How To Watch Every Episode Of Gavin & Stacey For Free
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10 hours ago
With or without a TV license
James Corden and Ruth Jones’ beloved romcom may be over, but Gavin & Stacey will live long in our hearts (as it did during long hiatuses, too). Fancy a rewatch? Here’s how to watch every episode of Gavin & Stacey for free.
Where To Watch Gavin & Stacey: All Episodes
Every episode of Gavin & Stacey is available to stream in the UK on BBC iPlayer. If you don’t have a TV license, every episode is also available to stream for free on U, too.
How Many Series?
Gavin & Stacey is made up of three series and three special episodes.
How Many Episodes?
In total, there are 22 episodes of Gavin & Stacey: six in series 1, seven in series 2, six in series 3 and three special episodes.
When Did Gavin & Stacey First Air?
The first ever episode of Gavin & Stacey aired on 13 May 2007 on BBC Three, with series 1 airing over six weeks but gathering less than 1 million viewers on average per episode. Series 2 launched on 16 March 2008, also on BBC Three, gathering an audience of around 1.6 million viewers per episode.
After these first two series, repeats and word of mouth allowed the series to snowball, and by the first Christmas special – on Christmas Eve 2008 – Gavin & Stacey finally hit its stride, attracting 7.19 million viewers. Series 3 followed suit, attracting an average of 7.65 million viewers when it first aired at the end of 2009. Then it was a whole decade before we were reunited with the Shipman and West families, with the 2019 Christmas special attracting a whopping 18.49 viewers on Christmas day. The most recent special episode – which aired on Christmas day 2024 – just beat 2019’s episode, counting 19.3 million viewers, the most-watched TV show in the UK all year.
Nessa (RUTH JONES), Stacey (JOANNA PAGE), Gwen (MELANIE WALTERS), Bryn (ROB BRYDON) & Gavin (MATHEW HORNE) in Gavin and Stacey: The Finale. (BBC/Toffee International Ltd./Tom Jackson)
Gavin & Stacey: The Full Cast
- Mathew Horne as Gavin Shipman
- Joanna Page as Stacey Shipman (née West)
- James Corden as Neil ‘Smithy’ Smith
- Ruth Jones as Vanessa Shanessa ‘Nessa’ Jenkins
- Larry Lamb as Michael ‘Mick’ Shipman
- Alison Steadman as Pamela Andrea ‘Pam’ Shipman (née Gryglaszewska)
- Rob Brydon as Brynfor ‘Bryn’ West, known as Uncle Bryn
- Melanie Walters as Gwen West
- Steffan Rhodri as David Lloyd Gooch, known as Dave Coaches
- Julia Davis as Dawn Sutcliffe
- Adrian Scarborough as Peter ‘Pete’ Sutcliffe
- Margaret John as Doris O’Neill
- Robert Wilfort as Jason West
- Andrew Knott as Dominic/Dirtbox
- Russell Tovey as Karl ‘Budgie’ Barratt
- Dominic Gaskell as Chinese Alan
- Samuel Anderson as Craig/Fingers
- Daniel Curtis as Jesus
- Jason Gregg as Gary Finch
- Daniel Jeffrey as Simon
- Ffion Williams as Louise Evans
- Gwynfor Roberts as Dick Powell
- Sheridan Smith as Ruth ‘Rudi’ Smith
- Mathew Baynton as Dean/Deano
- Pam Ferris as Catherina ‘Cath’ Smith
- Huw Dafydd as Neil Jenkins
- Steve Meo as Owain Hughes
- Beth Granville as Angie
- John Grisley as Swede
- Rocco Romanello as Neil ‘the Baby’ Smith
- Laura Aikman as Sonia
- Gabriel Mitell as Harri Shipman
- Martha-Eve Tregonning as Caitlin Shipman
- Maddison Belle Platt as Megan Shipman
- Matt Lucas as Jammy
The Serial Killer References
One of Gavin & Stacey’s many Easter-egg running jokes is that a handful of the core characters share a surname with well-known British serial killers. This includes:
- Pam, Mick & Gavin, who share a surname with notorious GP serial killer Harold Shipman
- Stacey, Gwen, Bryn & Jason, who share a surname with Gloucestershire killers Fred and Rose West
- Pete & Dawn, who share a surname with Peter Sutcliffe, aka the Yorkshire Ripper – with Pete sharing his whole name with the killer
The joke first became obvious when Pete and Dawn Sutcliffe joined were introduced to the series, joining the Shipman and West families for Christmas in the 2008 special. When asked about the dark joke in 2009, Jones said: ‘I suppose we were hoping that people wouldn’t realise and then when it does come to light, it’s even more delicious. I’m sorry, that’s a terrible word to use in conjunction with two murderers. The idea of Christmas with the Shipmans and the Wests – I just love saying that.’
