When Gavin Met Stacey and Everything in Between

A Story of Love and Friendship

Ruth Jones, James Corden

$55

Hardback

Forthcoming
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English

Bantam Books (Transworld Publishers a division of the Random House Group)
09 November 2025

Film, TV & Radio; Memoirs; TV tie-in humour

The story of a remarkable friendship between two people whose creative chemistry ignited the perfect storm of drama, comedy and heart. Explores how the characters and the story lines came into being, and anecdotes from the making of all episodes of the show.

Gavin & Stacey' is a TV series like no other. Now, for the first time, its creators James Corden and Ruth Jones tell the full extraordinary story of how they turned their little show into a full-on cultural phenomenon. As they recount the rejection, obstacles and challenges they faced on the way to giving birth to their beloved comedy creation, James and Ruth also explore the flourishing of their own real-life friendship. While their now legendary on-screen characters Nessa and Smithy had a profound awkwardness to negotiate, culminating in that marriage proposal in the 2019 Christmas special, Ruth and James forged a magical relationship of mutual support based also on a deep, shared sense of subversive fun. Here, from their tentative initial pitch to the emotionally overwhelming final day of filming, the duo detail what's occurred every step of the way, bouncing off each other in inimitable style. Full of revelations and never-before-heard stories, this is a one-of-a-kind book about a show that's already gone down in history.

By: Ruth Jones, James Corden
Imprint: Bantam Books (Transworld Publishers a division of the Random House Group)
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 240mm, Width: 156mm, Spine: 28mm
Weight: 500g
ISBN: 9780857507440
ISBN 10: 0857507443
Pages: 336
Publication Date: 09 November 2025
Audience: General/trade , College/higher education , Professional and scholarly , ELT Advanced , Primary
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Forthcoming

Ruth Jones (Author) Ruth Jones was born in 1966 and hails from Porthcawl in South Wales. She attended Warwick University and the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama. She is an actress, TV writer, producer and novelist best known for her role as Nessa Jenkins in BBC One's multi-award-winning Gavin & Stacey, for which she won a BAFTA in 2025 for best female performance in a comedy. Ruth co-wrote Gavin & Stacey with James Corden, and the 2019 and 2024 Christmas specials of this beloved show garnered viewing figures of over 18 million and 21 million respectively. Ruth also created and co-wrote several series of Stella for Sky TV. Other TV work includes Hattie, Little Dorrit, Tess of the D'Urbervilles, Nighty Night, Little Britain and Saxondale. In 2024 Ruth played Mother Superior in Sister Act the Musical at London's Dominion Theatre. Recent acting roles include Elena Ravenscroft in Harlan Coben's Run Away for Netflix, and The Other Bennet Sister for BBC in which she played Mrs Bennet. Ruth's four novels - Never Greener, Us Three, Love Untold and By Your Side - were all Sunday Times bestsellers and have sold over a million copies. Ruth was awarded an MBE in 2014 at Windsor Castle, for services to entertainment. James Corden (Author) James Corden is a twelve-time Emmy Award-winning host, writer, producer and actor. Born in Hillingdon in 1978, he grew up in Buckinghamshire where he attended the Jackie Palmer Stage School. Early TV work included Teachers and Fat Friends, where he met Ruth Jones before the two went on to co-create the BAFTA-winning Gavin & Stacey. Playing 'Smithy' was James's breakout role, for which he won a BAFTA for best male performance in a comedy. Other notable TV credits include Doctor Who, Jez Butterworth's mini-series Mammals and The Wrong Mans, which he co-wrote and starred in with Matthew Baynton. On stage, James starred in One Man, Two Guvnors - for which he won the 2012 Tony Award for best leading actor in a play - The History Boys and, more recently, The Constituent. In 2015, James made a monumental leap when he took over as the host of the iconic The Late Late Show in the United States. During his time as host, he won multiple Emmy Awards and launched globally loved segments such as Carpool Karaoke. In film, James starred in The Prom and received a 2021 Golden Globe nomination for best performance by an actor in a motion picture. His other feature credits include Into the Woods and Ocean's 8. James also hosts the US interview series This Life of Mine with James Corden, on SiriusXM. In 2015, he was awarded an OBE at Buckingham Palace for services to drama.