The Mick Shipman actor has endured a horrid health battle
Just weeks after Gavin and Stacey wrapped filming for its final ever episode, one of the main characters from the show revealed he was left ‘feeling like he was dying’ due to a ‘hellish’ medical condition.
Larry Lamb is known in millions of households across the United Kingdom for starring as Mick Shipman in Gavin and Stacey across its three seasons and three Christmas specials.
Returning to the role for its final ever episode on Christmas Day 2024, more than 12 million people watched it on the night making it the most watched TV programme on 25 December for a decade.
Mick stands up for Smithy
Credit: BBC
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Set five years after the last Xmas special, in which Nessa was left on one knee after proposing to Smithy, it caught up on what was happening half a decade later.
A perfect feature length episode of television, it has been hailed as an ideal ending to the show that has been in our lives since 2007.
Aged 77, Lamb played Gavin’s dad, Mick, across all the seasons and episodes.
But with filming wrapping in October, he revealed he was struck down by an awful ailment that has left him permanently disabled.
Larry Lamb as Mick Shipman in Gavin and Stacey (BBC)
The former EastEnders star said he was left feeling ‘like he was dying’ during the bout of illness that left him seriously unwell.
Weeks after filming for the Gavin and Stacey finale wrapped, he flew out to Senegal for a trip to help publicise some of the worst poverty in the world that children in the country are enduring.
But after returning to the UK, Lamb was left fighting a brutal infection across his body.
Wiping him out, it reached his ears and as a result, has caused him to be completely deaf in one of them.
Mick’s big moment in the final episode (BBC)
“It’s been catastrophic. I’m famous for never being ill,” Lamb said.
“But I went in to complete physical meltdown.
“At one point I felt like I was dying. But the real shock was when I realised I couldn’t hear properly.”
He’s been left with significant deafness (Ferdaus Shamim/WireImage)
Suspicion is that Lamb’s infection and hearing loss was caused by malaria, with the actor saying: “We were in and out within a week. Back home in north London I felt fine, so stopped taking the Malarone pills [malaria treatment].
“I’d been told I should take them for eight days after leaving Senegal, but didn’t understand why as I was completely well. But about three days later I began to feel ill. It was like the worst hangover I’d ever had.
“For a few days I had a fever which caused me to sweat and then cool again. I couldn’t sleep – I didn’t have the strength to do anything.”
Lamb has been left completely deaf in his right ear with mild hearing loss in his left.Featured Image Credit: BBC
Topics: Gavin And Stacey, UK News, Entertainment, TV, Viral, Health, Celebrity
Tom Earnshaw
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Published 20:34 26 Dec 2024 GMT
Larry Lamb breaks silence after Gavin and Stacey finale moment left fans ‘sobbing’
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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Updated 08:43 27 Dec 2024 GMTPublished 08:29 27 Dec 2024 GMT
Gavin and Stacey called out for making simple ‘mistake’ in huge scene from finale
The Gavin and Stacey finale broke viewing records
Fans of Gavin and Stacey are still recovering after that emotional rollercoaster of a finale on Wednesday (25 December), though there may have been something missing.
That’s right, some fans think that Corden and co. made a massive mistake when it came to the near-flawless final episode.
It’s been 17 years in the making, with the same cast and plot we’ve all been following, though they still managed to catch us off guard with one of the most emotional TV finales ever.
Spoilers ahead, if you hadn’t guessed already.
Gavin & Stacey: The Finale trailer
BBC
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Gavin and Stacey behind the scenes details emerge
From finally (almost) addressing the fishing trip to finding out that Sonia was still around, the episode was full of twists and turns that left several viewers in tears.
A lot of details have emerged about the Gavin and Stacey finale, as extras went off script, Gavin (Mathew Horne) refused to wear a West Ham kit, and Neil the Baby made a cameo at the wedding.
Some funny, some heartfelt, a number of moments made the episode – and the show as a whole – such a joy to watch, but fans found a reason to be slightly upset when they realised one detail about the final scenes.
It’s finally over, what a ride (BBC)
After Smithy finally declares his love for Nessa (Ruth Jones) five years after her proposal, leaving Sonia at the altar, he legs it to the Southampton docks to stop her from spending six months in Curacao.
Luckily, things worked out after he got down on one knee and popped the question, though residents of Southampton were not impressed.
A number of fans of the show noticed it wasn’t at Southampton docks (BBC)
They had clocked on to the fact that the scenes at the docks were not filmed in the coastal city, revealing it looked nothing like the real docks in Southampton.
Gasp.
It turns out these scenes were filmed around 100 miles away in Newport Docks, Wales.
Obviously, this didn’t stop 12.3 million people from watching the programme, though many Southampton residents took to social media to point out the detail.
One wrote: “Gavin and Stacey really tryna gaslight me into thinking that’s southampton docks. i know my city smh”
It was glaringly obvious to some that it was Newport Docks, not Southampton (BBC)
Another wrote: “Superb acting job by Newport Docks, playing Southampton docks on the #GavinAndStacey Christmas special.”
Although a third shared: “I knew it wasn’t the real Southampton docks, but I don’t care!”
A record breaking farewell to Barry Island
The 12.3 million viewers that tuned in broke the record for the most watched TV episode across all channels in over 10 years, surpassing the number of 11.6 million viewers set by none other than – you guessed it – Gavin and Stacey with its 2019 Christmas special.
What an ending, though. Gavin and Stacey, you’ll be missed.Featured Image Credit: BBC
Topics: Gavin And Stacey, TV, Entertainment, BBC
Joshua Nair
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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.
Gavin and Stacey The Finale
Credit: BBC
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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%2Fbbc-gavin-and-stacey-larry-lamb-health-375654-20241227%3Ffbclid%3DIwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTAAAR105oDnoCHnwxSTN8onbIVmeHYmgtGWoScmKcbVl3HyX3HvSQ4vC7tc2K0_aem_RbZNcJ2mkAldZ53j81ZbBw#%7B%22ci%22%3A0%2C%22os%22%3A85689.60000002384%2C%22ls%22%3A84387.5%2C%22le%22%3A85645.70000004768%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 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.
Gavin and Stacey The Finale
Credit: BBC
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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.