Gavin & Stacey

Few 21st-century British sitcoms have won classic status, but Gavin & Stacey did so with a vengeance. James Corden and Ruth Jones, who’d met as actors on ITV’s Fat Friends, were new to writing when they began work on the show, yet their fully-realised, relatable characters, superbly cast, have given us what every creator of TV comedy desires – a well-written series that is a genuinely popular success.

In an era of streaming and niche audiences, Gavin & Stacey retains a rare cross-generational, mainstream appeal that is now vanishing fast.

A photo posted jointly on the BBC and BBC iPlayer Instagram accounts shows the clapperboard from the first day’s filming.

Many British entertainers have crossed the pond in search of fame and fortune in the uniquely competitive US TV market, but few have been as successful as James Corden and returned to the UK looking so at ease with themselves.

When a new BBC Three comedy made its low-key debut in the spring of 2007, no one imagined that Gavin & Stacey would go on to become the comedic equivalent of a national treasure. 

Despite its two writers’ utter lack of experience as screenwriters – James Corden and Ruth Jones had met as actors on Kay Mellor’s slimming club drama for ITV, Fat Friends – it soon became clear that here was a startlingly original show blessed by a group of fully realised characters, a script crackling with wit and an unusually brilliant cast. 

Written and created by Ruth Jones and James Corden, who also star in the series, the hit sitcom will be produced by Fulwell 73, Tidy Productions and Baby Cow Productions.

Gavin & Stacey originally aired on the BBC from 2007 to 2010 for three series, plus a Christmas special in 2008.

The show followed Gavin (Matthew Horne), an ordinary boy from Essex, and Stacey (Joanna Page), an ordinary girl from Barry, who spoke to each other every day on the phone at work.