James Corden, the co-creator and star of the beloved sitcom Gavin and Stacey, has admitted that he thinks one particular episode is 'very, very, very bad'. Speaking at the BBC Comedy Festival in Liverpool, the 47-year-old actor and writer confessed that the second episode of the first series is his least favorite, describing it as a 'very, very, very bad half hour'.
Why Does James Corden Hate Episode 2?
Corden explained that the main issue with the episode is that he and co-writer Ruth Jones 'backed themselves into a corner' by having Gavin propose to Stacey at the end of the episode. He believes that at that point, they lacked confidence in the characters to carry the comedy, leading them to rely on gimmicks instead.
'We were conscious of this half-hour comedy thing, and I don't think we trusted that actually the characters would be the thing that would be funny,' Corden said. 'We tried to instead say we needed something funny in the scenes, so we had Gavin jump the barriers when proposing, and be covered in lasers. In our head, we were making a sitcom, but we weren't; we were making a character-driven story.'
What Happens in Gavin and Stacey Season 1, Episode 2?
The episode begins with a misunderstanding over the phone, causing Stacey to refuse to speak to Gavin. This forces him to travel to Barry to make amends. Later, Stacey stays at Gavin's for a couple of nights, and the episode culminates with Gavin proposing to her at the train station. Despite his criticisms, Corden did acknowledge that the episode introduced the fan-favorite characters Dawn and Pete Sutcliffe, played by Julia Davis and Adrian Scarborough.
Fan Reactions to the Episode
Fans on Reddit have also expressed their disdain for the episode. One user, MyManTheo, wrote: 'Oh, I absolutely despise the ending to that episode.' Another agreed, saying: 'Yeah, me too. It's easily the weakest episode, but it's just a vehicle to set everything else up.' However, not all viewers share this opinion. Some defended the episode, with qsk8r noting: 'Ep2 was always going to feel meh after the first one. But it fits naturally with the chain of events required to move things forward.' Another fan, Bay_de_Noc, offered a balanced view, admitting the misunderstanding wasn't great but praising the scene where Gavin arrives in Barry and Bryn says: 'She never says he was a Jehovahs.'
Gavin and Stacey is available to stream on BBC iPlayer. The final episode, which aired in 2019, was watched by nearly 20 million people, making it one of the most-watched TV events in UK history.
