“I read the first scene and I was weeping”
Gavin and Stacey star Larry Lamb says that the opening scene of the upcoming reunion special had him weeping.
Lamb, who plays Gavin’s father Mick Shipman, was interviewed on BBC Radio 4’s The World at One on Tuesday, and revealed that he had only just received the script.
“I literally got the script just before I came on,” Lamb explained, “and I read the first scene and I was weeping.”
“It’s always in the writing though isn’t it?” Lamb continued, praising the show’s creators James Corden and Ruth Jones. “That’s the thing, it’s in the writing. What do you capture when you get it down?”
“People ask me this question over and over again, ‘Is any of it or was any of it ad-libbed?’ It was never ad-libbed. James and Ruth captured the feeling, they captured the moment.”
“They got it right, and then they spent a lot of time figuring out the people to play those parts and matched us all up. We all sat around in a hotel every night together like a family and the whole thing became that unit – off stage, as well as on stage – and the magic was captured on paper first and then we picked up and got it.”
It was announced on Tuesday morning that Gavin and Stacey would be returning for a one of Christmas special this year.
Gavin and Stacy ran from 2007 to 2010. Initially airing on BBC Three, it got the move to BBC One following its massive ratings success.
The final episode was broadcast on January 1st, 2010, with Stacey announcing her pregnancy and Smithy interrupting Nessa and Dave’s wedding.
In a joint statement, Corden and fellow co-creator Ruth Jones shed a little light on why they were bringing the show back.
“Over the last ten years, we’ve talked a lot about Gavin and Stacey – where they might be today and what their lives might look like. And 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.
“We’re so excited to get the chance to work with our fabulous cast and crew once more and to give fans of the show a festive treat this Christmas.”
