Horne and Page on Gavin and Stacey's 20-Year Legacy
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- Mathew Horne and Joanna Page sat down with the Guardian nearly 20 years after the 'Gavin & Stacey' pilot to discuss the BBC sitcom created by Ruth Jones and James Corden in 2007, whose final Christmas special was one of the most-watched scripted TV shows of the century.
- Page recalled being nervous at her audition because she knew Horne was 'the fella off Catherine Tate,' and their first scene together required a kiss — 'quite bold of them,' Horne noted, adding 'you wouldn't have that now' without an intimacy coordinator.
- Both actors cited intimate moments from the 2019 Christmas special, including a beer mat exchange on Barry promenade at 1am that Horne called 'really intimate, tender' despite thousands of people watching nearby.
- Fan reactions documented in the interview include people naming children and animals after Gavin and Stacey, vulnerable fans telling the actors the show 'saved my life' through illness or marriage breakdowns, and one man who tattooed James Corden's face and Smithy's full curry order 'just above his belly button' — which Page said she 'witnessed.'
- Horne kept the original read-through script and the beer mat from the 2019 special; Page kept Stacey's denim jacket, yellow dress, a living-room painting, and what she called 'this weird purple glass chicken thing' now on her bookcase.
- Horne and Page now co-host a food podcast called 'Table for Four,' and emphasized a unique bond — Horne said 'only Jo and I know what it feels like to be Gavin and Stacey,' a closeness their partners don't share.
Why it matters: Approaching its 20th anniversary, 'Gavin & Stacey' has built a fandom so devoted that fans have named children and animals after the characters, tattooed Smithy's full curry order on their bodies, and told the actors the show 'saved my life' through illness or breakups — a level of personal, decades-long investment from viewers that reinforces the show's status as a touchstone of British romantic comedy.
