Joanna Page has revealed she found filming the final day of the Gavin and Stacey Christmas special “traumatic” and spoke about the “emotional” final day on set.
The latest installment will air in a 90-minute special on Christmas Day this year after fans of the show called for the story to be ended.
Viewers hope the episode will tie up loose ends, including Smithy and Nessa’s love story, while also answering what happened on Bryn and Jason’s fishing trip.
And during a new interview, the Welsh actress, 47, who plays Stacey Shipman in the BAFTA-winning TV series, revealed that filming the final episode left her “crying and laughing hysterically.”
Joanna said: “Being on set for the last time with everyone on the last day was traumatic. I knew I was going to cry as soon as I walked on set.
Joanna Page has revealed she found filming the final day of Gavin and Stacey’s Christmas special “traumatic” and spoke about the “emotional” final day on set.
The latest installment will air in a 90-minute special on Christmas Day this year after fans of the show called for the story to be ended.
‘I saw the face of Steve, our first advertising director, and I started crying. Then I saw Sophie Hebron, our second director, and I started crying again. So I went into my trailer and Julia Davis came in and sat with me, and I couldn’t stop crying, because I felt like it was a huge journey that I was ending.
“So I found it very emotional, but in the middle, hysterically funny, because the last scene we shot was funny, so I alternated between crying hysterically and laughing hysterically.”
Recalling the final moments on set, he continued: “Right at the end, in our last part of filming, I felt a sense of calm come over me.
“I remember standing there and looking at everyone and everyone’s faces, and I just remember smiling quite calmly and thinking, ‘Wow, look where we’ve come, look where we are now.’
“I delivered my last lines, the way I wanted and the way I needed, and then when they shouted, ‘it’s an end’ and then they applauded us all and I just hugged Mat, and we both stood there crying.
After filming, Joanna revealed that she managed to take a big part of her character Stacey home from the set.
She said: “I’ve definitely taken some souvenirs home, I’ve got all of Stacey’s costume from the final episode, all her shoes and her jewellery.”
‘Plus, I took a framed painting from Stacey and Gwen’s house, and I also took this glass ornamental duck, which is a decoration from Stacey’s sideboard in the living room.
Joanna said: “Being on set for the last time with everyone on the last day was traumatic. ‘I knew I was going to cry as soon as I walked on set’
She continued, “I found it very emotional, but in the middle, hysterically funny, because the last scene we filmed was funny, so I alternated between crying hysterically and laughing hysterically.”
‘Right at the end, I felt a sense of calm wash over me. I said my last lines, the way I wanted and the way I needed to, and then when they shouted, “It’s over,” I hugged Mat and we both stood there crying.
Filming for the series finale began on September 2 and since then the cast has been photographed in a number of locations, including the famous Barry Island in Wales, which takes center stage in the iconic comedy.
One of the major plot points that has emerged appears to be Nessa’s wedding, which could provide an answer to the cliffhanger that ended the 2019 special.
Stars Ruth Jones and James Corden were said to be filming scenes for a wedding in October.
However, the cast themselves have yet to confirm whether Smithy and Nessa will actually have their happy ending.
The cast recently confirmed that they had finished filming scenes on the famous Trinity Street, which acts as the backdrop for the homes of Stacey and Gavin, their mother Gwen and uncle Bryn.
“You haven’t seen anything because we’ve been inside, which shows you are truly committed fans of the show and we hope you won’t be disappointed on Christmas Day when everything will be revealed,” Ruth told fans.
“This is our farewell to Barry and Trinity Street, so you won’t see us here again, but we’ve had a wonderful 17 years, it’s been fantastic.”
James added: “Thank you all so much, see you soon.”
Ruth has since told The Big Issue: ‘I keep telling people that this ending might not be what they expected. And I guarantee we definitely won’t be back.’
It will be the first episode of the BBC sitcom since the last Christmas special in 2019.
James added: “What people will see on Christmas Day is the culmination of a 20-year love story, which hopefully shows, at the very least, that love is complicated and messy and for everyone.”
It will be the first episode of the BBC comedy since the last Christmas special in 2019.
That episode, which was watched by 12 million viewers, ended on a cliffhanger with Nessa on one knee while he proposed.
The show focuses on the ups and downs of Gavin and Stacey’s initially long-distance relationship, where he lives with his parents in Billericay, Essex and she lives on Barry Island.
The couple eventually get married, while their respective best friends, Smithy and Nessa, have a son, Neil, who is now 15 and will also return for the final episode.
Gavin & Stacey: The Finale will air at 9pm on Christmas Day on BBC One and iPlayer and Gavin & Stacey: A Fond Farewell will air at 7pm on New Year’s Day on BBC One and iPlayer.