Gavin and Stacey star opens up about exhaustion and the pressures of being ‘the nice one’

Amelia Jones

Gavin and Stacey’s Joanna Page has said she has spent a lifetime being ‘the nice one’ and putting herself last.

Page, who is best known for her role as Stacey in Gavin and Stacey said she struggles to sleep at night while on comedian Katherine Ryan’s What’s My Age Again? podcast.

The podcast hosted by Ryan features interviews with celebrities about their lifestyles, careers, and attitudes toward aging, and then reveals their actual biological age based on a blood test.

The show blends humour with health science, featuring Dr. Nichola Conlon to explain how factors like stress, diet, and habits affect longevity.

In a candid conversation, Page reflected on the toll of motherhood and years of self-neglect. She spoke about raising children, experiencing traumatic births, and breastfeeding for over a decade. All of which contributed to long-term sleep deprivation, a reliance on sugar, and a pattern of putting herself last.

She also explored the pressures of being a people pleaser, describing how identifying as “the nice one” made it difficult to set boundaries, until a turning point where she finally learned to say no.

 

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Now 48, Page is navigating menopause and has begun prioritising her health, including her experience with hormone replacement therapy (HRT). She describes this stage of life as a wake-up call – one that has pushed her to reassess her habits and finally put herself first.

In a clip, when Page is asked what she thinks the result will be, she said: “I think it’s going to be bad. I think there’s going to be a lot of inflammation. There’s huge stress, loads of sugar. But I am tired. I’m stressed. I don’t sleep.”

Her honesty also sheds light on how menopause can amplify existing health challenges, prompting many women to reassess their lifestyles.

You can listen to the rest of the episode here.