The owner of Marco’s Cafe, made famous in the iconic sitcom Gavin and Stacey, said the success of the show had led to his family business “taking over” Barry Island.
Marco Zeraschi, who also appeared briefly on the show, said fans from all over the world visit him to see places featured in the series, including his cafe where Stacey worked and Nessa’s game room.
The businessman now has a monopoly in the Welsh coastal city: he owns cafes, hamburger restaurants, ice cream parlors and a souvenir shop, perfect for fans of the BBC show.
Marco recalled how a production company approached him in 2006 and offered to pay him to keep his business open for filming during the winter months, saying he had no idea “a couple of hundred pounds” would change his life.
Barry Island has become such a popular destination that Prince William and Princess Kate even visited in 2020, followed a year later by then-Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
Marco said the sun: “What Gavin and Stacey have done is put Barry Island, everyone knows about it now, and show it as a really positive and fun place to live, they’ve given it this vibe.”
The owner of Marco’s Cafe, made famous in the iconic sitcom Gavin and Stacey, said the success of the show had led to his family business “taking over” Barry Island.

Marco Zeraschi said fans from all over the world visit him to see places featured in the series, including his cafe where Stacey worked and Nessa’s game room.

The businessman (pictured) now has a monopoly in the Welsh coastal city: he owns cafes, hamburger restaurants, ice cream parlors and a souvenir shop, perfect for fans of the show.
“People from all over the world come here for the show, Australians love it and thousands have come to Barry to see where it was filmed.”
She also revealed that creator and star Ruth Jones even auctions off coffee opportunities with her at Marco’s for charity.
But it’s Larry Lamb, who plays Mick Shipman, who returns to Barry the most, and usually for a dip in the frozen ocean.
Larry Lamb comes here to swim in cold waters. He always sits and signs autographs and takes pictures.
It comes after a final Gavin & Stacey script signed by the show’s cast raised £50,510 for charity.
The script was donated by actor Robert Wilfort, who plays Stacey’s brother Jason, for a raffle for £5 per entry.
Proceeds from the raffle went to the Buckinghamshire-based Theater Shed, which professionally ran performing arts workshops.
So many people tried to take part that the charity’s website struggled to cope with demand. A total of 4,500 tickets were sold.

Marco said: “What Gavin and Stacey have done is put Barry Island, everyone knows about it now, and show it as a really positive and fun place to live, they’ve given it this vibe.”

Marco recalled how a production company approached him and offered to pay him to keep his business open for filming during the winter months, saying he had no idea “a couple of hundred pounds” would change his life.

“People from all over the world come here for the show, Australians love it and thousands have come to Barry to see where it was filmed.”

She also revealed that creator and star Ruth Jones (pictured on the show) even auctions off coffee opportunities with her at Marco’s for charity.

But it’s Larry Lamb, who plays Mick Shipman, who returns to Barry the most, and usually for a dip in the frozen ocean.
Speaking about the donation, Robert said: ‘I knew it would be popular, to put it mildly. “I thought it would be nice to do something with that popularity.”
“There’s a fantastic charity near me, I’ve had a long association with them, so I got in touch and said, ‘Shall we raffle the script?'”
‘Raising money like this is imperative to help us move forward. We receive no statutory funding and it has been a tough year for us as a small charity.’
Alice Connor, of The Theater Shed, said: “Raising money like this is imperative to help us move forward.”
“We received no statutory funding and it has been a tough year for us as a small charity.”
The Gavin & Stacey finale attracted a staggering 12.5 million viewers – the highest Christmas Day TV audience in 16 years.
Viewers finally saw Nessa (Ruth Jones) and Smithy (James Corden) get married in the long-awaited conclusion.
The Christmas special and finale came five years after the show’s last Christmas installment in 2019.
Viewers had been waiting to learn the fate of the BBC sitcom’s beloved characters and to see if Smithy had accepted Nessa’s proposal.
The final episode was hailed as “perfect” by viewers, who cried when the long-running show finally aired its last episode after 17 years.
As fans tuned in to the episode to see if Smithy had accepted Nessa’s proposal from the 2019 Christmas special, a five-year time jump revealed that he was indeed ready to get married, but not everything was as it seemed.

Barry Island has become such a popular destination that Prince William and Princess Kate even visited in 2020 (Marco pictured meeting the royal)

Followed a year later by then Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who served ice cream.

The Gavin & Stacey finale attracted a staggering 12.5 million viewers – the highest Christmas Day TV audience in 16 years.
It was revealed that Smithy had become engaged to his girlfriend Sonia, who failed to impress the Shipman/West clan when she met them in the last festive episode.
Fans were also treated to the surprise return of Sheridan Smith as Smithy’s sister Rudi and Pam Ferris as their mother Cath.
However, when Smithy’s big day arrived, he realized that Nessa was his one true love and called off the wedding.
The whole family piled into Dave’s carriage and raced to Southampton, where Nessa was preparing to set sail, and in a scene 17 years in the making, he declared his love for her and asked her to reconsider leaving.
While an ever-stoic Nessa insisted that she would not propose to Smithy again, he returned her offer from five years earlier and finally got down on one knee and asked her to marry him.
The episode then shows Smithy and Nessa finally exchanging their vows in an intimate ceremony in Barry, and the series ends with an emotional montage of the family celebrating the occasion at The Dolphin pub, before posing for a family photo together.