Gavin and Stacey returns to the BBC - prepare for a strange trip back in time
Following on from the success of last year's Christmas Special, the original three series of Gavin And Stacey that ran from 2007 to 2009 are back on TV to give us a much-needed laugh – and to remind us how much times have changed in just over a decade.
The series began, of course, with Essex boy Gavin (Matthew Horne) meeting Wales girl Stacey (Joanna Page) for the first time in London after having chatted on the phone for six months.
It seems surprising that they've never seen each other face to face before – but remember this is a pre-webcam world they live in – which is why they bring along friends Smithy (James Corden) and Nessa (Ruth Jones) for support. What's more striking as the quartet meet in Leicester Square for the first time is that everyone around them seems to have a cigarette. Did everyone really smoke back then? And there are ashtrays everywhere – whatever happened to those?
When they go to the pub there's none of that huddling around a patio heater outside, either – back in 2007 you could smoke pretty much anywhere, inside and out, something that seems really unhealthy now (which, of course, it is).
There are lots of other odd moments that date the show, too, just as there are in other classic series like Friends. Gavin and his pals are all on flip phones – remember those? – and he has one of those ridiculously large wireless headsets for the car that were much loved by estate agents and city traders.
Of course, some of the pop-culture references that will have older viewers reminiscing (Goldie Lookin Chain, anyone?) may leave anyone under 40 scratching their heads – gags about comedian Bernard Manning, '80s TV personality Jimmie Krankie and former deputy Prime Minister John Prescott (whom Nessa claims to have had a relationship with) are scattered throughout the script alongside references to long-lost lads' mags like FHM, Loaded and Zoo, as well as pop bands like All Saints.
The most glaringly dated reference of all comes in the season three finale, however, when both Nessa and Stacey claim to have had a relationship with Kevin Spacey – yes, the same Kevin Spacey who was later repeatedly accused of sexually assaulting young men. Ouch.
It's not as controversial as the use of that 'Fairytale Of New York' lyric in the 2019 Christmas Special – which drew hundreds of complaints when it aired on Christmas Day – but there are other things that may cause newcomers to the show to raise an eyebrow.
As with Friends, Gavin & Stacey isn't diverse when it comes to the cast – the only non-white characters to be seen more than once are a pal of Gav's, Stacey's ex Achmed, and the poor bloke that bickering couple Dawn and Pete try to entice into a threesome.
None of the characters are exactly politically correct either, with Gav's mum Pam (Alison Steadman) repeatedly referring to one of her friends as "Big Fat Sue" and Smithy making jokes about Nessa's weight – something co-writer Jones acknowledged in an interview with The Sun last year when talking about revisiting the characters for the 2019 special.
"Characters in Gavin & Stacey are kind and big-hearted, I believe. So I think no-one is going to be intentionally hurtful. But, by the same token, they're not necessarily going to be completely politically correct or be aware of political correctness," she commented.
And while Uncle Bryn's (Rob Brydon) unspoken sexuality is sometimes used for laughs – whether it's his extra-long hugs with Gav, Gav's dad Mick (Larry Lamb) getting uncomfortable when Bryn is applying suntan lotion on Barry Island beach, or those repeated, hinted references to whatever happened on a fishing trip with Stacey's openly gay brother Jason – it arguably doesn't feel as uncomfortable as watching Chandler's homophobia in Friends.
Instead, Bryn is just Bryn, that slightly awkward relative that everyone has in their family. And like the rest of Gavin and Stacey's characters, from omelette-making mum Gwen to the loveliest couple in the series (Gav's parents, Pam and Mick, with their Charles and Camilla role play, of course), he has a heart of gold – something that doesn't date at all.
Gavin & Stacey is on BBC1 on Saturday 4 April at 8.15pm
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