The actor and presenter Joanna Page has a plan and wanted to stick to it to get work done

Gavin and Stacey, starring Joanna and the rest of the cast, came to an emotional end on Christmas Day 2024.(Image: Ian West/PA Wire)

Joanna Page feared fans might spot her and think she was dogging – when she was actually writing her autobiography in her car. New book Lush comes out on September 25 and, Gavin & Stacey star Joanna said the writing process was not completely straightforward at home. She said: “I’d go and sit in our garage to write, and my husband would be like, ‘I’ll look after all of them’ – but that apparently involves him popping in every five minutes to ask me something.

“So then I started going to car parks to write, just sitting there in my car trying to get it done in the middle of the night until I thought ‘This is getting a bit dodgy’ – or maybe a bit dogging-y – so I’d go back and park outside my own house, not daring to go inside in case I woke the kids, and keep writing in my car till five in the morning.”

Joanna is best known for playing Stacey Shipman in Gavin & Stacey who was prone to using the word lush in episodes of the hit sitcom. In the acknowledgements pages she admits “When I realised I was going to write a book, I got over-excited, thought I was Carrie Bradshaw from Sex and the City and went straight out to buy a handbag I could carry my notepad and pens in. Then I realised I was going to have to actually write the thing and s**t myself.”

Joanna Page has revealed why she was hanging around in car parks(Image: Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images)

Readers will be taken “from Swansea To Stacey” behind the scenes of her most iconic roles and introduces readers to a colourful cast including Ruth Jones, James Corden, Richard E. Grant, Johnny Depp, Liam Neeson and Emma Thompson.

Joanna had given up on acting after a failed audition and was back to her job in a shoe shop when the Gavin & Stacey script turned up.

“It completely and utterly changed my life. It’s given me amazing opportunities, wonderful experiences and a whole new family,” she told Radio Times. The cast are still close and have a messaging group that is regularly updated.

She added: “We’ve got a WhatsApp group, called ‘ Christmas is occurring’, and we send messages all the time. When Rob was doing Destination X, he’d send us photos and James would zoom into them and try and work out the locations.

The Gavin & Stacey cast are still in contact(Image: BBC/Toffee International Ltd./Tom Jackson)

“We’re always sending each other messages of support or arranging to see each other. And I’ve got a secret little chat with just me and Ruth, too.”

Gavin & Stacey: The Finale is the UK’s most-watched scripted show across all broadcasters and streamers since current records began in 2002, with ratings of over 19.3 million. It has smashed the show’s own record from the 2019 Christmas special which reached 18.5 million viewers in 28-days.

The last ever episode of the hit British sitcom took the top spot on Christmas Day last year and was watched by a staggering 12.3 million viewers, beating their 2019 special and making it the biggest Christmas Day overnight since 2008.

It has since added over 6 million to its total, a number that will only continue to grow when the 28-day figures are published, which is well on track to reach over 20 million.

* Lush by Joanna Page is out on September 25.