Actress Joanna Page has made a surprising admission about the financial realities of starring in one of Britain's most beloved sitcoms, revealing that Gavin & Stacey "didn't pay well at all".
From Shoe Shop to Stardom
The 48-year-old, who played the iconic Stacey Shipman, explained that the unpredictable nature of an acting career once forced her to take a job in retail. This occurred after both her and her husband, actor James Thornton, had their television shows dropped by the BBC simultaneously.
"It was terrifying but we scraped through – me by working at a shoe shop, James by doing voiceovers," Page told the Mail on Sunday. She emphasised that "money is unpredictable" in the profession, a fact brought sharply into focus during that difficult period.
Launching as "Complete Unknowns"
Page, who first appeared on screen in the BBC's 1999 adaptation of David Copperfield and later in Love Actually, landed the role of Stacey in 2007. She and her co-star Matthew Horne, who played Gavin, were "complete and utter unknowns" at the time.
Reflecting on their salaries for the show, she said she and Horne had recently laughed about "how badly" it paid, confirming the series did not land them "silly money." Despite the low pay, the actress insisted the tight-knit cast would have "done it for free."
A Low-Budget "Experiment" That Became a Phenomenon
Her comments echo previous revelations from fellow cast member Larry Lamb, who described the James Corden and Ruth Jones-penned series as an "experiment" for the BBC. He stated it was made on a "very low budget" and that nobody involved was "in it for the money."
This low-budget project, however, became a national treasure. The 2024 Christmas special was a monumental success, drawing nearly 19.1 million viewers and becoming one of the most-watched programmes of the century.
For Page, the show's popularity eventually led to more lucrative work, including advertising roles and modelling contracts with make-up brands, which she acknowledges "paid well." The Rada-trained actress also recalled facing early career prejudice, with one director's assistant blaming her Welsh accent for poor performances, a comment that led her to walk out and never return.
