When Gavin Met Stacey and Everything In Between by James Corden & Ruth Jones – Book review by Kimberly Foreman

Genre: Non-fiction

Oh, this book was everything I wanted it to be and more. It was just perfection and my first five-star read of 2026.

I only discovered the show (Gavin & Stacey) a couple of years ago, and it was only when I sat down and watched it properly from Season 1 that I really got to know the characters and absolutely fell in love with it.

For those of you who haven’t seen it before, it’s a story about normal people living their normal everyday lives, but one family (Stacey’s) is from Wales, and they are a truly comical lot, whilst Gavin’s side comes from Essex. They are loud and boisterous and they love a party! Though we see their relationship evolve over time, let’s be honest — it’s Smithy and Nessa’s (or should I say Vanessa Shanessa’s) relationship that we are truly invested in. I didn’t realise it at the time, but looking back, their relationship was like Ross and Rachel (from FRIENDS) all over again.

The book goes into how the series came about, their relationship behind the scenes, the writing process, etc. The affection and love that Corden and Jones have for each other in real life is obvious — this book had me feeling emotional but also laughing out loud because they are naturally funny people.

You must watch the series first if you haven’t already, as the book does contain multiple spoilers. Having said that, I’m still none the wiser about “the fishing trip” … if anyone knows anything else about that, do send me a DM on Instagram!

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