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James Corden co-wrote breakout BBC3 comedy hit Gavin and Stacey, and the former Fat Friend and History Boy does a hilarious turn as Gavin's best mate Smithy. James told Paul Jones how excited he is by the success of the show, what inspired it and how Rob Brydon got involved.
The show's had a great reception everywhere. You must be really pleased?
We're blown away by it all! We never thought it would be received this well. Critics like it and viewers like it, and that doesn't happen too often. We're over the moon!
Having said that, the minute you get these good reviews it just heaps more pressure on. You don't want to be the comedy show where people go, "Series two wasn't as good as the first one, was it?" It's scary. But it's not worth doing if it's not scary, is it?
Where did the idea for the show come from?
I went to a wedding with my girlfriend, between a girl from Wales and an English guy, and it was just really interesting that there were all these different people spending a whole day in a room together and their only point of reference was that they all knew one of these people who loved each other.
So why a boy from Essex and a girl from Barry?
Essex is part of London but it has its own identity too. And Barry Island - although it's part of South Wales and 20 minutes from Cardiff - almost has its own language. So this was a way of bringing these different sets of characters, with their own identities, together.
Did you always see it as a series?
No, me and Ruth [Jones, co-writer] originally had this idea to make a one-off film. But we'd written a whole back story about how Gavin and Stacey met, and when we showed it to the BBC they said, "We want to see it all, do you think you could write a series?" So we wrote one episode and they commissioned us to write five more, and then we shot it and now it's on the telly! It's ridiculous!
And a second series has been commissioned already?
Yeah, they recommissioned it before it had even aired! That's the great thing about BBC3: if they believe in your show, they'll back you all the way. Ratings are important but they're not their sole objective. They want to make new, fresh and innovative work and that's why I think it's an incredible channel - it gives your show a chance to breathe.
Many people have said that you and Ruth (as Gavin and Stacey's respective best mates) steal the show. It's partly the great performances but did you also deliberately give yourselves the best lines?
This was a question on Newsnight Review and one of the panel said, "Yes, they've been very selfish". I don't remember anyone saying that when The Office was on! The show's called Gavin & Stacey, so people expect those characters to be the biggest parts in the show… but it's an ensemble piece. When two people fall in love it's not just that their worlds change, it has an effect on everyone around them, and that's what the show is really about.
Rob Brydon (as Stacey's uncle Bryn) is another star turn. How did he get involved?
Rob and Ruth went to school together and I did a TV show about five years ago called Cruise of the Gods, with Rob and Steve Coogan and David Walliams. It was really good fun and that's where I got to know Rob.
He's quite picky about what he chooses to be in, but we gave him the script and as soon as he read it he just said, "I know exactly who this guy is". He just got it straightaway. But that's been the same for every single member of the cast. They make it so truthful. That's all we ever wanted from the show, really, was to have a truthful, funny portrayal of this situation.
Yes, it sometimes feels more like a comedy drama than an out-and-out sitcom.
We always wanted it to be rooted in the real world. There was talk very early on that we might shoot it in a studio, and me and Ruth were adamant that we should shoot it with one camera, on location.
Don't get me wrong, filming in that tiny house in Barry is a nightmare, but I think it's worth it for every time you see someone walk past the window or a car go down the road.
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Find out what James Corden watches - or take a look at our full Gavin and Stacey guide.
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