Joanna Page admits that bidding farewell to Gavin and Stacey with final Christmas Special ‘felt like grieving’ as she poses for stunning shoot with Woman&Home
Joanna Page recently opened up about her heartbreak filming the final episode of Gavin and Stacey.
The last ever instalment will air in a 90-minute special on Christmas Day this year after fans of the show begged for an end to the story.
Viewers are hoping the episode will tie up loose ends, including Smithy and Nessa’s love story – while finally answering what happened on Bryn and Jason’s fishing trip.
And during a new interview with Woman&Home Magazine, the Welsh actress, 47, who portrays Stacey Shipman in the BAFTA-winning TV series, revealed filming the last-ever episode left her grief-stricken.
She told the publication: ‘Saying goodbye to Gavin & Stacey felt like a grief. When I came home from filming, I was absolutely bloody exhausted! You’re saying goodbye to each location and person.’
‘I was crying from the second day. All of us knew, “This is it,” and that’s why being back together felt so lovely and meant so much.’
Joanna Page recently opened up about her heartbreak filming the final episode of Gavin and Stacey
The last ever instalment will air in a 90-minute special on Christmas Day this year after fans of the show begged for an end to the story (James Corden, Matthew Horne, Joanna, and Ruth Jones)
Viewers are hoping the episode will tie up loose ends including Smithy and Nessa’s love story – while finally answering what happened on Bryn and Jason’s fishing trip (pictured 2019)
‘It was like a big family reunion, and because I knew it was the last one, I wasn’t nervous because I wasn’t thinking, “Oh God, I’ve got to be good.”‘
She added: ‘I just wanted to be with everybody, have fun and say goodbye to my family – even though I will see them again!’
‘I was 29 when I started on Gavin & Stacey. No other job has ever affected me (as much) or will ever come as close as this job.’
Elsewhere during the interview the mother-of-four also discussed how she juggles her work and family life.
Revealing having some time to herself is key, she said: ‘While I was away, I bought my first normal bra in two and a half years.’
‘I started filming the Gavin & Stacey Christmas special wearing my maternity feeding bras and ended with a proper, real-life, grown-up bra!’
‘You know when you’re discovering yourself again and feeling attractive and sexy? I was away from the children and wasn’t being Mum, having responsibility for everyone and just doing all the cooking.’
She added: ‘Mentally, I created some space to relax and have a bit of time for myself to breathe and sleep.’
During a new interview with Woman & Home magazine, the Welsh actress, 47, who portrays Stacey Shipman in the TV series, revealed filming the last episode left her grief-stricken
She told the publication: ‘Saying goodbye to Gavin & Stacey felt like a grief. When I came home from filming, I was absolutely bloody exhausted!
‘That made me feel really quite good, coming home and feeling that I’m not just Mum, I’m Jo as well.’
Joanna is married to actor James Thornton, and they share four children together. The couple tied the knot in December 2003.
However, Joanna revealed that she and James haven’t left the children yet to take a weekend break for themselves and often have to squeeze their intimate moments in.
Discussing her marriage and sex life, she said: ‘James and I haven’t yet left all four kids to take a weekend break.’
‘We can squeeze it into two hours! When we went to see an episode of Strictly Come Dancing being filmed, we pulled up to the studio quite early, so we drove down the road and booked a room in a Travelodge.’
She added: ‘We made the most of our evening away (and) we didn’t do a lot of sleeping, I will say that! My parents were looking after (the kids), so we didn’t stay the night, we just made it home in the early hours.’
The star also told the publication that she is open to the idea of fostering or adopting a child and she and her husband have recently discussed the topic.
She confessed: ‘I’ve been thinking about fostering or adopting. It’s something I’ve chatted about with James because I’m still very maternal, and it’s something that I would think about in the future.’
She added: ‘I was crying from the second day. All of us knew, “This is it,” and that’s why being back together felt so lovely and meant so much’
She continued: ‘It was like a big family reunion, and because I knew it was the last one, I wasn’t nervous because I wasn’t thinking, “Oh God, I’ve got to be good”‘
‘I don’t regret having my tubes tied, and although I felt broody at the start of the year, I don’t any more.’
‘At the beginning of this year, I did a health check, which involved a scan that showed that my right ovary had packed up.’
‘There wasn’t anything left, no eggs. That moment felt huge as if my body was saying, “That is it.”‘
The 22nd series of Strictly Come Dancing returned to BBC One im September, and Joanna revealed they have been consistently asking her to appear on the show.
She revealed: ‘I’ve been asked for years to go on Strictly Come Dancing and have always said no.’
‘You’ve got to give up a massive chunk of your time – and with kids so small, I can’t do that because I wouldn’t want to do it half-heartedly.’
She added: ‘In the future when everybody’s in school and a bit older when the kids could come and watch me in rehearsals, I think I’d quite enjoy doing it.’
You can read the full interview in Woman & Home’s January issue which goes on sale December 5 2024
‘Give me a couple of years to make my pelvic floor a little bit stronger, then I think I’d throw myself into it!’
You can read the full interview in Woman & Home’s January issue which goes on sale December 5 2024.
Viewers can also Watch Joanna Page’s Wild Life in January on BBC2 and BBC iPlayer.
Last week, the cast of Gavin And Stacey recreated their iconic photo 17 years on, as anticipation builds for the last-ever episode of the hugely popular BBC sitcom.
In a matter of weeks, viewers will tune in to watch what happened after Nessa (Ruth Jones), 58, proposed to Smithy (James Corden), 46, five years ago.
Alongside the accompanying photo, major new plot lines were released with the BBC teasing that viewers may finally find out what happened on Uncle Bryn’s fishing trip and that Gavin and Stacey’s sex life has hit a dry spell.
The long-running joke on the series sees Rob Brydon’s character Uncle Bryn appear shifty when asked about the notorious fishing trip with his nephew Jason (Rob Wilfort) which they both refuse to speak about.
Teasing what’s in store, the BBC said: ‘It’s five years since we left Nessa down on one knee declaring her love for Smithy and asking him to marry her. And a lot has happened since then.’
In a matter of weeks, viewers will tune in to watch what happened after Nessa (Ruth Jones), 58, proposed to Smithy ( James Corden ), 46, five years ago (pictured 2019)
The BBC also teased that viewers may finally find out what happened on Uncle Bryn’s fishing trip (Rob Brydon and Rob Wilfort pictured 2019)
‘In Barry, Bryn’s packing the Picasso in readiness for a trip to Essex; Stacey and Gavin are looking for new ways to spice up their seventeen-year marriage and Gwen is behaving most strangely.’
‘Nessa’s started a new business venture and Neil the Baby’s about to begin an apprenticeship with his dad.’
‘Over in Billericay Pam is stressing out at the prospect of playing hostess, not helped by a newly retired Mick practicing his golf swings in the living room and there have been more ups and downs in Pete and Dawn’s relationship.’
‘Join us on the journey to Barry and Billericay as we catch up with the Shipmans and the Wests for the very last time and maybe find out what exactly did happen on that fishing trip.’
