Joanna Page almost quit acting before landing 'Gavin and Stacey' role

26 February 2024

Joanna Page was on the verge of giving up acting before landing her part in ‘Gavin and Stacey’.

Joanna Page was on the verge of giving up acting before landing her part in Gavin and Stacey

The 46-year-old actress quickly became a household name after starring as Stacey Shipman in the beloved BBC Three comedy, but before getting the role, Joanna had not landed a part in the industry for over a year, and was on the brink of throwing the towel on her screen career.

She told BBC Radio 2’s 'Tracks of my Years' show: “I remember going in and saying, ‘I’m going to have to have the day off because I’ve got an audition for this show called ‘Gavin and Stacey’.

“I’d read it and I just thought, ‘This character is me. I’ve got to get this. If I don’t get this, that’s my lot’.”

Joanna also reflected on meeting Ruth Jones, 57 – who wrote 'Gavin and Stacey' with James Corden, 45, as well as playing Nessa in the series – and said she instantly knew she was perfect for the part of Stacey.

She said: “Apparently (Ruth) went in and went, ‘Well I’ve just met Stacey’.”

It was recently rumoured 'Gavin and Stacey' would be returning for another Christmas special, five years after the last festive edition.

And it was claimed that Netflix was trying to outbid the BBC for rights to the show, though Ruth has since dismissed the story as nothing but hearsay.

During an appearance on RTE Radio 1, she said: “It’s sadly a rumour... all I can say is, if there was something to say on that front, James and I would happily announce it, we would.

“Apparently there’s a bidding war going on between the BBC and Netflix and I love it because it says ‘a source says’, who is this source?”

Ruth added the story may have come after she was pictured having lunch with James following him finishing his run in the US presenting 'The Late Late Show’.

She said: “Then the next thing is, ‘Oh my god they must be writing more 'Gavin and Stacey’, which is lovely.

“It’s lovely that people are so desperate for it because imagine if it was the opposite and were like ‘Oh, god, you’re not bringing that back again.’”