Gavin and Stacey star plays coy when quizzed on possible wedding in finale
One of the stars of hit TV show Gavin and Stacey is keeping viewers on edge for as long as possible, having refused to say whether there will be a wedding in the finale of the BBC sitcom.
Alison Steadman, 78, who plays everyone’s favourite fake vegetarian, Pam Shipman, said she was sworn to secrecy over whether Nessa and Smithy finally tie the knot.
Speculation has been rife for months that Ruth Jones’s character will marry James Corden’s character in the last-ever episode of the comedy, which airs on Christmas Day.
The hit TV series aired between 2007 and 2010 and returned in 2019 with a one-off festive episode that ended on a cliffhanger when Nessa got down on one knee – we all deserve a round of applause for waiting five years for an answer.
With the show returning and set to go out in style, fans of the series believe it will end with an emotional wedding as the beloved characters finally say, ‘I do.’
The show starred Mathew Horne and Joanna Page as young couple Gavin and Stacey who fall in love despite one living in Essex and the other in Wales.
Larry Lamb and Alison play Gavin’s parents Mick and Pam, while Melanie Walters stars as Stacey’s widowed mother, Gwen, with Rob Brydon as her Uncle Bryn.
Alison, 78, played coy as she spoke at the Cheltenham Literature Festival about returning to her role, while also promoting her newly published memoir, Out Of Character.
The Liverpool-born star spoke of her early career in theatre before landing leading roles in Mike Leigh’s Nuts in May and Abigail’s Party, as well as The Singing Detective and Pride and Prejudice.
Returning to Gavin and Stacey, she was asked, ‘Do they, or don’t they?’ and Alison replied: ‘I don’t know.’
She joked she could be bribed for ‘a couple of million…’ but then added: ‘No, no, no, I cannot say a word and I will not say a word to anyone at all.’
Alison explained the show began on BBC Three before gradually working its way up to BBC One as popularity soared.
‘It was Ruth and James’s first thing that they wrote together, and the BBC obviously loved it, but they couldn’t kind of risk pushing it straight onto BBC One, so it went on to BBC Three, and then it moved to BBC Two, got more and more popular, and ended up on BBC One.’
Alison was asked whether the character of Pam was created through her own improvisation or from the writing of Ruth and James in the writing room.
‘Well, I wouldn’t say I’m like Pam at all but what they did was they wrote this wonderful, wonderful character who’s one minute, you know, shouting, “Mick! Mick! Stop that!” or whatever,’ she said.
‘And the next minute she’s flinging her arms around him and they’re cuddling and, you know, it’s really lovely. And she loves her son, her little prince.’
Shooting for Gavin and Stacey wrapped earlier this week, with Alison adding: ‘When we finished filming the other day, I got this lovely card from Matt Horne, who plays Gavin, and he just said, “I’m so, so proud to think I’ve had you as my mum in the series.”
‘It was just so lovely. It’s been such a great show to do.’
Pressed again on whether Smithy had said yes to Nessa’s proposal, Alison stood her ground and replied: ‘No, I will not put you out of your misery. I’m not saying a word. More than my life’s worth.’
‘The main thing is, when we were filming, truly the paparazzi were everywhere taking pictures; they thought it was a nightmare, and there were people at the end of the street,’ said Alison, after photos captured Smithy in a suit and Nessa in a wedding ring.
‘They were here and there and everyone. And the main thing that Ruth and James were saying to everyone is, “We don’t want to spoil it for you. We want Christmas Day to be a surprise.”
‘And once you know a bit of secret or a story, then you’re going to spoil it.
‘We want it to be (a surprise). And that is what I want too.’
The festive final episode of Gavin and Stacey will air on BBC iPlayer and BBC One on December 25.
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