Alison & Larry: Billericay to Barry sees old pals Alison Steadman and Larry Lamb team up once more for a fun-filled road trip.
The three-part series, airing from Monday, August 14 at 8pm on Gold, sees the Gavin & Stacey actors travel from Essex to Wales and along the way, they visit some stunning locations, catch up with former co-stars and take part in several exciting activities.
What To Watch joined Alison Steadman and Larry Lamb for a chat to find out more…
What was the appeal for you both?
Larry Lamb: “Well it wasn’t spending three weeks with Alison – mind you, she did say the same thing about me! No, I just thought that driving across the country is so special. And it was lovely. There was a lot of singing of old songs and reminiscing, so the audience will get to know something about us as human beings, not actors. It was about us being ourselves on the road, going down the route of Gavin & Stacey. It wasn't about Pam and Mick [their Gavin & Stacey characters] going on a holiday.”
Alison Steadman: “Yes, I just thought it'd be fun. There were no lines to learn, which makes a change! And everything we did was a surprise.”
Did you enjoy spending time together?
Alison Steadman: “Yes, I think we have a very similar sense of humour, don't we?”
Larry Lamb: “We certainly laugh at the things each other says. Alison and I first met through mutual friends and she is somebody you can have a bit of banter with, whereas with some actors, spending three weeks in the car with them, it would be a case of, ‘It’s them or me!’”
In Gavin & Stacey, the Billericay scenes were filmed in Wales, so what was it like to visit the Essex town for the first time and also explore Barry in South Wales again?
Larry Lamb: “Everything happened effectively in Wales [in Gavin & Stacey], nothing ever happened in Billericay, so it was a lovely chance to put it on the map in this, which the people there were very happy about, they were so warm and welcoming. And in Barry, we went to the fairground and on the dodgems!”
Alison Steadman: “Going back to Barry and driving past the houses [that they used for filming] and going to the pleasure beach again was lovely. And in Billericay, we met the mayor and even planted a tree.”
What were the highlights of your journey?
Larry Lamb: “I did cold water swimming. It was blanketed in snow, but I immersed myself and it was lovely. And going on the Thames in a boat was good and making puppets in Cheltenham, Alison is a champion puppet maker!”
Alison Steadman: "I loved that, because I'm a crafty person, I was in my element. We were given the basis of a puppet and then there was all this felt, hair and eyes we could stick on. It was good fun.”
Was it a treat to meet up with some of your former co-stars from Gavin & Stacey, including Russell Tovey, who portrayed Budgie, Robert Wilfort, who played Jason, and Melanie Walters, who was Gwen?
Larry Lamb: “It was lovely, because you don't see each other as the years go by.”
Alison Steadman: “We haven't seen them since we did the Christmas special [in 2019] so it was really nice, because we're all so fond of each other. We had such a good time doing Gavin & Stacey.”
If Ruth Jones and James Corden, who penned Gavin & Stacey and played Nessa and Smithy, wanted to revisit the show, would you be up for returning?
Larry Lamb: “If they did it, everybody would want to get together, I'm sure. They wrote an extraordinary piece of work.”
Alison Steadman: “Yes, they are just the tops!”
Alison & Larry: Billericay to Barry airs from Monday, August 14 at 8pm on Gold. All episodes will be available on Sky Box Sets, Now TV and Virgin TV.
