Press clippings Page 60
Gavin and Stacey, back for its second series on BBC Three, continues to pose the question: who are the real stars of this thing? The pair were back from their honeymoon in Greece. It was "nice". But who wanted to hear about that when Stacey's friend Nessa still hadn't told Gavin's friend Smithy that she had his bun in her capacious oven? Mathew Horne and Joanna Page play the nominal leads with such Christ-like modesty that one feels vaguely aggrieved on their behalf that the best lines are written for Smithy and Nessa by the very actors who play them.
Mind you, James Corden and Ruth Jones came up with some crackers as they elaborated further on Nessa's extensive "Past". It turned out Nessa had driven the lorries for The Who's world tour. "Until I found out some things about Pete Townshend I didn't like. All I'll say - and I said it to his face - is where's the book?" This comedy is less mild than it looks and even funnier than I remembered.
Andrew Billen, The Times, 17th March 2008