Exclusive: Joanna Page on the 'grief' of saying goodbye to Gavin & Stacey

Joanna Page spoke to woman&home about the 'grief' she felt saying goodbye to Gavin & Stacey after filming the much-anticipated finale episode airing this Christmas, in an exclusive interview for our January issue.

With the final-ever episode of Gavin & Stacey set to air on Christmas Day, more than 17 years after the first episode aired back in May 2007, the cast of the iconic sitcom said farewell to their beloved characters earlier this year.

Describing the final days of filming as "bloody exhausting" and full of tears, Joanna told us, "Saying goodbye to Gavin & Stacey felt like a grief.

"You’re saying goodbye to each location and person. I was crying from the second day. All of us knew, ‘This is it,’ and that’s why being back together felt so lovely and meant so much," she added.

Admitting that she focussed more on the sentimental side of things and treasuring time with her co-stars rather than feeling the pressure, Joanna went on to say, "It was like a big family reunion, and because I knew it was the last one, I wasn’t nervous because I wasn’t thinking, ‘Oh God, I’ve got to be good.’ I just wanted to be with everybody, have fun and say goodbye to my family – even though I will see them again!"

Highlighting just how much the role of Stacey means to her and the huge impact it has had not only on her career, but her life, Joanna continued, "I was 29 when I started on Gavin & Stacey. No other job has ever affected me [as much] or will ever come as close as this job."

Looking ahead to the future in her home life, Joanna, who shares children Eva, nine, Kit, seven, Noah, six, and one year old Boe, with husband James Thornton, told us that adoption or fostering is something that she can envisage for her family.

"It’s something I’ve chatted about with James because I’m still very maternal, and it’s something that I would think about in the future. I don’t regret having my tubes tied, and although I felt broody at the start of the year, I don’t any more," she explained.

"At the beginning of this year I did a health check, which involved a scan that showed that my right ovary had packed up. There wasn’t anything left, no eggs. That moment felt huge, as if my body was saying, ‘That is it.’"

You can read Joanna's full exclusive interview with woman&home in the January issue of the magazine, on shelves from December 5th.