There's nothing like discovering a hidden detail in a TV show to make you wonder if you were ever paying attention at all. And fans have just discovered a BIG one from Gavin & Stacey.
Did you notice that all of the families are named after infamous serial killers?
As a decidedly dark bit of humour, show writers James Corden and Ruth Jones named the characters after notorious serial killers: Fred and Rose West, Peter Sutcliffe, and Harold Shipman.
Gavin's family, the Shipmans, are named after named after Harold Shipman, a GP who was convicted of murdering 15 of his patients in 2000; Stacey's family, the Wests, are named after Fred and Rose West, the Glouchester-based serial killing coupe; and Peter and Dawn Sutcliffe, the Shipman's friends, who are named after Yorkshire-ripper Peter Sutcliffe.
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We're finally in on the joke just in time for the Christmas special, due to air on Christmas day this year.
"Only just realised that all the last names of characters from Gavin and Stacey are the same as serial killers," said one surprised Twitter user.
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One baffled user wrote: "Wtf all the family's second names in gavin and Stacey are the same as serial killers, west, sutcliffe, shipman [sic] #mindblown."
Another said: "The best joke in gavin & stacey [sic] is that the two families are called the shipmans and the wests, nothing cracks me up like serial killer humour."
"But there were a few clever clogs that worked it out way back when the show originally aired. On 24th December 2008, Dan Dineen tweeted: "Has no one else noticed that every family in Gavin & Stacey has the surname of a famous serial killer?"
So there it is - now you know! And if you already knew, have a pat on the back.
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The news of a Christmas Special was announced by James Corden on his Twitter in May. In a press release, show writers James and Ruth were quoted as saying: "Over the last ten years we've talked a lot about Gavin and Stacey - where they might be today and what their lives might look like.
"And so in secret we took the plunge and wrote this one hour special. We've loved revisiting Barry and Essex again and bringing the characters back together has been a joy.
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"We're so excited to get the chance to work with our fabulous cast and crew once more and to give fans of the show a festive treat this Christmas. Thank you BBC for helping to make this happen."
Topics: Entertainment News, BBC, TV & Film, gavin and stacey
