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Late politician John Prescott had cameo role in BBC series Gavin And Stacey

Mr Prescott made a cameo appearance as himself in the final episode of the third series.

Ellie Iorizzo
Thursday 21 November 2024 03:08 EST
Late politician John Prescott had a cameo role in BBC series Gavin And Stacey (Neil Munns/PA)
Late politician John Prescott had a cameo role in BBC series Gavin And Stacey (Neil Munns/PA) (PA Wire)

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Former deputy prime minister John Prescott turned his hand to TV in 2010 when he appeared in a cameo role in hit show Gavin And Stacey.

During the original BBC series, which ran from 2007 until 2010, Ruth Jonesā€™ character Nessa Jenkins regularly recalled her sexual liaisons with celebrities such as Nigel Havers, members of Welsh comedy hip hop group Goldie Lookin Chain ā€“ and Mr Prescott.

The character regularly alluded to the Labour politician being a former flame, including expressing regret that he was not the father of her baby when she fell pregnant.

Mr Prescott, who has died aged 86, made a cameo appearance as himself in the final episode of the third series, arriving as a guest at Nessaā€™s wedding as she prepared to tie the knot with fiance Dave Coaches, played by Steffan Rhodri.

In the episode, he can be seen entering the church and congratulating Dave, to which he replies: ā€œCheers John, nice to see you.ā€

Mr Prescott wrote on his blog at the time: ā€œIā€™ve got to say I thoroughly enjoyed my cameo in Gavin And Stacey.

ā€œIā€™d heard about this running joke about me and this woman called Nessa in the series. Ruth (Jones), who plays Nessa, got in touch and asked if Iā€™d be a sport and play a part.ā€

Mr Prescott added: ā€œAs for Nessa, I suppose I have to accept it appears Iā€™ve lost out to a better man.ā€

Nessa often joked about her former lovers, and on her affair with Mr Prescott she said he gave her ā€œfull use of one of the Jagsā€, in reference to his love of the car.

The press nicknamed him ā€œtwo Jagsā€ ā€“ a reference to his official Jaguar and his own vehicle ā€“ when he was urging the public to take fewer journeys by car.

Gavin And Stacey starred Mathew Horne and Joanna Page as the titular young couple who fall in love despite one living in Essex and the other in Wales.

Larry Lamb and Alison Steadman play Gavinā€™s parents Mick and Pam, while Melanie Walters stars as Staceyā€™s widowed mother Gwen with Rob Brydon as her Uncle Bryn.

The show returned in 2019 for a one-off festive episode, which ended on a cliff-hanger when Nessa proposed to Neil ā€œSmithyā€ Smith, played by James Corden.

Jones and Corden, who created and wrote the series and play the best friends of the title characters, confirmed its return in May, sharing a script titled Gavin And Stacey: The Finale.

The episode will air on Christmas Day 2024.

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