Gavin & Stacey Actors Pay Homage to Margaret John’s Character Doris Before Finale

Actresses Ruth Jones and Joanna Page have offered a heartfelt tribute to Margaret John, who portrayed the spirited neighbor Doris in the popular BBC sitcom *Gavin & Stacey*. Joanna Page remarked in an interview with Alex Jones for the new BBC Sounds special, *Barry Island Discs*, that “Working with Maggie John has got to be one of the highlights of Gavin & Stacey.” Page further expressed, “I just love how her character got bigger and worse and saucier and sexier as the series went on.” John passed away in 2011 at the age of 84. Her character, Doris, bequeathed her residence, located adjacent to Gwen’s house on Trinity Street in Barry, to Gavin & Stacey in her will. Series co-creator Ruth Jones recalled the casting process for *Gavin & Stacey*, stating, “I do remember when we were casting Gavin & Stacey and we had this character of Doris, the next-door neighbour who was a little bit rude.” She added that Chris Gernon, the director, suggested, “‘I know exactly the actress to play that part – it’s Maggie John’.” Doris was recognized for her directness, as well as the amusing reason she declined to prepare a salad for Neil the Baby’s christening. Page recounted her first scene, saying, “From, I think, the first series, I always remember filming it because it was my first scene as well.” She described, “Getting off the bus, walking across the road and going ‘Alright Dor?’ and then she gives me advice on what I should be like when I travel up to London to see Gavin, and she gives me a little bit of saucy advice.” Page concluded, “From that moment I just thought ‘Oh my god, this woman is just so hilarious and lovely, and brilliant’.” A particularly memorable moment for Page involved Doris playing the drums at Neil the Baby’s christening while Uncle Bryn, played by Rob Brydon, performed the classic song, “So Strong.” Page commented on Brydon’s performance, stating, “He was quite nervous when he was doing it, Rob, because he wanted to do it well. Oh my gosh, he does it so incredibly well.” She added, “I remember sitting in the pews and laughing all the way through and just desperately trying to keep it together.” Page elaborated on the scene, noting the unusual choice of song by Uncle Bryn for a christening, and Margaret John’s presence on the drums. She mentioned, “we loved Maggie so much… but she was very nervous and she couldn’t get the timing.” It was later revealed that the comically delayed drum beats were not intentional. Producer Ted Dowd resorted to lying on the floor behind the pews and raising a biro as a cue for John to hit the drum. Page explained, “She would wait like a second and then go ‘boom’ so it was always unintentionally late with the timing. It was absolutely hilarious,” adding, “One of the best days filming, ever.” The concluding episode of *Gavin and Stacey* is scheduled to broadcast on BBC iPlayer and BBC One on 25 December at 20:00 GMT.