Table for Four<\/a>. Over Zoom, Page excitedly explains the \u201cpinch, punch, first of the month\u201d game she has just played with her kids. \u201cIt\u2019s nice to hear you talking for once, Jo,\u201d Horne says deadpan as he joins the call. \u201cYou need to come out of your shell a bit more.\u201d<\/p>\nAnd with the first bit of ribbing over, they recall how they became so beloved.<\/p>\n
Do you remember meeting for the first time?<\/p>\n
JP: I had to go in and read with Mat. I was quite nervous because I knew he was the fella off Catherine Tate and I thought he would be quite cool. But he was really lovely and we clicked and did some scenes together.<\/p>\n
MH: In one of the scenes we had to kiss. It was quite bold of them! You wouldn\u2019t have that now \u2013 you\u2019d have an intimacy coordinator.<\/p>\n
JP: That is mad isn\u2019t it? I\u2019m just like: \u201cOh hi, I\u2019m Jo, nice to meet you.\u201d Then two minutes later, we\u2019re kissing.<\/p>\n
MH: But I was slightly nervous as well because I was aware that Jo went to Rada \u2013 a proper actor. Maybe the kissing broke the ice.<\/p>\n
JP: I also remember you and the producer were talking about your Fred Perry T-shirts and I was thinking: \u201cOh God, he sounds a bit of a knob \u2026 I\u2019m not even wearing the right clothes!\u201d<\/p>\n
MH: You immediately walked into toxic masculinity.<\/p>\n
JP: I did. And then I was made to kiss you.<\/p>\n
What do Gavin and Stacey love about each other?\u2018It was a massive explosion of love\u2019 \u2026 Gavin and Stacey with the Severn Bridge. Photograph: BBC\/Neil Bennett\/Baby Cow<\/p>\n
JP: It was a massive big explosion of love at first. I don\u2019t think you can explain that kind of chemistry. It\u2019s instinctive. But also I think Gavin is very safe and secure. She doesn\u2019t have her dad any more \u2013 she\u2019s got Uncle Bryn who\u2019s been looking out for her \u2013 and I think that stability of a safe, happy marriage is what Stacey was really looking for.<\/p>\n
MH: The key thing is that the connection was purely emotional. It wasn\u2019t a picture on Tinder. Or a physical meeting. It wasn\u2019t seeing her in a bar. It was a connection over the phone. When they met, he\u2019d almost already made the decision that this was the one. As human beings, we do strive for that.<\/p>\n
What were your favourite romantic moments?<\/p>\n
MH: I loved meeting on the island when you gave me the beer mat in the 2019 special. There was something really reassuring about it because we\u2019d come back together after 10 years and it was a really intimate, tender moment \u2013 but on Barry promenade with thousands of people around at 1am.<\/p>\n
JP: In the first years, I loved simple things like when they are just sitting and sharing a bag of chips. It\u2019s very beautiful. I also loved it when they had a big argument and made up afterwards, like in the first series, when Gavin finds out Stacey\u2019s been engaged five times before. She answers the door in pyjamas, and he\u2019s like: \u201cWas this something you were gonna tell me?\u201d It\u2019s really good fun doing those scenes \u2013 passionate, exciting, romantic and \u201cOh my God, what\u2019s gonna happen?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2018When it hits you it hits you\u2019 \u2026 Gavin and Stacey. Photograph: BBC<\/p>\n
But, oh my gosh, a beautiful moment was when we come away from the doctor and think that we can\u2019t have children.<\/p>\n
MH: Really, really wonderful. It\u2019s a storyline I think that has been important to a lot of couples. I hadn\u2019t had children by that point, and I didn\u2019t realise what it meant for people.<\/p>\n
JP: It\u2019s not until you do have children that you really understand how awful a situation that is to go through. I remember when they\u2019re in the kitchen together and I was hugging you and then Stacey says: \u201cIt\u2019s ever so sad, isn\u2019t it?\u201d<\/p>\n
Is there anything you wish Gavin and Stacey did differently?<\/p>\n
JP: I liked everything \u2013 I just wish we could have gone more into depth. But as the show was moving on, you had two families to deal with, and another big relationship. So, you know, you\u2019ve got to share everything out.<\/p>\n
When did you realise this was a love story for the ages?Here come the police! \u2026 the infamous proposal. Photograph: BBC<\/p>\n
JP: I have so many people coming up to me and saying: \u201cWe are the real-life Gavin and Stacey.\u201d The show, when you think about it, is quite traditional. It\u2019s just two normal families \u2013 well, aside from Nessa. But people from all walks of life have got into it because they\u2019re just like: \u201cI want a relationship like this; I want to meet the one.\u201d<\/p>\n
MH: When Anna Maxwell Martin came on [set] for a couple of days on the finale, she said to James that she can\u2019t think of a better representation of love, friendship and family.<\/p>\n
How romantic are you in real life?<\/p>\n
MH: Incredibly. If I told you, you wouldn\u2019t believe me. I mean, my romantic gestures are \u2026 I know this is an interview, but that\u2019s quite a private thing, so, over to you, Jo.<\/p>\n
JP: I\u2019m incredibly romantic. Not in the way of giving loads of material things and sweeping you off your feet. But when I fall in love, I will give you everything. I\u2019ll give my entire being! I just want to talk and get everything out of you and give everything to you and go on a massive, huge, big, amazing adventure together.<\/p>\n
MH: I would agree with that. Being heard, being listened to and being made to feel safe are about as romantic as it gets. Maybe that\u2019s something I\u2019ve only acknowledged as I\u2019ve got older.<\/p>\n
What has been the most intense fan reaction to Gavin & Stacey?<\/p>\n
JP: People have named their children after Gavin and Stacey. All forms of animals have been named after them. The most intense is when you meet someone and they\u2019ve been very ill or through a marriage breakup and you can see that they\u2019re still pretty vulnerable and they say: \u201cIt saved my life, it was the only thing that got me through.\u201d<\/p>\n
MH: It\u2019s a real privilege to have been part of something that can affect people like that. Being part of a piece of entertainment that has helped people in their lives is phenomenal.<\/p>\n
JP: But then another quite intense appreciation of the show is that I often get photographs of Stacey sent to me and a few of them have been laminated. And lots of them are from men asking if I will sign it.<\/p>\n
MH: Also, the guy that had Smithy\u2019s curry order tattooed on his stomach!<\/p>\n
JP: I witnessed it! It was just above his belly button: James\u2019s face and the whole order. It did make me feel quite jealous because I don\u2019t think anybody\u2019s ever tattooed my face on them.<\/p>\n
MH: Maybe after this interview is published, Jo. There\u2019ll be a Guardian reader out there.<\/p>\n
\u2018I feel very safe with him\u2019 \u2026 Page and Horne in the 2019 Christmas special. Photograph: Tom Jackson\/BBC\/GS TV Productions LtdWhat was your real relationship like off camera?<\/p>\n
MH: We couldn\u2019t have been anything other than the closest of friends. Only Jo and I know what it feels like to be Gavin and Stacey. Even our partners don\u2019t know. So, we naturally have a unique bond, having been thrust into the public eye, which has brought with it huge highs and some challenges as well. Having support from somebody who knows exactly what it feels like has been something I will always cherish.<\/p>\n
JP: That\u2019s so lovely. But I find that as well! We went into this job, my gosh, when we were in our late 20s and it was a huge whirlwind. It was my first job where it was a big leading role. And then to be working with Mat, there was chemistry and it always just felt right. Everything just felt so natural.<\/p>\n
I\u2019m now going through my 40s and our friendship has lasted \u2013 and he still makes me feel the same. I can be quite flighty and I get very excited, so I love Mat\u2019s source of calmness and that he always makes me laugh. I feel very safe with him.<\/p>\n
Did you keep something from set that reminds you of Gavin and Stacey?<\/p>\n
MH: I\u2019ve got our read-through script.<\/p>\n
JP: Yes, me too!<\/p>\n
MH: I\u2019ve got the beer mat that you gave me. I really treasure that.<\/p>\n
JP: And from the finale I\u2019ve kept Stacey\u2019s denim jacket and her yellow dress, and a painting that was in her living room. And then this weird purple glass chicken thing, which is on my bookcase downstairs, because I thought I just need that chicken.<\/p>\n
What can Gavin and Stacey teach us about love?<\/p>\n
MH: It\u2019s not about the physical; it\u2019s about a deep connection.<\/p>\n
JP: There\u2019s no point in worrying about finding love or trying to be something that somebody else wants you to be. Gavin and Stacey were completely themselves. (I mean, Stacey was lying a bit, wasn\u2019t she? Aside from that \u2026 ) I think it teaches you that love is there and it\u2019s not something you really go looking for.<\/p>\n
When it hits you, it hits you.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It\u2019s a classic romcom story: Essex boy from Billericay meets Welsh girl from Barry, they declare their love…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":690995,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[96,59,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-690994","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-entertainment","tag-entertainment","tag-gb","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/690994","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=690994"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/690994\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/690995"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=690994"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=690994"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=690994"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}