Rob Brydon’s emotional Gavin and Stacey story is just beautiful
The Gavin and Stacey Christmas Special will go down in the televisual annals as one of the great moments in TV history.
The show that finally saw Smithy and Nessa marry, was watched by a record viewership and judging by the reaction to the show it had a profound effect on many people.
Welsh star Rob Brydon who plays Uncle Bryn in the TV hit found this out when out shopping near his home in Surrey after the festive special had aired.
The actor took to his Instagram page to relay the beautiful interaction between him and a member of the public who approached him for a chat.
The actor, who posted a pic of him and his dog Mabel out for a walk in a local park (which he jokingly referred to as his garden!) wrote:
“Mabel and I wanted to pause awhile as we walk around the garden and wish everyone a happy new year. Also to say a huge thank you for the response to Gavin and Stacey. When I read the script I thought it was very special but of course, you never know. When we filmed it, I thought it was very special but again, you never know. The response has been genuinely overwhelming. I’m hearing of people who are watching it three or four times and so many people have approached me in person or online to say how much they enjoyed it. I was particularly touched by a woman who came up to me in WHSmith in Kingston the other day, put her hand on my arm and said that she had been alone over Christmas and that the show had made Christmas for her. I don’t think that any of us in the cast take these things for granted, so, thank you!”
Brydon’s lovely tale comes as the Gavin and Stacey Christmas Special was the UK’s most-watched TV programme shown on Christmas Day in 23 years.
New official ratings for the sitcom’s 90-minute farewell, which was the centrepiece of BBC One’s 2024 festive schedules, were revealed as 19.1 million.
This is the biggest audience for a Christmas Day broadcast on UK television since the episode of Only Fools & Horses on December 25 2001, which attracted 21.3 million viewers.
The figures have been published by the ratings organisation Barb and includes all people who recorded and watched the programme up to seven days later – the industry standard for measuring TV audiences.
It also includes those who watched on tablets, PCs and smartphones.
Vengeance Most Fowl
The brand new Wallace & Gromit adventure Vengeance Most Fowl, which was also shown on BBC One on Christmas Day 2024, was not far behind, pulling in 16.3 million viewers.
The figures mean Gavin & Stacey and Wallace & Gromit have become the top two most-watched scripted programmes of the decade so far, pushing Line of Duty – which attracted 15.8 million for its finale in 2021 – into third place.
The biggest TV audience of the 2020s remains the broadcast by former prime minister Boris Johnson on March 23 2020 announcing the first Covid-19 lockdown, which was shown simultaneously on six TV channels and drew an average audience of 28.3 million.
BBC success
Barb’s official seven-day ratings for Christmas Day 2024 show that nine of the top 10 were broadcast on BBC One:
– Gavin & Stacey (BBC One, 9pm) 19.1 million
– Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl (BBC One, 6.10pm) 16.3 million
– Call the Midwife (BBC One, 8pm) 7.6 million
– Doctor Who (BBC One, 5.10pm) 5.9 million
– The King (BBC One, 3pm) 5.7 million
– EastEnders (BBC One, 10.35pm) 5.6 million
– EastEnders (BBC One, 7.30pm) 5.5 million
– Strictly Come Dancing (BBC One, 3.55pm) 5.4 million
– Tiddler (BBC One, 2.35pm) 4.7 million
– Coronation Street (ITV, 7pm) 4.4 million
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