Gavin and Stacey star 'can see why' show must end after finale
Joanna Page, who will be playing the role of Stacey Shipman for the last time as the Gavin & Stacey finale airs on Christmas day, has said she "can see why" there will be no more episodes of the beloved sitcom.
But Joanna has said she would like to "come back every year" for further Christmas specials, even though she doesn't think there will be any more episodes. Speaking to Radio Times, she said: "I would love to come back every year, but I genuinely don’t think there will ever be any more and I can really see why."
Mathew Horne, who plays Joanna's on-screen husband, also added that he was happy to see co-writers James Corden and Ruth Jones were finishing the series "on the own terms".
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Joanna went on to say that she was nervous that she would leak the series' ending when she got the script for the Christmas special. She said: "I’d just done a job and had stopped at a services to get a burger on my way home, I looked down at my phone and it said, ‘Gavin & Stacey read-through script’."
"And then I looked underneath the bed and saw that she’d (11-year-old daughter, Eva) hidden an iPad under there to record everything. Even in my own house I had to be careful what I said! The thought of being the person who cocks up and reveals something is absolutely terrifying."
She added that the final episode is "classic Gavin & Stacey", while Matthew agreed that it was the "perfect ending". For the latest TV & Showbiz news, sign up to our newsletter
Reflecting on her return to the beloved character for one last time, Joanna revealed: "Just before we started, I did say to my mum, how am I going to play Stacey? I’m 47 now, I’ve got four kids and I don’t look the same as I used to look. So how can I still be that really excitable, bubbly girl? ".
"She’s (Stacey) grown in the way that I’ve grown, so I didn’t overthink it and I just went and had a laugh."
The acclaimed sitcom graced our screens from 2007 to 2010 and made a comeback with a festive special in 2019 that left fans hanging when Nessa, played by Ruth Jones, dramatically popped the question to James Corden's character, Smithy.
Fans can join the characters one last time for Gavin & Stacey: The Finale which will air at 9pm on Christmas Day on BBC One and iPlayer. It will be followed by a documentary called Gavin & Stacey: A Fond Farewell, which will be shown at 7pm on New Year’s Day, also on BBC One and iPlayer. The full interview can be read in the Christmas issue of Radio Times.
