Joanna Page has crushed fans’ hopes of a Gavin and Stacey comeback, saying the legendary sitcom is unlikely to ever return.
Fans hoped co-writer and star James Corden moving back to the UK following his eight-year stint hosting The Late Late Show in the US would increase the chances of making another Christmas special.
And after James, 45, was spotted meeting co-creator Ruth Jones, 57, in London’s Soho earlier this month, speculation went into overdrive.
But Joanna, 46, who played Stacey in the sitcom, says the odds of the comedy returning are low because it was left on the ultimate cliffhanger on its last outing in 2019, when James’s character Smithy proposed to Nessa, played by Ruth, who never gave him an answer.
Speaking exclusively to MailOnline, Joanna said: ‘I can see them never doing any more because it was nice to leave it on a cliffhanger because it’s up to the viewer to imagine what would have happened. So I can imagine them ending it like that.’
Joanna Page has crushed fans’ hopes of a Gavin and Stacey comeback, saying the legendary sitcom is unlikely to ever return
James was spotted meeting co-creator Ruth Jones in London’s Soho earlier this month, sending speculation into overdrive (November 2023)
Joanna, who played Stacey in the sitcom, says the odds of the comedy returning are low because it was left on the ultimate cliffhanger on its last outing in 2019
Despite her doubts, Joanna still harbours hope of reprising her character once again, alongside her co-stars including on-screen husband Mathew Horne, plus Larry Lamb, Alison Steadman, Rob Brydon, as well as James and Ruth.
She said: ‘I wouldn’t be surprised if I didn’t get the call, and I wouldn’t be surprised if I did.
‘But all I can say is, if they were going to do another one I hope it’s soon because we’re all getting so old, I don’t particularly want to see Stacey get that much older.
‘And if there is a comeback, I’ll find out at the same time as the public because I don’t get told anything.’
She added: ‘Gavin and Stacey kids would be teenagers now, so that would be quite funny to see.’
Reflecting on her time in the sitcom, which first aired in 2007, Joanna describes how much life has changed since the debut episode, when Gavin and Stacey met on a blind date – having never set eyes on each other before.
She said: ‘If you were going to do it these days, it would be totally different.
‘It all started with a phone call between Gavin and Stacey, but now everything would have been done by email or a Zoom call, you certainly wouldn’t be sitting there chatting on the phone.
Reflecting on her time in the sitcom, which first aired in 2007, Joanna describes how much life has changed since the debut episode, when Gavin and Stacey met on a blind date
Joanna, pictured with daughter Boe following her birth in December 2021, is a mum to four children including Eva, Kit, and Noah
Joanna married actor James Thornton in December 2003 and says Love Actually director Richard Curtis gifted the couple a huge blow up penguin from the famous Christmas movie as a wedding gift (pictured June 2010)
The romcom marks its 20th anniversary this year and Joanna is proud to have featured in its all-star cast, playing adult movie star Judy
‘There was smoking in nightclubs as well. It’s so funny as it wasn’t that long ago, but life has changed so much.’
Joanna is working alongside LEGO where a 3D heart installation and a free LEGO building station will be making its way to Cardiff this weekend.
It’s part of the brand Build To Give campaign which sees a set of bricks donated to a child in need for every LEGO heart built and shared on social media with #BuildToGive.
Joanna’s involvement is due to her natural association with Christmas, given her roles in Gavin and Stacey, Brit flick Nativity 2, TV drama Copperfield – where she met her actor husband James Thornton – and classic festive movie Love Actually.
The Richard Curtis romcom marks its 20th anniversary this year and Joanna is proud to have featured in its all-star cast, playing adult movie star Judy.
She said: ‘It’s fab being in a Christmas film that’s so long lasting and I’m proud to say I’ve been in a Richard Curtis film, with an amazing huge cast.
‘Lots of people say, including my mum, that it’s not Christmas until you’ve watched Love Actually.’
On her A-list cast members, she added: ‘I got to meet everybody on the read-through.
Joanna is working alongside LEGO where a 3D heart installation and a free LEGO building station will be making its way to Cardiff this weekend
It’s part of the brand Build To Give campaign which sees a set of bricks donated to a child in need for every LEGO heart built and shared on social media with #BuildToGive
Joanna is urging children and adults to visit over the weekend and build a heart out of bricks, sharing their creations on social media
‘I remember walking into the room and seeing Alan Rickman, Emma Thompson, Hugh Grant, Martine McCutcheon and Liam Neeson, and it was both utterly terrifying and really exciting.
‘I sat next to Claudia Schiffer and I remember her having the most amazing hair, she was so beautiful.’
Joanna’s on-screen love interest was Martin Freeman, who played a fellow adult movie star, and she tells how she was getting married in real life around the same time and was given a souvenir from the film as a wedding gift.
She explained: ‘It was a really lovely job and I just loved working with Martin.
‘I remember when we kissed in the snow there was this huge blow up penguin in the background and I was getting married at the same time we were filming and Richard gave it to us as a wedding present.
‘For years after we have this huge inflatable penguin we put in the living room every Christmas.’
The mum-of-four is currently preparing for Christmas with her family at her home Oxfordshire.
But she was back in her native Wales to promote LEGO’s campaign.
She added: ‘We’re in Cardiff with this huge LEGO building station, with LEGO all the way around it and we’re encouraging children and adults to come down over the next couple of days to build a heart out of the bricks and upload it on social media with the #BuildToGive, and the LEGO group will donate LEGO sets to children up and down the UK who are in need of them.’
- For more information about the Build To Give campaign, visit the LEGO website
