The cast of Gavin & Stacey: Then and now

James was already a household name by the time he appeared on our screens as Smithy. Having worked with Ruth Jones on Fat Friends from 2000 to 2005, the pair got their heads together to create the show. James had additionally originated the role of Timms in the original London production of The History Boys in 2004, and also appeared in 2006 film Starter For 10 alongside James McAvoy.

As if he wasn’t already on a pretty upward trajectory to the spotlight before Gavin & Stacey, his role as Smithy truly catapulted him to fame. Having starred in a number of high profile films like Into the Woods, Trolls and Cats, James hosted his own late night talk show in the US, The Late Late Show with James Corden, from 2015 to 2023.

Like James, Ruth was a well-known face on British telly by the time Gav and Stace rolled around – having appeared alongside him on Fat Friends plus her time on Little Britain, Steve Coogan’s Saxondale and Nighty Night opposite her future Gavin and Stacey co-star, Julia Davis.

Post-Barry life was pretty major for Ruth – landing her own seasonal chat show and appearing in plenty of drama series including Torchwood, Marple and Hattie. She also co-created Stella, additionally starring as the titular character which ran for six series. Ruth was appointed an MBE in 2014 for services to entertainment, and even launched a successful career as an author – penning three fiction novels: Never Greener, Us Three and Love Untold.

Joanna had already featured in a major TV drama AND an iconic movie by the time she took on the role of Barry’s princess, Stacey – namely the BBC adaptation of David Copperfield which launched the career of Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe, as well as Christmas staple, Love Actually. Remember? She’s the, er, stunt double who falls for her co-star, played by Martin Freeman.

As well as appearances on a fair few panel shows as herself, Joanna also gave a pretty memorable performance as Queen Elizabeth I in Doctor Who’s 50th anniversary episode, plus a few other small roles on various TV shows. She notably took on the character of Pig on the second series of The Masked Dancer, but was the second famous face to be booted off the series. She joined the Loose Women panel as a regular in 2023, and also starred in TV film Men Up which followed the story of a real-life clinical trial for Viagra in the 90s.

Mathew started his career as a comedian, performing as a comedy duo under Mat and Mackinnon with a friend from university. The pair took to the stage at the prestigious Edinburgh Fringe, where Catherine Tate was in the crowd and offered him a spot on her show, The Catherine Tate Show. Playing the role of Jamie, he’s returned to the character a few times over the years – most recently in the 2022 film The Nan Movie. He also starred in British TV series Teachers and an episode of Doc Martin, before hitting it big as the loveable Gavin Shipman.

Mathew understandably shot to fame after the first series of Gav and Stace, most notably as a sort of double act with James Corden. The pair hosted a fair few TV shows – including the actual BRIT Awards, co-hosting with Kylie Minogue (!) – as well as their own sketch show, and not-hugely-successful film Lesbian Vampire Killers. He also starred as eccentric headteacher Shaquille Fraser in Bad Education and had various roles on Drunk History.

Alison was already a hugely established actress by the time she appeared in Gavin and Stacey! Having started out her career in theatre performances, she later had roles in loads of films including Shirley Valentine and was a well known TV star too – having been in The Singing Detective, Kavanagh QC plus her memorable turn as Mrs. Bennett in the 1997 BBC adaptation of Pride and Prejudice. Of course, she also appeared in Fat Friends alongside her Gav and Stace co-stars Ruth Jones and James Corden – and was even awarded an OBE in 2000.

Alison has continued to become a national treasure, starring in the likes of The Syndicate, Lewis, Love and Marriage, Midsomer Murders, Care, Life and Here We Go on telly, plus big screen turns in Dad’s Army, The King’s Man and the upcoming Robbie Williams biopic, Better Man.

Larry didn’t immediately launch a career in acting once he hit adulthood. He initially worked as a lorry driver’s assistant before working in the oil industry across Libya and Canada. While in Nova Scotia, he caught an interest in amateur acting and performed at a festival. On his return to the UK, he scored a role in the BBC’s soap Triangle, having smaller parts in the likes of Lovejoy, A Touch of Frost, Taggart, Casualty, Midsomer Murders and The Bill – plus a fair amount of theatre work.

During his original tenure on Gav and Stace, Larry simultaneously landed another major role on British telly – Evil Archie Mitchell on EastEnders. Worlds away from the loveable and affable father of Gavin, Archie was a wrong’un on so many levels, but he finally got his comeuppance. Larry also starred in 2017 film The Hatton Garden Job as ringleader Brian Reader, reunited with Alison Steadman on Love and Marriage, joined the cast of New Tricks and played Dennis in 2023 series The Inheritance alongside Gaynor Faye and Samantha Bond.

Rob was another familiar face by the time Gavin and Stacey aired in 2007. Starting out his career in radio, he had a small but important role as the Traffic Warden in Guy Ritchie’s breakout film Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels. He then co-created and co-starred in Human Remains alongside future Gav and Stace colleague Julia Davis – with Ruth Jones also in the cast. He then performed as taxi driver Keith Barret in Marion and Geoff, joined the QI panel, had a role in Little Britain and also performed in the BBC adaptation of Oliver Twist alongside Timothy Spall, Edward Fox, Tom Hardy, Sophie Okonedo and Sarah Lancashire among many other famous faces.

Following his stint as Uncle Bryn, Rob took part in his co-stars’ sketch show Horne & Corden, voiced Snake in the beloved BBC adaptation of The Gruffalo (a role he reprised for the sequel) and began presenting Would I Lie to You?, which he’s still on now. He starred with regular collaborator Steve Coogan on The Trip plus its spin-offs and lent his voice to more children’s telly adaptations, like Room on the Broom, Gangsta Granny, Stick Man and Superworm to name a few. He’s also starred in big screen films like the live-action remake of Cinderella, Early Man, Swimming with Men, Holmes & Watson – and even had a small role in 2023 blockbuster Barbie as Sugar Daddy Ken.

Melanie had been a working actor since the 80s, starring in the likes of The District Nurse, We are Seven, Telltale and A Mind to Kill, plus small parts on Coronation Street, The Bill, Casualty and Holby City, but it was her turn as Stacey’s omelette-loving mum that really cemented her as a well-know face in British telly.

Since her original role as Gwen, Melanie has appeared in the likes of Hollyoaks as Bonnie Bevan, Being Human as vampire Emma, Gav and Stace co-star Ruth Jones’ series Stella, Doc Martin and Father Brown – as well as films such as Submarine and Resistance. Melanie even had a go at panto, starring as the Fairy Godmother in a performance of Cinderella in 2014 in Newport.

Starring as Nessa’s love interest and almost-husband, Steffan Rhodri was a recognisable Welsh actor before Gavin and Stacey, having been in Welsh language soap Pobol y Cwm, A Mind to Kill, Wire in the Blood and Heartbeat before finding fame on Barry Island – as well as a successful career in theatre and a turn in 2002 film Ali G Indahouse.

Since Dave’s heart was broken by Ness, he had a small part in blockbuster Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1, playing a wizard whose likeness was temporarily stolen by main character Ron Weasley. He’s also been in Father Brown, A Touch of Cloth, Cucumber, Three Girls, A Very English Scandal, House of the Dragon and Men Up, to name but a few.

Julia started out in a comedy double-act, later expanding to a troupe which also featured future Gavin and Stacey co-stars Ruth Jones and Rob Brydon. She wrote an all-female radio comedy sketch entitled Five Squeezy Pieces in 1998, which led to roles in British telly like Big Train and I’m Alan Partridge. She reunited with Rob Brydon to co-create and co-star in Human Remains, before having a small but memorable role in Love Actually as Nancy the wedding caterer. She teamed up with Ruth once again when the latter was cast in Nighty Night, also written by and starring Julia.

Post-Dawn, Julia was in a TV film adaptation of Jane Austen’s Persuasion, as well as an episode of Black Mirror. She performed in the Hollywood film Phantom Thread alongside Daniel Day-Lewis, as well as Fighting with My Family, Sing 2 and Run Rabbit Run. She also co-created and co-starred in Hunderby, Camping and Sally4Ever, as well as small roles in Stath Lets Flats, A Very British Scandal and The Outlaws.

Adrian started his career off with a stint in The Bill, also voicing Mr. Benjamin Bunny in the beloved TV adaptation of Beatrix Potter’s The World of Peter Rabbit and Friends. Appearing on the big screen almost immediately, he starred in The Madness of King George as well as Gosford Park, Dirty Pretty Things, The History Boys (alongside future Gav and Stace co-star James Corden) and Notes on a Scandal. On the telly, he was in Coogan’s Run, Let Them Eat Cake, Heartbeat, Midsomer Murders and New Tricks, among others.

Since his turn as Peter Sutcliffe (NOT the Yorkshire Ripper), Adrian has seriously been building up his acting CV. He’s had roles in films such as The Kings Speech, Les Misérables, Christopher Robin, 1917 and Artemis Fowl, plus telly stints in Psychoville, Upstairs Downstairs, Doctor Who, Plebs, Death in Paradise, Miranda, Father Brown, Call the Midwife, Stella, Little Women, A Very English Scandal, Killing Eve, The Accident, Sanditon and Inside No. 9 among others!

Having performed through childhood, Sheridan had already appeared in classic British telly series prior to joining the Gavin and Stacey cast. She had a small but significant role in The Royle Family as Emma, son Antony’s girlfriend. She then got her breakthrough starring as Janet in Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps, before appearing in two episodes of Fat Friends alongside future Gav and Stace co-stars James Corden, Ruth Jones and Alison Steadman. She was also in Love Soup, Grownups and Lark Rise to Candleford.

Sheridan has been a regular face on TV following on from her role as Rudi, as well as plenty of theatre shows too. We’ve seen her on Benidorm, Jonathan Creek, The Widower, portraying Cilla Black in Cilla, Cleaning Up, Four Lives, No Return and The Castaways. She’s also set to star in upcoming crime drama I Fought The Law. On the stage, she’s performed in Into the Woods, Little Shop of Horrors, Legally Blonde, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Funny Girl, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat and Shirley Valentine. She’s even released two albums as a solo singer – ‘Sheridan’ (2017) and ‘A Northern Soul’ (2018).

Stacey’s brother Jason is played by Robert Wilfort, who had already appeared in a handful of TV series and films by the time of his casting in the show in 2007. He had roles in Murder Most Horrid, The Blonde Bombshell, Holby City, The Bill, Coronation Street and Pulling on the small screen, as well as All or Nothing, The Life and Death of Peter Sellers, The Libertine and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.

Robert has since starred in films like Me and Orson Welles, Grimsby, The Huntsman: Winter’s War and The Dig, plus TV series Skins, Casualty, Ashes to Ashes, Doctors, Casualty, Wolf Hall, Endeavour, Sex Education, Bridgerton and Vera. He also lent his voice to kids’ TV show Thomas & Friends as Samson, appearing in the series for three years plus two films.