Gavin and Stacey star Joanna Page “lit up the room”, tells a pub landlord who let her pull a pint.
Welsh pub landlord Paul Norman, who runs the Castle Inn in the Carmarthenshire village of Llansteffan, shared footage of his encounter with sitcom royalty on the pub’s Facebook page. The 42-year-old told WalesOnline about when the “lovely” actress’ visit happened back in August.
He decided to post the video on Saturday as a nod to the Gavin & Stacey finale that aired on Christmas Day. Page went into the boozer with presenter Wynne Evans while they were in Llansteffan as part of an upcoming series called Lost at Sea which will see the pair explore the Welsh coastline.
The publican said there was no camera crew as Page and Evans popped in for a drink to unwind after a day of filming. He added: “She mentioned she had never pulled a pint before so I said, ‘Come round and have a go.” Page opted to pull a pint of Cwrw Llansteffan, an ale by the Llandeilo brewery Evan Evans. In the video she seems unsure of her effort, remarking: “Good God, look at the head on this.”
But she is reassured by Paul: “First attempt at pulling a pint, that’s not bad.” A beaming Page replies: “Is that good? Look at my pint!” — prompting the room of punters to burst into laughter. Paul told us: “Joanna liked the beer. She had a chat with all the locals and was lovely. She lit up the room as soon as she came in and made everyone laugh.”
Paul said it was also nice to see Evans returning to his roots. “Wynne’s from Carmarthen and he’s grown up coming down to Llansteffan on day trips. He’s got relatives in the area and he promotes Llansteffan quite a lot to be fair to him. The show’s about the Welsh coast and I know they were in Tenby too.”
Asked his feelings on Barry-set comedy Gavin & Stacey coming to an end, Paul said: “I was a fan of Joanna ever since Love Actually, which people forget she was in. I’ve watched Gavin & Stacey over the years and I thought it was the perfect ending. We still didn’t find out what happened on the fishing trip though.”
Paul, who has run the Castle Inn for seven years, hopes the Lost at Sea show will be a boost to Llansteffan tourism. “It’s got a castle, beaches and lovely walks,” he said. “It used to be called Wales’ best-kept secret but everyone jokes it’s not a secret anymore.”
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