New Gavin & Stacey script ‘written over FaceTime’

JAMES Corden has revealed that he and Ruth Jones wrote the new Gavin & Stacey Christmas episode over FaceTime.

The actor and television presenter, who is based in Los Angeles, said he and Cardiff-based Ruth realised it was the best way to work with them being thousands of mile apart.

He said: “I would get up at 4am, and work with Ruth until it was time to take Max [his son] to school. We didn’t tell anyone we were doing it, certainly not the BBC.

“We thought ‘We’ll do it for us and we’ll know if it’s right’. We’ve seen too many people ruin what they’ve done – for no reason.”

The 40-year-old also said he does not want the forthcoming Gavin & Stacey special to be seen as a “careeremergency, break-the-glass decision”.

Starring Mathew Horne and Joanna Page in the title roles, the special will air on BBC One on Christmas Day.

Corden, who features on the cover of British GQ’s September issue, told the magazine: “We would’ve hated for Gavin & Stacey to be seen as something we’re reviving in a panic, over no longer being relevant... we’re hoping it won’t be seen as this careeremergency, break-the-glass decision”.

Filming has been taking place in and around Barry in the past few weeks and fans have been turning out in their hundreds in a bid to meet the cast.

And the cast and crew have been enjoying themselves at local hotspots inbetween filming, even joining a hen party in a Cardiff nightclub.

Father-of-three Corden has made a name for himself in the US as the host of The Late Late Show, which he has fronted since 2015.

Having landed a string of roles in high-profile films, including a part in Ocean’s 8 and the forthcoming live action remake of the musical Cats, he said he has only just become “comfortable” with being famous.

He told British GQ: “I would say, in the last 12 months, that, OK, I understand the version of me that people want to meet, and I’ll give them that, and that’s all right, ‘cos it’s actually harder, it’s more work to be rude and abrupt. And I don’t want to be that ‘Do you mind?’ person.”

The Gavin & Stacey Christmas special will see Horne return as Gavin and Page will reprise her role as Stacey, alongside Corden’s character Smithy and Rob Brydon’s Bryn.

■ The September issue of British GQ is available on newsstands and digital download from August 2