Gavin & Stacey: a creative playbook for the ages

2024 was a MASSIVE year.

Two of my favourite things came back: Oasis and Gavin & Stacey.

My love for Gavin & Stacey is borderline obsessive. We even had ‘the’ takeaway order for our Christmas dinner and watched The Finale in fancy dress (I was Nessa. Tidy).

I’ve now watched the Finale and the Fond Farewell about twenty times and eaten up all the behind-the-scenes content I can. 10/10, no notes.

It's all such a good playbook to steal for creative comms work.

And here's why...

1. Observe everyday people – We all know people like the characters. Compare the characterisation in G&S vs the Outnumbered special. No contest. Start by understanding people – that’s how you to get other people to care.

2. Have a ‘way’ of doing things – I absolutely loved what James Corden said about the way he and Ruth think about the dynamic of every scene. ‘Someone out of the main characters, supporting characters and audience always needs to be in the dark about what’s happening.’. One of the signature touches that makes their work theirs.

3. Care about the craft – I can 100% relate to going to the extreme of building a John Lewis wedding list boutique in a disused office to make sure the first big surprise stays a secret. It’s not enough to have a good idea – you’ve got to really, really care about it and how to bring it to life, and protect it.

4. Good enough isn’t enough – Ruth and James talked about nearly abandoning the 2019 Christmas special and calling it a day. Instead, they recognised and worked out why it wasn’t working – and went again. They probably could have got away with the version they weren’t happy with – but they didn’t; they made it better. And they were willing to walk away if it wasn’t working. Tempted to rip up and re-write a pitch with 48 hours to go? Do it.

5. Be memorable – Apparently, they never set out to have running jokes (like Gwen’s omelettes). They just caught people’s imaginations, so they went with it. I guess the lesson is to pepper lots of stuff in and then see what people grab onto. Also, talking to people whose first-ever G&S experience was the Finale, these jokes also work whether you’re a superfan or a newbie. An aside: the callbacks (including costume) though, they were all chef’s kiss. I could write a separate piece on them alone.

6. Hit them in the heart – I’m still not over “I did, 17 years ago. In Leicester Square” line. I’m not a crier, and it makes me cry every time. As Adrian Scarborough (kinda) said: ‘Make something that’s good enough to make you miss a party at the pub’.

7. Be generous – I don’t know for sure, but my impression is they’ve not monetised Gavin & Stacey in the way other brands are licensed to death. They’ve let loads of unofficial merch etc thrive in Barry and therefore helped Barry thrive. It’s a classy move.

8. Move with [or ideally ahead] of the times – Some of the old episodes are ‘of their time’, and it certainly wasn’t as diverse a show as it might be. That was somewhat addressed in the Finale, which shows there’s always room to improve. It was also important to hear Rob Wilford saying, ‘It was never cruel in its comedy’ in a way some early 2000s comedy shows were. Never punch down.

9. Have good people around you – For them: the cast, crew and Chris Gernon. For us, our team and the people who help us bring our ideas to life. An idea is only an idea; it needs people to help it live, breathe and succeed. And when it comes to the Finale – the best person has to be Laura Aikman, who took her NDA so seriously she didn’t even tell her parents she was in it. The idea that NOTHING leaked, with no spoilers at all, given the amount of cast and crew involved, was a spectacular testament to good people and the good in people.

10. Know when to stick and when to twist – Fair dos for calling it The Finale. And the script ending ‘The end. Forever and ever.’. It’s a full stop and leaves something perfect. It can be tempting (and safe) to keep milking a successful idea. They’ve made sure they don’t have that option.

These aren’t the SHOOK Playbook rules but very much could be. As could some scenes from the Fond Farewell be me and Damo working together. Specifically, Ruth saying “Remember when you tried to do the typing?!”.

Genuine.