Gavin And Stacey Star Ruth Jones Admits It Was ‘Strange’ Working With James Corden Again (And Hasn't Ruled Out Another Series)

The much-loved comedy is returning for a one-off festive special this Christmas.
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Ruth Jones has admitted it was “strange” working with James Corden again on the Gavin And Stacey Christmas special.

The much-loved BBC comedy is the highlight of the BBC’s festive offerings this year, almost ten years after the final episode aired.

James Corden and Ruth Jones
James Corden and Ruth Jones
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Speaking to Red magazine, Ruth said that working with her co-star and co-creator again “was a bit strange initially”.

“Although we’d seen each other over the years, we hadn’t spent any great length of time together,” she says.

“But what’s nice about the way we write is that we just act out the characters ourselves, so it’s just like playing, really. We make each other laugh a lot.

“Ever since it finished in 2010, we’ve always said, ‘Do you think we’ll do another one?’ Sometimes we would just text each other and go, ‘I have a really good idea for Bryn’.”

Joanna Page (left) and Ruth Jones during filming for the Gavin and Stacey Christmas special at Barry, Wales.
Joanna Page (left) and Ruth Jones during filming for the Gavin and Stacey Christmas special at Barry, Wales.
PA Wire/PA Images

The special will also see Joanna Page return as Stacey alongside the other supporting cast members – Rob Brydon, Larry Lamb, Melanie Walters and Alison Steadman.

Ruth says that she couldn’t rule out the show coming back again, but admits there aren’t currently any plans to do so.

“We will never again have the effect that we’ve had this time around, having said for 10 years that we’re not doing any more and then announcing something special,” she says.

“I think it would be churlish of me to say there won’t be any more. The honest truth is there are no plans, but I don’t think I could ever say never.”

Rob Brydon and Joanna Page during filming for the Gavin and Stacey Christmas special at Barry in the Vale of Glamorgan, Wales.
Rob Brydon and Joanna Page during filming for the Gavin and Stacey Christmas special at Barry in the Vale of Glamorgan, Wales.
PA Wire/PA Images

The show told the story of Gavin, from Essex, and Stacey, from Barry in Wales, who fell in love and married after speaking on the phone to each other every day at work.

It aired over three series, plus a Christmas special, from 2007 to 2010 on the BBC.

Last month, James - who plays Smithy in the BBC comedy - admitted that when he sat down to write the Christmas special with Ruth, they got 40 pages in before realising that what they had written wasn’t up to scratch.

James said the pair took some time out from the writing process in a bid to save the project.

The January issue of Red is on sale from December 4.

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