Gavin & Stacey stars pay tribute to Doris ahead of finale

Ruth Jones and Joanna Page have paid a touching tribute to Gavin and Stacey actress Margaret John, who played cheeky neighbor Doris in the hit BBC sitcom.

“Working with Maggie John is one of the highlights of Gavin and Stacey,” said Joanna Page in an interview with Alex Jones for the new BBC Sounds special. barry island disc,

“I just love that as the series went on, her character got bigger and badder and cuter and sexier.”

John died in 2011Aged 84, the character Doris left the house next door to Gwen’s on Trinity Street in Barrie to Gavin and Stacey in her will.

Ruth Jones, series co-creator, said, “I remember when we were casting Gavin and Stacey and we had the character of Doris, the next-door neighbor, who was a little rude.”

“Our director Chris Gernon said, ‘I know exactly the actress who plays that role – it’s Maggie John.’

Doris was known for her outspokenness as well as her ridiculous reasons he refused to make salad For naming the baby blue.

Page said, “I think, from the first series, I always remember filming it because it was my first scene too.”

“Getting off the bus, walking down the street and going ‘Okay Dor?’ And then she gives me advice on how I should be when I go to London to meet Gavin, and she gives me bits of sage advice.

“From that moment I just thought ‘Oh my God, this woman is so hilarious and sweet and fabulous.’

One moment that stood out for Page was Doris is seen on drums Uncle Brian, played by Rob Brydon, sings the classic, So Strong, at Neil the Baby’s christening.

“Rob, he was quite nervous when he was doing it, because he wanted to do it well. Oh my God, he does it so incredibly well,” she said.

“I remember sitting in the pews and laughing the whole way through and just trying my best to keep it together.

“Because you had Uncle Brian going in with a song you’d never heard at a christening ceremony, and then you had Maggie, the wonderful Margaret John who was on drums, and we loved Maggie so much… But she was very nervous and couldn’t find time.”

It turns out, the hilarious drum hits weren’t intentional.

Whenever John had to play drums, producer Ted Dowd was forced to lie on the floor behind the pews and pick up the biro.

“She would wait like a second and then go ‘boom’, so the time was always unknowingly late. It was absolutely hilarious,” Page continued.

“One of the best days of filming ever.”

The final episode of Gavin and Stacey will air on BBC iPlayer and BBC One 25 December at 20:00 GMT