Questions raised over claims Gavin and Stacey TV crews were denied access to Cardiff Airport

Emily Price

Claims that the Welsh Government denied TV crews access to Cardiff Airport to film the final scenes of Gavin and Stacey have been challenged after an email from one of the show’s producers surfaced in an online passenger focus group.

The finale episode of the iconic show attracted the largest Christmas Day audience in more than a decade with 12.3 million people tuning in to see if Smithy said “yes” to Nessa.

After it aired, TV critic and BBC broadcaster Scott Bryan posted a thread to social media which included behind the scenes details of the filming locations and production.

Posting to X, Mr Bryan said one of the final scenes which should have taken place at Cardiff Airport had to be altered to take place at Newport Docks instead.

He wrote: “The docks proposal scene was supposed to be at an airport but they could not get permission to film at Cardiff Airport.

“This was because a public area was not secure to film, so as she was going to work on the ships they moved to the dockyards.”

Permission

The post was later shared by the newly elected leader of the Senedd Tories, Darren Millar, who lambasted the Welsh Government for not approving permission for TV crews to film at the government owned airport.

In an X post on Boxing Day, Mr Millar wrote: “Another missed opportunity by the Welsh Government. Scenes for movies and TV series are filmed in all sorts of airports around the world, yet the Welsh Government wouldn’t give permission for a scene from this iconic series to be filmed in Cardiff Airport! #LabourFail.”

The post by the Conservative politician was then shared into passenger focus Facebook group, Fly 2 Cardiff, where members expressed disappointment that the filming opportunity wasn’t used to “showcase the airport to a global audience”

Rumours

But one of the group’s members later published a screen grab of an email allegedly from the makers of Gavin and Stacey – Tidy Productions.

The member wrote: “With all the rumours of Cardiff Airport turning down Gavin and Stacey filming, I contacted the production company a few days ago and this is the reply I had which I think is fair to say Cardiff Airport hasn’t done anything wrong.”

The email – allegedly from Tidy Productions producer Hannah Nelmes – stated that “Cardiff Airport did not reject filming” but were “extremely helpful”.

The full email stated: “We are aware of the confusion regarding permissions at Cardiff Airport due to comments from a show’s producer, as a company we don’t usually exchange information but in this case to put the records straight we feel it’s in the best interest of the airport and our company to do so…..

“Yes it’s correct the airport was contacted with regards to the original script, at the time of the request we understand the airport was going through some big security changes which resulted in the airport offering us the opportunity to film in less security prioritised areas landside and not airside, they also offered us the opportunity to film at a later date.

“Unfortunately a later date would not have worked for us due to the timing of filming this is where we accepted the offer to film at landslide areas instead. It was during these discussions that the shows producers came up with a re-write at Newport docks and that’s where the storyline changed and the airport was no longer needed.

“So to summarise the airport did not reject filming, in fact they were extremely helpful and I’m sure as a company there will be more opportunities for us to film at Cardiff Airport. I hope this clears things for you.”

Challenges

We contacted Cardiff Airport and asked whether the email circulating in the Fly 2 Cardiff Facebook group was accurate.

Spencer Birns, CEO of Cardiff Wales Airport, said: “We were really excited when approached by the production team of Gavin and Stacey: The Finale to film at Cardiff Airport. We worked closely with the team.

“Unfortunately, the proposed filming involved a significant number of crew members on site and required shooting times were scheduled around our flight programme during the busy summer period.

“Unfortunately, their requests would have resulted in significant operational challenges for our colleagues and likely disruption for our passengers during that time. Through the discussions, we were subsequently informed that the script would be portraying airport scenes at a large, well-known London airport and not Cardiff.

“We tried to accommodate the filming by suggesting alternative dates and locations on site that would not require so much disruption. Regrettably, this was not feasible for the show’s production.

“Our team at Cardiff Airport regularly work hard to host commercial filming on site and have helped companies on many occasions. We continue to do so.”

‘Disappointing’

We pointed out to leader of the opposition, Darren Millar, that the claims he made online about the Welsh Government denying filming permissions didn’t appear to be accurate.

A spokesperson for the Welsh Conservatives told us that Mr Millar’s criticism of the airport had been in response to claims made by the BBC broadcaster, Scott Bryan.

In a statement Mr Millar said: “It’s extremely disappointing that a BBC presenter has disclosed that the Welsh Labour Government owned Cardiff Airport was unable to accommodate the grande finale of Gavin and Stacey, especially given that filming is a regular occurrence at UK and other international airports.

“Such filming would have helped to put Cardiff Airport in the news for a positive reason and made it a destination for Gavin and Stacey fans the world over. Instead, the airport continues to be an albatross around the neck of Welsh taxpayers.”

Tidy Productions was contacted for comment.