Former Gavin and Stacey cast member Daniel Jeffrey has recalled being ‘tracked down’ to return for the finale after having pursued a career away from acting in recent years.
Daniel played Simon in the first two series of the BBC show over a decade ago. Simon was introduced as a friend of Gavin Shipman (played by Mathew Horne) and Neil ‘Smithy’ Smith (James Corden) with Gary Finch (Jason Gregg).
Both Gary and Simon returned for the latest special, which aired on Christmas Day, for Smithy’s stag do and wedding. The reunion was referenced in behind-the-scenes documentary Gavin and Stacey – A Fond Farewell on New Year’s Day.
Approaching cast members Daniel and Jason, James said: “This is Gary and Simon. The original Gary and Simon.” Co-creator Ruth Jones added: “The casting director, she did a bit of detective work, didn’t she, to track you down.”
Daniel then said in the documentary: “I actually can’t believe she found me. I had a stage name, Daniel Knightley, because I was working in cinema at the time and I was like I need a better name. So I kind of just landed on a Keira Knightley poster and said ‘I’ll be Daniel Knightley’. So I didn’t even have the same name [when she found me for the finale].”
Daniel Jeffrey reprised his role as Simon in Gavin and Stacey: the Finale recently
(
Image:
BBC)
He went on to share that he’s now a barrister, after working for the police. Daniel said: “She tracked me down from the police into becoming a barrister, got in touch with my chambers, who then said ‘oh someone from a casting agency’s contacted you’. And I was like ‘that can only be one thing’ because I’ve really only ever been in one thing’.” Ruth then asked: “So are you a barrister now?” Daniel responded: “Yeah.”
There were several surprise appearances in the “finale” of Gavin and Stacey, which attracted more than 12 million viewers on Christmas Day. They included Sonia (Laura Aikman), who was preparing to marry Smithy at the start of the episode.
The former actor, pictured right in the original series of the BBC show, shared in documentary A Fond Farewell that he’s now a barrister
(
Image:
BBC)
She had first been introduced in the previous festive special, which aired in 2019. That episode had ended on a cliffhanger, with Smithy yet to answer a marriage proposal from Vanessa ‘Nessa’ Jenkins (Ruth) amid his relationship with Sonia.
The latest episode, set five years later, however confirmed that he had turned down the proposal and instead got engaged to Sonia. Towards the end of the episode though, Smithy ditched her at the altar after objections from his loved ones.
He went on to announce that he wanted to stop Nessa from boarding a ship in Southampton, with her having planned to go away for a while with a new job. Smithy managed to catch her up in time and they ended up marrying.
Gavin and Stacey – A Fond Farewell is available on BBC iPlayer. All episodes of the show, including the ‘finale,’ are also available on the streaming platform.
Follow Mirror Celebs on TikTok, Snapchat, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Threads.