
Smithy’s monologue on the pitfalls of ordering Indian takeaways as a group, Nessa as Santa Claus, and the BBC series highlighted just how beautiful and funny the ordinary can be – never more so than in scenes starring Alison Steadman and Larry Lamb, who play one of the UK’s most iconic TV couples.
Alison’s Pam was the theatrical, sometimes chaotic, and gorgeous wife of Larry’s Mick, the laid-back businessman who seemed to be content as long as Pam and their son Gavin were content.
The Shipmans made us chuckle with their lighthearted squabbles like where Mick’s golf bag should be kept and Pam’s cascading deception about her false vegetarianism, but at their core, they were a regular married couple with love at the centre of all they did.
While it is a fictitious series, Alison, 76, and Larry, 75, have a true love (albeit their connection is platonic rather than romantic).
The two are seated in recliners next to each other, and, like great morning TV hosts, they never speak over one other, instinctively understanding who should speak and when.

Their strong connection began during a chemistry test for the programme, which was created by James Corden and Ruth Jones.
‘In our audition together, we had to do the three steaks Pam scene,’ Larry recalled.
Larry added: ‘We worked as Pam and Mick straight away. It was the first time we’d had a chance to bond and we did.’
Alison silently nods along, a slight smile on her face.
Although this was not their first meeting, the two had mutual connections and both appeared on the BBC’s The Missing Postman in 1997, Larry remarked that their previous experiences were not as memorable.
‘You meet so many people in this job. I’ve met enough people to fill Wembley Stadium so you can’t remember everything and stay in touch with everyone,’ explained Larry.
Alison added: ‘We didn’t have a scene together. I didn’t enjoy that TV show. I found it tough.’
Gavin and Stacey, on the other hand, had nothing but delight.
‘It’s easy being around each other,’ remarked Larry.
‘We became friends, not just colleagues,’ added Alison.
They like each other’s company so much that they have collaborated on Alison & Larry: Billericay to Barry, in which they will play themselves rather than characters.

During the course of three episodes, the co-stars take a 210-mile road trip across the UK in an electric Volvo. We’ll see them tree planting in Billericay, cold water swimming in the Cotswolds (‘My favourite moment was sitting there wrapped up warm watching as Larry was screaming,’ recalled Alison) and riding the dodgems in Barry Island (‘We didn’t let the rain stop us’).
‘There weren’t any stress or strains, it was just two people that have worked together a lot over the years having a lovely experience,’ Larry explained.
Fans of Gavin and Stacey will recognise that the opening and finishing points are directly related to the TV programme. Stacey West’s family was from Barry, where the most of the filming took place, while the Shipmans were from Billericay. Despite the fact that they claim they never shot in the Essex town.

They’ll also see Russell Tovey [Budgie], Melanie Walters [Gwen West], and Robert Wilfort [Jason West], whom they haven’t seen since filming the Christmas special in 2019.
Although the trip appears lovely, Alison stated that it hasn’t always been easy for her to be herself on camera, preferring to hide behind a persona.
‘The first time I filmed as myself I felt self-conscious. There’s a sense of I’m not going to get this right or I’m not sure what I’m doing.
‘It was the same when I started acting. I just have to say to myself: “The camera is your friend, not your enemy”.
‘Once I started seeing it like that instead of trying to block it, I am able to embrace it.’
Larry is in the opposite camp: ‘I prefer being myself.
‘I don’t have to learn any lines.’
An organic connection led to some extremely candid and personal chats on camera, including Larry’s choice to give up drinking in 2008.
He told us: ‘I think everybody’s life changes once they give up alcohol. For starters, it’s money in the bank when you’re not spending 16 quid at the Groucho club on a gin and tonic.
‘For me, it was just a thing of realising that you’ve done enough, you know. I was lucky. A lot of people do a lot more damage than I ever did.
‘Mine was just purely and simply a case of I was getting hangovers that I just couldn’t deal with anymore. And so and it was like, “Okay, you’re old enough now to give it up”. Simple as that.’

Fans of the three Gavin and Stacey seasons and the Christmas special may find it difficult to differentiate Larry and Alison from their characters.
‘The thing is a lot of people don’t know you,’ Larry said turning his attention to Alison.
‘They’ve got a kind of image of you, and a lot of it comes from those characters that you’ve played.’
Swivelling back round to face us, Larry continued: ‘But what I know is that Alison is a much deeper person than any of those characters that are full on.
He proudly told us: ‘I get to deal with the real Alison and not those characters and she’s dealing with me. She knows me.
‘She’s certainly like Pam way down inside – that’s what enables her to get to those characters.’
Alison explained what links her to Pam: ‘What I love about Pam is underneath it all, she loves her son and Mick.’

Alison has been married to Michael Elwyn since 1995 and has one son, Leo Leigh, from her previous marriage.
Father-of-four Larry added: ‘They have genuine love. They are an archetypal, loving couple. That’s why people love them.
‘When you’re out on the road together and you meet people they tell us that. We’re a part of their lives. They just love those two characters as the mum and dad.
‘I’ve turned down parts when I can’t see myself in them at all. You’ve got to hear the voice in your head, otherwise, it’s just alien.’
Of course, we had to ask the question that they’ve probably answered more times than Gwen has made omelettes in the aim of finding a sliver of optimism – ‘Will there be another Gavin and Stacey reboot?’
‘There might be,’ Alison answered.
However, she, like any good politician, attempted to temper our expectations.
‘We honestly don’t know because it’s up to James and Ruth entirely. It’s totally their creation.’
Alison & Larry: Billericay to Barry airs on 14th August at 8 pm on Gold.