Gavin & Stacey back for holiday special as its stars make up
THE sitcom Gavin & Stacey is to return to British television nearly 10 years after its stars – James Corden and Mathew Horne – fell out.
A one-hour Christmas special of the BBC show is being made with the hope it will attract record viewing figures over the festive period.
The series finished in 2010 shortly before Corden, 40, gained international fame and fortune as the host of The Late Late Show in Los Angeles.
For years, the actors had appeared inseparable. But the pair began pursuing solo careers after a sketch show and feature-length movie in which they starred flopped.
In recent years, the pair have insisted their friendship was “slowly improving” after admitting they failed to speak to each other for a few months.
But the BBC yesterday announced Corden and co-star Ruth Jones have been working on a one-off Christmas programme about the characters set in Essex and South Wales.
Tweeting a picture of the script, Jones and Corden revealed they had been plotting the return of the sitcom, adding they were “excited” to work with their former colleagues again.
“Over the last 10 years we’ve talked a lot about Gavin & Stacey – where they might be today and what their lives might look like,” they said. “So, in secret, we took the plunge and wrote this one-hour special. We’ve loved revisiting Barry and Essex again, and bringing the characters back together has been a joy.”
The show stars Horne, 40, and Joanna Page, alongside a supporting cast including Rob Brydon, Larry Lamb, Melanie Walters and Alison Steadman.
Gavin & Stacey aired for three series, plus a Christmas special, from 2007 to 2010 on the BBC. The 2010 New Year’s Day finale was watched by more than 10million viewers.
The show told the long-distance relationship story of Gavin (Horne), from Essex, and Stacey (Page), from Barry, who fell in love and married after speaking on the phone to each other every day at work.
Charlotte Moore, director of BBC content, said she was “hugely excited” about the return of the show.
“We can’t wait to see what’s happened to everyone over the last nine years and what’s next for one of the nation’s favourite comedy families,” she said.
The sitcom was a breakthrough hit for BBC Three when it launched in 2007. A Christmas special in 2008 saw the audience grow and helped the third and final series move to BBC One, leading some critics to complain the move meant it lost some of its edge.
The series, which even saw John Prescott, the former deputy prime minister, make a cameo appearance, won numerous awards, including two Baftas and four British Comedy awards.