James Corden

All the same, I was interested to see whether the gentle BBC series, which returned last week for a third and final series, would have shed a little fairy dust in the aftermath of the lamentable solo efforts of James Corden and Mathew Horne. It didn't take long, however, to be reminded that neither actor has ever been a main draw among the superlative cast (though credit goes to Corden as co-writer). The action has shifted to Barry Island, which will please fans of Ruth Jones's brilliantly deadpan Nessa and Rob Brydon's Uncle Bryn - a caricature, but an excellent one.

The christening of Nessa and Smithy's son provides the excuse to lure the Essex contingent over the border, and the seeds are planted early for what promises to be a warm and fuzzy finale. No surprises perhaps, but for the home straight, I'm perfectly happy with more of the same.

Their sketch show was an obnoxious, homophobic mess, so it's probably wise that Mathew Horne and James Corden have returned in the show that first made them popular, Gavin & Stacey. The first episode of this final series was like a warm bath: slightly eccentric characters, love and empathy bubbling around the intertwined lives of three families. Gavin has moved to Wales to work and live with Stacey and was bored. His first day at work was littered with grating, if sweet, interventions - balloons, phone messages, a packed lunch from Rob Brydon's Uncle Bryn - which delighted his new, and yes kooky, colleagues.

You can see why Gavin & Stacey is universally loved: the dialogue is carefully colloquial, everyone has their turn, it affirms family and friendship, has a dark edge - but for this viewer there is a sense of old tricks being recycled. Everyone's quirks ("What's occurrin'?") are so well-worn they have lost their magic.

The only distinctive performances are Ruth Jones's monotone Nessa, with baby (who is with her though concealed at all times) and the marvellous, foul-mouthed Doris/Dor (Margaret John) who stuck two fingers up at the expectation that she'd make salad for the christening party. You should root for Corden's Smithy, father of Nessa's baby and trying to find a role for himself now his best friend has moved away and the mother of his child is with a new partner, but he's supremely irritating and unfunny.

Legend has it James Corden and Ruth Jones thought long and hard about the whys and wherefores and the what's occurrings involved in a third series of Gavin & Stacey (BBC1). As it stood, they had two perfectly formed series and one special, so cult status was assured. Stretch it out and the danger was it could all go a bit My Family. So it was a relief to find that, at least in parts, the charms of G&S - not just a sitcom, but an Anglo-Welsh melange of social integration, drizzled with dollops of juicy profanity - were still cooking with gas. With Gavin relocated to Wales for work, there was scope for surreal culture shock.

When a new colleague introduced himself with the words: 'My name is Owain Hughes. And before you ask, no I don't,' you shared his fish-out-ofwater befuddlement - unless you were Uncle Bryn, in which case you found it hilarious. It must be a Welsh thing. The story picked up with the christening of Nessa and Smithy's baby, an ideal excuse to throw the two halves of the G&S extended family together. And that was where the niggles started: when you wanted to get reacquainted with the principal players, the focus kept shifting to a ragbag of minor characters who were little more than sitcom sketches. Bringing in Nessa's dad and Smithy's mum (Pam Ferris) over-egged a pudding already threatening to collapse under the weight of its wacky ingredients. The best of Gavin & Stacey is in the little details, the laugh or cry moments. But at times here, the comedy was drawn with a broader brush, built around a succession of conventions written in the sitcom rulebook. Funny, es, but more like a succession of g ags and comedy observations than the flesh and blood reality it felt like before. Which inspired mixed feelings - it's undoubtedly good to have Gavin & Stacey back but, on this evidence, it's going to be a little easier to say hello and wave goodbye than you might have thought.

I can see why people like Gavin & Stacey, I really can. It's warm. It's cuddly. It's the celluloid equivalent of on a mug of tea and a slab of Dairy Milk. And it really is all of those things - Joanna Page, who plays Stacey is cute as a button, just Bridget-Jonesy enough for us empathise with, the type of lass any well-brought-up young girl would want to be friends with. And Mat Horne (Gavin) is, for want of a better word, fit. In a safe way. And well dressed, with the not-at-all-bad-looking Page as his girlfriend, so mothers like him and men have a degree of grudging respect for him. And then there's James Corden, who plays Gavin's best mate, Smithy, and everyone knows that James Corden's lovely. So yes: as Bob Hope would say, what's not to like?

Except, erm, I'm afraid I don't. Like it, that is. I like Ruth Jones, aka the indomitable Nessa, fag-smoking, drink-swilling best friend of - inexplicably - Stacey. But that's all. At least Nessa's funny, a quality which, it's worth pointing out, is rather useful when it comes to a comedy show. But apart from her, I can't fathom one of them. Not even Bryn, played with aplomb by Rob Brydon. He's too nice. Far, far too nice. They all are. The whole thing is. It's so nice, you cease to care. It becomes... elevator music.

But anyway, what do I know? Clearly, nothing. Seven million people watched the Christmas special last year, and seven million can't be wrong. Can they? Anyway, last night was the start of the third (and last) series, which saw Gavin settling into his new job in Barry, while the Essex crowd geared up for the christening of Smithy and Nessa's baby, named - wait for it - Neil Noel Edmond Smith. One of the few laugh-out loud jokes of the episode. Any Gavin & Stacey fan would have been thrilled, I'm sure. All the usual bumf was there: Stacey freaking out over an article she's read in Psychologies magazine, Bryn popping his head through Gavin's office window, Smithy ordering enough food for an entire army. Me? Well, like I said. Elevator music. Pleasant enough, no plans to buy the album.

Where Little Britain produced bizarre, gross-out comedy, Gavin & Stacey is a very traditional sitcom. It works in the manner of Dad's Army or Birds of a Feather - the eponymous leads, played by Mathew Horne and Joanna Page, provide a focus in front of a background populated by slightly grotesque caricatures, such as Rob Brydon's camp and simple-minded Uncle Bryn. Now for this third and final series, James Corden's Smithy is still living in Essex while Gavin (his best friend) and Stacey (Gavin's wife) have moved to Stacey's home town of Barry Island in South Wales. As the familiar characters reunite for the christening of Smithy and Nessa's son Neil, viewers who are new to the series (which has previously won two Baftas) may find that this opening instalment is not as immediately likeable or accessible as they might wish. Who, after all, would choose to spend time in the company of Gavin's shouty mother Pam (Alison Steadman) or Stacey's offensive best friend Nessa (Corden's co-writer Ruth Jones)? But as this first episode continues (next week's second is much funnier), it becomes obvious that these weirdly dysfunctional families makes a kind of sense - and that their ludicrous travails are no more ludicrous than most family's. So it's all very sweet, even if there's none of the innovation or edginess you'd find in The Office or The Thick of It.

The eagerly-awaited Series Three finally materialises and it doesn't disappoint. It's as warmly affectionate as ever and there are lots of big life changes in the offing to keep it fresh as everyone descends on Barry tonight for the christening of Neil the baby.

As we rejoin the nation's favourite extended family, Nessa (the incomparable Ruth Jones) is dealing with motherhood with her usual deadpan aplomb. And now that she's engaged to Dave Coaches, poor old Smithy (Neil the baby's father, just in case series two somehow passed you by) feels increasingly side-lined. Most of all, Smithy is absolutely bereft that his best mate Gavin has left Essex and has moved to Wales to keep Stacey happy.

It's Gavin's very first day in his new job, and his family and friends certainly don't hold back in showing their support. Wales though is turning out to be rather more Welsh than he was bargaining on. In contrast to Mathew Horne and James Corden's disappointing sketch show adventure, every tiny little domestic nuance and character foible is mined here for maximum comedy effect. And even though there's a massive turnout of characters tonight, we still care about every single one of them.

What is weird is seeing Larry Lamb switch from villainous Archie Mitchell on EastEnders to playing Gavin's laid-back dad Mick Shipman.

Nessa's neighbour Doris, who's on salad duty, is a star and there's another belter of a song from Bryn. When he describes a christening as being like an opera, he's not kidding.

Gavin & Stacey's journey from cult viewing to national treasure (seven million watched their Christmas Eve special last year) has been the stuff of fairy tales. When so few sitcoms cross over to be national hits, it's the kind of success that should lead to a string of series and bonanza DVD sales for years to come. Instead, writers James Corden and Ruth Jones are putting their gift horse out to pasture, so enjoy this third series (assuming they don't relent - we can cross fingers for more Christmas specials) while it lasts. It starts well, with Gavlah getting a culture shock at his new job in Barry (look out for his misunderstanding of "seven-a-side") and Stace hooked on Psychologies magazine. They're gearing up, along with everyone else, for the Christening of Smithy and Nessa's baby, the unfortunately named Neil Noel Edmond Smith. It's the kind of eccentric set-piece occasion the series pulls off a treat. The high point involves Bryn launching into inappropriate song from the altar, backed by Doris from next door on drums. It's a priceless moment, beautifully performed, as ever, by Rob Brydon as Bryn.

We like James Corden a lot more when he's putting his talents to this Bafta-winning series rather than letting his ego run riot on other formats. It's the christening of Nessa and Smithy's baby that warrants the bringing together of the Essex and Welsh families in this first episode of the final series. Of second concern is jobs: Nessa's got two, Smithy and Stacey don't have any and Gavin's got a new one at which he's thoroughly embarrassed after family and friends bombard him with impromptu visits, phone calls, packed lunches and other well-wishing surprises.

The Sun interviews James Corden and Ruth Jones

But both believe the third series - which starts on Thursday at 9pm on BBC1 - is the best.

Never Mind The Buzzcocks Review

The format remains the same, with Sorry No Refunds consuming about half of the show. Usually this isn't a problem, only this time James Corden and Jupitus' team had to regurgitate jokes about Blue from 2002.