Mick was the true hero of the finale
Larry Lamb has sent a message to Gavin and Stacey fans after the final ever episode, which contains what might be his character Mick’s finest ever moment.
That’s saying something, since Mick has been brilliant all through the 17 years since Gavin and Stacey first started, but the show really stuck the landing and saved some of the best moments for last.
Mick stands up for Smithy
Credit: BBC
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First off, Mick delivered a beautiful speech about how he and Pam (Alison Steadman) had tried to have another child after Gavin (Matthew Horne) was born but weren’t able to, and how the hurt went away after Smithy (James Corden) came into their lives.
Mick then told Smithy he was part of the family, and may as well have said that he was a second son.
No wonder, then, that when everyone who knew Smithy stood up at his wedding to say they didn’t want him to get married to Sonia, it was Mick finally rising to his feet that sealed the decision.
Mick had made it clear he didn’t think stopping the wedding was the right idea, but when Smithy turned to him for guidance he stood up with the rest and let the lad he loved like a son know how he felt.
Mick stood up and the nation rejoiced… (BBC)
The moment when Mick stood up at the wedding has been widely celebrated in the aftermath of the finale, with some fans describing it as ‘cinema’ and others echoing one of Pam’s iconic lines by saying ‘I’ve gone, I’ve actually gone’.
They called it ‘epic, heartfelt and touching’ while others said that Larry Lamb’s performance during the episode had them ‘in floods’.
Crying at Christmas is not normally a good sign, but it’s alright if the nation is watching a performance that’s giving the heartstrings a mighty tug.
The man himself sent a message addressing all of the praise that had been coming his way after the finale, as Lamb posted on social media to say: “Thanks so much for all your lovely words ..so proud to be part of such a wonderful show !!”
When responding to fans, he also said that ‘playing Mick has made me more like him’, and that sounds like a very good thing.
Thanks so much for all your lovely words ..so proud to be part of such a wonderful show !!
The actor was also eager to spread the praise around, as he said that the toast he gave to Smithy at his stag do was ‘a gift of a speech from two extraordinary writers’.
So much effort went into Gavin and Stacey: The Finale, including keeping the actor who played Sonia (Laura Aikman) in separate hotels to help keep the secret of what Smithy said to Nessa’s proposal.
Pretty much everything in the show except for the fishing trip was wrapped up and given an ending.
Even Nessa’s old flame Dave Coaches (Steffan Rhodri) was given a redemption as it turned out he was Gwen’s (Melanie Walters) new boyfriend and dealt with a prolonged freakout from Bryn (Rob Brydon), lending his coach to get the Shipman and West families to Nessa in time to stop her from sailing away.
It’s peak television, is what it is.Featured Image Credit: BBC
Topics: Gavin And Stacey, TV and Film, BBC, Celebrity
Joe Harker
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Published 15:03 26 Dec 2024 GMT
Gavin and Stacey star reveals extreme measures she went through to keep her character’s return to finale secret
Even her family didn’t know until the big day
Warning: Honking massive spoilers for Gavin and Stacey: The Finale to follow.
That was pretty f**king brilliant, wasn’t it?
Five years ago Nessa (Ruth Jones) got down on one knee and proposed to Smithy (James Corden) right at the end of the previous Gavin and Stacey episode, which cut out before we got to know what his answer was.
Returning half a decade later for one last episode, viewers were more excited to see what Smithy’s answer had been than they were for their Christmas presents and it was all wrapped up in a stonkingly good final episode.
It turns out that Gavin and Stacey stuck the landing brilliantly, with fans adoring that last-ever episode and reckoning it wrapped everything up in style.
Except of course for whatever the hell happened on the fishing trip, but in this case, whatever each fan can imagine it being is better than getting a definitive answer that takes all the imagination out of it.
It’s finally over, what a ride (BBC)
With the burning issue of what answer Smithy gave to Nessa hanging over the final episode, one Gavin and Stacey star had to go through some rather extreme measures to keep her presence on the set a secret to avoid giving the game away.
We are of course talking about Laura Aikman, who plays Smithy’s fiancée Sonia, since her being in the final episode would make it clear to viewers that Smithy hadn’t married Nessa after all, otherwise she wouldn’t be around.
There’s a big reveal early on in the episode where Smithy goes to meet his bride-to-be and it’s Sonia, leaving millions of Brits watching at Christmas realising that he didn’t accept Nessa’s proposal, though she managed to avoid anyone else knowing she’d proposed with some impromptu Cossack dancing.
Taking to Instagram, Laura Aikman posted a video of her own family reacting to the big Christmas reveal, and either acting ability runs in the family or they genuinely didn’t know she was going to be in Gavin and Stacey again.
“I take an NDA very seriously,” she captioned the video, and on her Stories she shared a post from episode director Christine Gernon, who explained how they kept things so secretive.
Knowing Laura Aikman was in the episode ahead of time would have spoiled one of the main questions, so they kept it a secret (BBC)
“Laura Aikman spent the whole G&S shoot being hidden away,” the director posted.
“Staying in a different hotel, not allowed to come to wrap or screening parties so no one knew Sonia was back.
“Such a great reveal. And she’s amazing as both actor and person.”
That final episode all led up to Smithy and Sonia’s wedding, featuring a brilliant performance by Neil the Baby, though he didn’t tie the knot after everyone he knew (and a couple of people on Sonia’s side) and loved told him it was a massive mistake.
Everyone had been telling Gavin (Mathew Horne) he had to say something and right at the last moment he did, though in the end, it was Mick (Larry Lamb) that Smithy needed to tell him he was making a mistake.
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DECIntwIW2D/embed/?cr=1&v=14&rd=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ladbible.com&rp=%2Fentertainment%2Ftv%2Fgavin-and-stacey-finale-larry-lamb-statement-017702-20241226%3Ffbclid%3DIwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTAAAR3IFK5DoBPT8rVC4IcCDdzyI2ik6D3tLF295cbtCFZ75-RPwtyYqBkB0_s_aem_i7aTBG3toEKHGrv9WOy2SQ#%7B%22ci%22%3A0%2C%22os%22%3A142757.90000003576%2C%22ls%22%3A142661%2C%22le%22%3A142674.80000001192%7D
Rushing off to stop Nessa from heading out to sea, Smithy managed to get there in time to propose, with the show closing on their wedding and a montage of some of the great moments from Gavin and Stacey.
James Corden revealed that the episode’s final moments were the last thing they shot as he told a Q&A at the premiere: “The first schedule of the show had us finishing, I think it was going to be me on my own in a car on a low loader and Ruth and I were like ‘that can’t be the last day!’
“And I think that’s the only time we’ve gone ‘we’d like to have a say in the schedule here’, and it was all to do with people’s dates.
“This is a massive cast who are all very busy and have different things to do and have juggled a lot of things around to do it, but we really, really felt that the last day should be the last scene and that the last line should be the last thing that we ever shoot.”
Ruth Jones opened up on the emotional final moments of the episode where Smithy and Nessa finally got together.
She said: “It was lovely because it did feel like a real wedding, didn’t it?
“Like a real wedding to sort of pub reception and we were very grateful to being indulged, for being able to do that because it made such a world of difference that we did that last shot.
“And then Chris, when she called cut on the very last take, arranged for the sound department to play ‘Run’ and that got us all going.”Featured Image Credit: BBC
Topics: Gavin And Stacey, TV, BBC
Joe Harker
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Updated 11:17 26 Dec 2024 GMTPublished 11:09 26 Dec 2024 GMT
Reason why Gavin and Stacey character was removed from original finale script
They only appeared in two episodes over the 17 years
Wrapping up 17 years of one of the most beloved British shows, the Christmas day viewing of Gavin and Stacey: The Finale was an absolute treat.
We had Neil the Baby getting us all emotional with ‘Blackbird’, the continued mystery of the fishing trip and Nessa and Smithy finally ending up together.
Making up probably one of the best ever last episodes of a TV show, they brought back a load of characters from across the years – be honest the Dave Coaches reveal took us all by surprise.
And sure, we weren’t exactly hoping for Sonia to be there but there were even the likes of Smithy’s mum (Pam Ferris) and Sheridan Smith as Rudi (Smithy to her friends, of course).
However, there was one returning character who ended up being removed from the original finale script.
Now, it may not be a character that comes immediately to mind but those truly Gavin and Stacey-obsessed will instantly know who Dick Powell is.
The Welsh bloke may have only appeared in two episodes of the BBC show altogether but he was mentioned plenty of time by the West lot.
They’d tried to include him (BBC)
Dick Powell (Gwynfor Roberts) was a bit like the local Del Boy, as they all seemed to get some kind of dodgy knock-off items from him.
He of course appeared in series three, episode five, to sell some stolen meat for the big BBQ at Gwen’s house. And according to Uncle Bryn, he’s the only person in all of Barry who only speaks Welsh.
Gavin and Stacey creators Ruth Jones and James Corden had tried to include him too but sadly it just couldn’t work it out.
According to Metro, Jones said during a Q&A: “I think in the original script we had Dick Powell. There just wasn’t room for him, God bless him.”
What a finale (BBC)
The script for the finale didn’t quite go exactly as planned though, with extras surprising the cast in a hilarious moment.
During the wedding scene when they all start to stand up on Smithy’s side to stop him from marrying Sonia, two random women on her side also stand.
“When Anna said, ‘Please stand’, there’s two ladies at the back on Stacey’s side who stood up! We didn’t tell them to,” Corden revealed.
“They were just real fans of the show who were so in it [the plot], that they just stood up and were like, ‘I just thought he shouldn’t be marrying her!’”
You can watch Gavin and Stacey: The Finale on BBC iPlayer.Featured Image Credit: BBC
Topics: Gavin And Stacey, TV and Film
Jess Battison
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Updated 18:32 26 Dec 2024 GMTPublished 18:31 26 Dec 2024 GMT
Actor who played Smithy’s fiancée has issued an apology after Gavin and Stacey Christmas special
She knows her character was the villain of the piece
The actor who played Smithy’s fiancée in the last ever episode of Gavin and Stacey has apologised after having to play the role of the villain.
The BBC was King of the Christmas Day broadcasting battle, cheerfully stomping ITV‘s offerings into festive paste in the ratings thanks to a roster that included the new Wallace and Gromit film and the last ever offering of Gavin and Stacey.
About 12.3 million people tuned in to watch the finale to a show that started all the way back in 2007 and had last given us an episode in 2019.
The BBC says the grand finale brought in the biggest TV audience for 16 years, the last time more Brits were all watching something at Christmas was in 2008 when Wallace and Gromit: A Matter of Loaf and Death was on our screens.
With so many people wanting to see Nessa (Ruth Jones) and Smithy (James Corden) get together after she proposed at the end of the previous Christmas special, woe betide the poor soul who stood in their way.
That would be Sonia (Laura Aikman), who was all set to marry Smithy in the final ever Gavin and Stacey despite it being painfully clear that she just wasn’t a good fit for him.
It seems like even Sonia’s actor wanted her character to get out of the way so Smithy and Nessa could get together (BBC)
It turns out that even Sonia’s actor seemed not to be rooting for her, as Aikman posted an apology in her Instagram Stories as she reacted to the final episode, writing: “Many apologies for my behaviour… x”
She also shared posts of people calling her ‘everyone’s favourite Christmas Day villain’, and said that her family got to see Sonia ‘ruining Christmas again’ and enjoyed a meme joking that Sonia and not Feathers McGraw was ‘the nastiest villain on telly this Christmas’.
Fortunately, Laura seems to know very well that her character was set up to be the villain of the piece by being in the way of Smithy and Nessa finally getting together, and it didn’t help that she ended up being quite the Bridezilla.
Throughout the final episode of Gavin and Stacey, it was made very clear that she wasn’t a good fit with Smithy’s nearest and dearest, and breaking up that wonderful bunch was never going to be the happy ending we were all hoping for.
She knows she way playing the bad guy. (Instagram/@lauraikman)
In fairness, there was one moment from the finale where viewers did feel sorry for Sonia as on her hen party, our usual favourites hired her a stripper, a move which went down horribly and left lots who were watching thinking that in this one case she was in the right.
Plus without Sonia, Smithy and Nessa would probably be together already and we wouldn’t have got the marvellous final episode.
It took a lot of subterfuge and secrecy to avoid giving away Sonia’s involvement, which would have made it clear that Smithy had said no to Nessa before the episode even aired, as Aikman had also said she took the NDA ‘very seriously’.
The crew were able to keep the secret by booking Laura into a different hotel to the rest of the crew, with director Christine Gernon saying the actor was ‘not allowed to come to wrap or screening parties’ just to make sure her participation was under wraps.
At this point we’d say we hope the viewers remember that Sonia is a character and avoid pouring scorn on her actor, but you know how some fans can struggle with the easy task of separating the two.Featured Image Credit: Instagram / lauraikman / BBC
Topics: Gavin And Stacey, TV, BBC, Celebrity
Joe Harker
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Updated 09:36 26 Dec 2024 GMTPublished 13:18 15 Dec 2024 GMT
Actor explains baffling Gavin and Stacey joke that’s had fans confused for 15 years
Well, at least that’s one Gavin and Stacey mystery solved before the finale
It’s nearly the big day. The day we’ve been waiting for after months and months of build-up. After little teases of what we can expect and making plans ready for it.
Christmas Day is just less than two weeks away now and that means, it’s nearly the day of the final episode of Gavin and Stacey.
I’ll be honest, that’s a big part of Christmas for me this year.
And to prepare for the big special finale, you might also be rewatching the previous episodes and reminding yourself of the classic jokes and the huge mystery.
But there’s one baffling joke that’s had fans confused for the past 15 years and the actor who delivered it has thankfully explained it.
Back in November 2009, the first episode of season three aired on the BBC and saw Gavin trying to get used to working with his new Welsh colleagues while Stacey was just buzzing to be back in Barry.
Mathew Horne’s character is introduced to Owain Hughes who ‘heads up the website’
“Hi, nice to meet you. [I’m] Gavin Shipman,” Gavin says in his new Cardiff office job.
“Owain Hughes,” responds Owain, adding: “And before you ask, no I don’t!”
Owain Hughes, the man of mystery (BBC)
While his colleagues laugh away knowingly at this, Gavin looks absolutely baffled, trying to understand what on earth they’re on about. He even goes on to tell his family and friends about it to try and get an explanation.
But most of us viewers have been just as confused, long wondering what the gag actually is.
And Steven Meo, who played Owain, told the BBC it’s ‘always on the tip of his tongue’ when he meets Gavin and Stacey fans.
“So it’s like, ‘Hi, I’m Steve, there’s no joke’,” he said.
Yep, he explained that it was actually not even a joke at all, it was just in there to annoy us.
Same Gav, same (BBC)
“You can get on these threads and there’s so many people know exactly what the joke is,” Meo said, referencing people’s theories about it being ‘a play on wine’ or that you’ve ‘got to speak Welsh’ to get it.
He even said his mum once rang him from Tesco where the manager had said anyone who could explain it would get ‘a free bottle of wine’.
“I went, ‘I can’t say mam’,” Meo laughed.
And he really can’t because: “It was literally just a red herring designed to wind people up.”
Well, that’s that mystery solved. Now, WHAT HAPPENED ON THAT FISHING TRIP?