Summary

Gavin & Stacey’ is a TV series like no other. Now, for the first time, its creators James Corden and Ruth Jones tell the full extraordinary story of how they turned their little show into a full-on cultural phenomenon.

As they recount the rejection, obstacles and challenges they faced on the way to giving birth to their beloved comedy creation, James and Ruth also explore the flourishing of their own real-life friendship. While their now legendary on-screen characters Nessa and Smithy had a profound awkwardness to negotiate, culminating in that marriage proposal in the 2019 Christmas special, Ruth and James forged a magical relationship of mutual support based also on a deep, shared sense of subversive fun. Here, from their tentative initial pitch to the emotionally overwhelming final day of filming, the duo detail what’ s occurred every step of the way, bouncing off each other in inimitable style. Full of revelations and never-before-heard stories, this is a one-of-a-kind book about a show that’ s already gone down in history.

Author Biography

James Corden is an Emmy Award winning host, writer, producer, and actor. Born in Hillingdon in 1978, he grew up in Buckinghamshire where he attended the Jackie Palmer Stage School. Early TV work included Teachers and Fat Friends, where he met Ruth Jones before going on to co-create the BAFTA Award winning Gavin and Stacey together where Corden’s breakout role came with his portrayal of 'Smithy’. Other notable TV credits include The Wrong Mans, which he co-wrote and starred in, Doctor Who and Jezz Butterworth’s miniseries Mammals.
On stage, Corden starred in One Man, Two Guvnors - for which he won the 2012 Tony Award for "Best Leading Actor in a Play" -, The History Boys and more recently The Constituent.
In 2015, Corden made a monumental leap when he took over as the host of the iconic The Late Late Show in the United States. In his time as host, Corden won multiple Emmy Awards and launched globally loved segments such as Carpool Karaoke.
In film, Corden starred in The Prom and received a 2021 Golden Globe nomination for “Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture". His other feature credits include: Into The Woods and Oceans 8.
Corden also hosts the US interview series, This Life Of Mine With James Corden, on Sirius XM.
Corden was awarded with an OBE (Order of the British Empire) for services to drama at Buckingham Palace in 2015

Ruth Jones MBE is well known for her television work, most notably BBC One’s multi-award-winning Gavin and Stacey, co-written with James Corden, in which she played Nessa Jenkins. The 2019 and 2024 Christmas specials of this well-loved show garnered viewing figures of 18 million and 21 million respectively. Ruth also created and co-wrote several series of Stella for Sky TV, for which she was BAFTA nominated. Other TV work includes Hattie, Nighty Night and Saxondale. In 2024 Ruth played Mother Superior in Sister Act the Musical at London’s Dominion Theatre. Her latest acting role is Elena Ravenscroft in Harlan Coben’s Run Away for Netflix.

Ruth’s novels have sold over a million copies. Never Greener was a Sunday Times bestseller for fifteen weeks, three weeks at number one, as well as WHSmith Fiction Book of the Year 2018, a nominated Debut of the Year at the British Book Awards, and a Zoe Ball Book Club pick. Her second novel, Us Three, and her third novel, Love Untold, were also instant Sunday Times bestsellers. Love Untold was a Waterstones Paperback of the Year, as well as a Richard & Judy Book Club pick.

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