TV

Gavin and Stacey star Larry Lamb spills the beans on long-awaited Christmas special

The gang are back!

Larry Lamb has spoken about the return of Gavin and Stacey for the first time since the news of its comeback was confirmed.

Appearing on This Morning (May 29), the actor let slip that filming for the highly-anticipated Christmas special starts very soon…

Larry Lamb This Morning
Larry plays Mick Shipman in the BBC comedy (Credit: ITV)

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Speaking to Eamonn Holmes and Ruth Langsford, Larry also revealed that James Corden called him personally to ask him to reprise his role as Mick Shipman.

Former EastEnders actor Larry said: “I was just going to make this phone call, nothing important, I forget what it was and then all of a sudden I get this phone call from a Los Angeles number.

“Then someone said ‘Hello, Larry, it’s James Corden’. And I couldn’t believe it. I said ‘what do YOU want’ and on it went. We just had about 10 minutes on the phone.”

Larry Lamb This Morning
Larry has already read the scripts for the Christmas special (Credit: ITV)

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Larry continued: “James asked if I was available in the next little while, as it looked like we’d be doing a Christmas special.

“It was quite extraordinary, the whole thing. It was quite Hollywood-esque getting this phone call from a Hollywood superstar over there in LaLa Land just to say we’re going to take a trip back down memory lane.”

He went on to say: “I’d gotten to the point where I thought it’d been left, this jewel as it was, and they didn’t want to go on. It was only ever going to be one series anyway.”

Gavin And stacey christmas special
They’ll be back! (Credit: BBC)

In fact, Gavin and Stacey went on to become an iconic BBC comedy which spawned three series and made stars of all the cast including James Corden and Ruth Jones, who created the show.

Of the new script, Larry commented: “It’s amazing what James and Ruth have managed to do.

“I finally read the script. It got me… It was like running into someone who was a major part of your life and you’re just so happy about it, it didn’t really matter what they were doing, it was just so poignant. It just sort of took me along.”

However the 71-year-old actor couldn’t confirm if all of the cast were returning, and admitted: “I have to be honest and say I’m not right up to speed on that but, by the time I managed to read the script, I thought – they’ve managed to do this…

“Filming will start not too long from now. It’s going to be extraordinary… It’s all super hush hush.”

Actress Joanna Page, meanwhile, took to social media to share her excitement with fans, writing: “It’s happening!!! I’m so excited. Can’t wait to get on the slots down Barry again!!!”

Fans of Gavin and Stacey rejoiced this week, when James announced a one-off Christmas special of the show – which ended in 2010.

He said he’d kept it a secret alongside co-writer Ruth for some time, revealing: “We’ve loved revisiting Barry and Essex again, and bringing the characters back together has been a joy.”

The BBC also confirmed that Mathew Horne (Gavin) and Joanna (Stacey) – whose relationship is the focus of the show – and James (Smithy) and Ruth (Neesa) will be joined by returning cast members Rob Brydon, Melanie Walters and Alison Steadman.

Gavin and stacey nessa and Smithy
Nessa and Smithy – aka creators Ruth Jones and James Corden (Credit: BBC)

In a statement, James and Ruth – who co-wrote the show – said: “Over the last 10 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. Thank you BBC for helping to make this happen.”

It’s no surprise that the broadcaster jumped at the chance to bring the much-loved sitcom back for a special, as the 2010 New Year’s Day finale was viewed by a record 10.25 million viewers.

Will you be tuning in to the Gavin and Stacey Christmas special? Leave us a comment on our Facebook page @EntertainmentDailyFix and let us know what you think!


Helen Fear
TV Editor