Gavin & Stacey

I watched the Gavin and Stacey Xmas special without ever seeing the actual show which had come on and gone on BBC Three. I did find it rather amusing so I decided to check out series one and I wasn’t disappointed! The British don’t seem to churn out quality comedies in the way the Americans seem to, so this was a joy to watch. Not since the days of Men Behaving Badly and Only Fools and Horses have we had such a great show to chuckle along to. The best thing about this brand of comedy is how subtle a lot of the gags are because everything is played out so realistically.

The basic story for the show is the relationship between Gavin and Stacey, Gavin who lives in Essex and Stacey in Barry, Wales. Their love life blossoms on the phone and in the first episode we see the two lovers meet for the first time in London. By the second episode Gavin has proposed to Stacey and she has accepted, the rest of the series follows their journey to their wedding day. The other major plot line is the relationship between Smithy (Gavin’s best mate) and Nessa (Stacey’s best mate), after a one night stand it turns out that Nessa is preggers and Smithy is the father, which would not have been a problem, had the two not hated each other!

The characters Gavin and Stacey are fine, it’s nice to see Matthew Horne move on from his bit part role in the Catherine Tate Show to bigger and better things, but it’s the supporting cast that make this show, what it is. First off we have Smithy, he’s fat, brash and loud but still has an air of cheeky charm about him, his opposite number, Nessa is a big burly welsh lass with a mysterious past. The chemistry between the two is brilliant (which it should be seeing as though they are both co producers for the show!), especially in the first episode when Smithy meets her for the first time and thinks she’s a minger! Even bit part characters like the warring couple Pete and Dawn have me cracking up. But my favourite character by far has to be Bryn played by Rob Brydon. Bryn is an exact copy of Brydon’s previous incarnation, Keith Barrett, who seemed to vanish from our screens all of a sudden. Brydon play’s Stacey’s Uncle who is fascinated by technology and manages to bore anyone and everyone! His refusal to speak to Jason (Stacey’s gay brother) is awkward and hilarious at the same time and we are all desperate to find out what happened between Bryn and Jason on the fishing trip!

I can’t wait to find out what happens in the second series and news coming from Ruth Jones and James Corden is that a third series is a strong possibility!