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'Gavin & Stacey’ Cast Reveal They Drank Real Alcohol While Filming Christmas Special Pub Scene

Ciara Sheppard

Published 

'Gavin & Stacey’ Cast Reveal They Drank Real Alcohol While Filming Christmas Special Pub Scene

Featured Image Credit: BBC

We've all heard of method acting, with the likes of Robert de Niro and Christian Bale known to use the technique, and it turns out the cast of Gavin & Stacey also use the approach to give a more realistic performance - including boozing on set.

Yes, the cast of the hit BBC sitcom, which is back for its highly-anticipated Christmas Special on 25th December, have admitted to drinking alcohol while filming one of the special's pub scenes.

Teased in the trailer, the Barry Island gang can be seen cheersing, and later dancing around - something they admit was aided by a bit of real booze.

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Speaking to press about that particular day of filming, show star Mathew Horne (Gavin Shipman), said: "In the pub scene you can see we're enjoying ourselves."

Robert Wilfort, who plays Jason West, added: "It was just one of the loveliest days I've had on set filming with everyone. Towards the end of the last day of filming we may have had a real drink in that scene.

"Because we didn't have any lines and we were just enjoying ourselves, we did all have a drink. It was James's idea! It was really lovely. It wasn't Archers and lemonade!"

The show's cast revealed they got tipsy while filming pub scenes (Credit: BBC)
The show's cast revealed they got tipsy while filming pub scenes (Credit: BBC)
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Melanie Walters (Gwen West), adds: "We had a ball filming that scene. What with the booze and all the singing and dancing, there was no effort involved."

Gavin & Stacey Christmas Special airs at 8.30pm on Christmas Day and will no doubt take the lions share of ratings - but the special very nearly didn't happen when writers James Corden and Ruth Jones had a writer's block.

However, one scene changed all of that.

Speaking to The Sun LA, the Late Late Show host said the writers - who also star as Smithy and Ness - met in secret to work on the script in LA before telling anyone about it.

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The cast got merry as part of the episode (Credit: BBC)
The cast got merry as part of the episode (Credit: BBC)

The 41-year-old explained: "In a 24-hour period the show was dead - then brought back to life.

"It was deeply depressing. It was the second time Ruth had flown out. That's a long way to go. I was working on my days off, so that is essentially time you're not with your children.

"We wrote the majority during a hiatus week from The Late, Late Show. I finished work on the Thursday and people were saying, 'Ooh, I'm off skiing', or 'Oh I'm doing nothing, I'm just going to potter around'.

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"And you go, 'Well yeah, I'll be in a room trying to see if there's anything there in a world we created 15 years ago'.

"There was a very real moment where we had written maybe 40 pages. We recorded it just to see how long it was and we both knew probably halfway through, but we soldiered on.

"And we both finished, and Ruth went, 'What do you think?' And I said, 'We haven't got it. It just doesn't feel like Gavin & Stacey.

"We decided, 'OK, well, thank goodness we didn't tell anyone. Thank the Lord we didn't. We've scratched this itch that we thought was there, and it isn't, so no harm done. No one will ever know'."

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Stacey and Ness can be seen in the trailer (Credit: BBC)
Stacey and Ness can be seen in the trailer (Credit: BBC)

James then said one idea "landed in the room" and transformed the project.

"It's probably the quickest scene we've ever written. And I think it's the best scene Gavin & Stacey has ever had," he said.

"Suddenly this scene arrived, I can't tell you, I sound like Mystic Meg, but it landed in the room."

Next, James put in a call to BBC's director of content Charlotte Moore privately, not wanting to call the office line.

He explained: "I sent her an email saying, 'Can I speak to you tomorrow?' I didn't want to call the office line.

"I said, 'Can I call you on your mobile?' I put her on speaker phone and said, 'Hey, how are you? Sorry for the cloak-and-dagger stuff. I'm sat with Ruth Jones', and she gasped."

Naturally, Charlotte bit their hand off at the chance of taking the comeback.

The cast filmed the episode in June (Credit: PA)
The cast filmed the episode in June (Credit: PA)

It's not clear which scene gave the lightbulb moment - we'll have to wait until Christmas Day - but the show's stars Mathew Horne and Joanna Page (Stacey Shipman) told press there was one which set them off when they first read it.

Joanna said: "The first time I read that scene I was crying," with Mathew adding: "We both did."

The Gavin & Stacey Christmas Special is on BBC One on 25th December at 8:30pm.

Topics: Christmas, BBC, TV News, TV Entertainment

Ciara Sheppard
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