James Corden names 'very, very, very bad' Gavin and Stacey episode

Manuel Harlan

Gavin and Stacey star James Corden has revealed there is an episode of the hit show he dislikes so much he considers it "awful".

The 47-year-old, who co-wrote the show with Ruth Jones, said the second episode of the first series was a "very, very, very bad half hour."

The plot involved a phone call-related misunderstanding between the titular characters which resulted in Gavin driving to Wales to repair their relationship.

At the BBC Comedy Festival in Liverpool, Corden said the romantic proposal at the end of the pilot had backed the writers "into a corner".

Both Jones and series director Christine Gernon echoed Corden's criticism.

The actor said one positive from the episode was the introduction of bickering couple Dawn and Pete Sutcliffe, played by Julia Davis and Adrian Scarborough.

But he added: "It's an awful episode."

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Corden rose to fame on the show as Neil "Smithy" Smith who became romantically involved with Jones's Vanessa "Nessa" Jenkins.

It ran for three series with a further three Christmas specials between 2007 to 2024.

The final episode, which aired on Christmas Day 2024, saw Smithy marry Nessa and posted overnight ratings of 12.3 million.

Its overall success was down to factors including luck and timing, Corden said.

"Shows can be brilliant and not necessarily find that audience, particularly comedy," he added.

"Success is about timing, it's about mood, culture. There is such an element of luck in it."