the Turkey (and getting passively annoyed when anyone offers to help), a Christmas card the origins of which can’t be placed and is sent out very late in December. Yet it was an enjoyable Christmas had by all (with the exception of Smithy) – the show was holding up a mirror to many of its viewers who could see themselves in the situation and the comedy  - and they liked what they saw. It was, in a subtle and comforting way, life-assuring.

Alongside basing itself in relatable storylines, there were also the relatable characters. The shows eight main individuals were the sort of individuals that the audience could identify in their own lives and, when watching the show, were the sort of people that the audience just liked hanging out with. None of them are perfect, but they are all, to all intents and purposes good-hearted, relatable people that many people could identify and identify with. An overbearing mum like Pam, a laid back loving Dad like Mick who tells his wife the occasional white (or pretty black) lie, a friend like Smithy who had more in common with his friends family than his own – these were all traits that were identifiable to many. Even the fringe characters such as the cheeky elderly next door neighbour Doris or squabbling couple Pete and Dawn both amused and resonated in equal measure.

And crucially, Gavin and Stacey did something that many other British Sitcoms had not – it gave equal billing to both its male and female characters. Dad’s Army, Only Fools and Horses, Red Dwarf, Father Ted, The Office, Blackadder, Fawlty Towers, Men Behaving Badly, The Likely Lads, Steptoe and Son to name just a few are all have predominantly male casts or at least, a lead male character. There are exceptions such as Absolutely Fabulous and Dinnerladies but these are exceptions that prove the rule – even the feminist sitcom The Vicar Of Dibley, whilst having a lead female character, still had five men making up its principle cast of seven characters.

Gavin and Stacey was a rare example of a cast which was dominated by neither gender – of the main characters we had Gavin, Smithy, Mick and Bryn and Stacey, Nessa, Pam and Gwyn. This was also a key element to the success of the biggest sitcom of all time – Friends. Subsequently it gave the show a broad appeal, alongside the fact that the primary characters ranged in age from the mid-twenties to the mid-fifties (even if their actual ages are never fully revealed) leant the show a certain appeal to older families – a show that parents could watch with their grown up children and identify with.

It wasn’t a show that broke down barriers or particularly changed the world, yet this was equally part of its charm. It tackled some occasionally challenging topics – unplanned pregnancy, marital breakdowns, dual-parenting, infertility and growing up – but always with a lightness of touch and it never served as escapism, enabling the show to feel real and relatable but also serving as a life-affirming comfort watch.

We will see another show like it? 

In terms of quality, it’s of course possible but whether another show will be able to get the traction and grow to be so popular in the same way is unlikely in this day of binge-watching, multiple broadcasters and streaming and catch-up services. Take the BBC sitcom Here We Go (also starring Alison Steadman as an overbearing yet loving mother) – despite having a primetime BBC One slot, two (soon to be three) series and a Christmas Special – it is not widely known, with Broadcast critic Miriam Hugh describing it as ‘criminally underrated’, a term that in many respects means simply underseen. The market place has become so crowded, many great films and shows are easy to access but harder to find.

It just might be that Gavin and Stacey, after the final episode airs, will be the last SitCom to truly enter the lexicon of widely seen and widely loved British SitComs. Yet its popularity, with its real life based humour, situations and characters, is set to endure.

Written by Phil Slatter