Gavin & Stacey creator and star James Corden has said an ‘awful’ episode is his least favourite as he made ‘very, very, very bad half hour’ of television after ‘backing himself into a corner’
Oh, Smithy – which Gavin & Stacey episode is your least favourite? James Corden has revealed which episode of his hit sitcom is a “very, very, very bad half hour” of television. The show’s creator and star spoke about the ‘awful’ episode at the BBC Comedy Festival.
According to James, the worst episode is Series One Episode Two, where Gavin (Mathew Horne) was arrested as he tried to propose to Stacey (Joanna Page) after breaking through the ticket barriers at the station.
James said that he and co-creator Ruth Jones had “backed ourselves into a corner” after the pilot episode where Gavin drove to Wales to surprise his new girlfriend after their first date.
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James said: “It had this very romantic end, so you can’t do another romantic proposal [in the next episode].” He added that they didn’t yet realise that Gavin & Stacey was “not a sitcom” and instead “closer to a comedy drama”.
“We were conscious of this half-hour comedy thing and I don’t think we trusted that actually the characters will be the thing that will be funny,” he said.
“We tried to instead say we needed something funny in the scenes so we had Gavin jump the barriers when proposing, and be covered in lasers. In our head we were making a sitcom but we weren’t, we were making a character-driven story.”
As a result, James said what they made wasn’t very good: “It’s a very very very bad half hour. It’s an awful episode.” He added that the episode was found lacking because there was “very little Nessa”, referencing Stacey’s best mate, played by Ruth Jones.
For the star, the only good part of the episode was that they used it to introduce Dawn (Julia Davies) and Pete (Adrian Scarborough). He said the on-and-off couple were his and Ruth’s greatest creation, alongside Pam (Alison Steadman).
Stepping away from talking about Gavin & Stacey, James used his time at the Comedy Festival to push for commissioners to take more risks on shows and say yes to more than one series.
“I feel like the only way [to crack comedy] is to commission two series and say, ‘We believe in this and it’s going to take time and you can’t rely on overnight ratings’,” he said. “There is an element of ownership and discovery to comedy that we the audience want to find comedies and share them with our friends.”
Gavin & Stacey was given a double season order before it premiered, and James felt this wouldn’t have happened today. He argued that while comedy “can create stars over night”, audiences “don’t want to be force fed” and “need time” – meaning shows shouldn’t have to be an immediate success to be commissioned again.
He also said that he felt a hefty dose of luck was behind the success of Gavin & Stacey. “If it came six months earlier or later, there’s a chance it doesn’t work,” he said.
The sitcom is one of the most successful British comedies. It’s finale, which aired on Christmas Day 2024, had an overall audience of over 20 million, making it the most-watched TV show in the UK.
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