26/13
Essex and Wales collide when Gavin and Stacey fall in love and bring their friends, family and baggage with them. Apart from the scenes filmed in London in the first episode, the entire series was filmed in Wales, including scenes set in Essex. The house that served as the Shipmans' The house (Gavin’s family) is in Dinas Powys, a village 1 mile north-west of Barry, where the Wests (Stacey’s family) live. In Series 3, both Bryn and Gavin’s cars have completely different registration numbers than the previous series. Gavin’s blue Saxo changed from T-reg (MR 1999) to X-reg (MR 2000). Bryn’s green Picasso changed from CV02 (MR 2002, registered in Cardiff) to HV54 (MR 2004, registered in Portsmouth). They are obviously different cars. Featured in Gavin & Stacey: Outtakes (2007). RunBy Stephen Fretwell Featuring Stephen Fretwell. It was a wonderful, short, minimal commitment that took me two or three days to get through. It’s nothing earth-shattering and doesn’t move mountains or change paradigms. Rather, it is a character study of two (extended) families brought together – one from Wales and the other from England – after the couple’s union and marriage. It’s a simple, fun and friendly watch. I wish there were more shows like this where each of the characters is kind hearted, loving, social minded and thinks about those in their lives and expresses love for them despite their faults. It’s not groundbreaking, but it’s not fancy either. It’s an honest slice of life and it’s beautiful. It’s not the laugh-out-loud slapstick that British comedies often are. Rather, it’s character-driven. We highly recommend.