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Stacey Shipman (née West; b. 1981) is a character in the television series Gavin & Stacey. She is portrayed by Joanna Page.

Characterisation[]

Stacey is the bubbly yet somewhat brattish and childish "protagonist" from Barry, Wales who is twenty-six at the start of the series and living in Barry, South Wales, with her mother, Gwen West. Her father, Trevor, died in 2004, leaving her Uncle Bryn to adopt a fatherly role. She has a good, strong relationship with her brother, Jason, who lives in Spain. Her best friend is Nessa and her husband is Gavin Shipman, whom she marries in 2007.

Background[]

She was born and raised in her hometown of Barry, South Wales. She lives with her mother, Gwen West. Stacey has a past of several lovers, unlike her husband, Gavin. Her best friend, Nessa, is always round her house and Stacey relies on her for advice.

Stacey is 26 and is from Barry, near Cardiff. Stacey works for Bedmore Electronics in Barry. She lived at home with her mother in Barry until her marriage. Her gay brother, Jason, lives in Spain. She had been engaged five times before meeting Gavin Shipman, something she preferred to forget and kept from him. She is very bubbly, excitable and full of conversation but also slightly fragile and prone to overreacting. An example is her misreading Gavin's sudden business-like tone during a call from work when his boss appears over him, immediately thinking he is trying to break up. Gavin then has to drive all the way to Barry to patch things up.

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She confides frequently in her best friend, Nessa. Stacey has never been away from Barry Island before she visits Gavin, and becomes very homesick when she marries him and moves to Essex. After a few months of finding no work, she tells Gavin she can no longer live in Essex and will be moving back home. During the course of their separation, Stacey decides their selfishness about where they live means they are not meant to be together and is on the verge of giving her wedding ring back when Nessa goes into labour. After Nessa gives birth, they make up and resolve to find a way for both of them to be happy. A few months later, Gavin decides to get a job in Cardiff so he can move to Barry Island to keep Stacey happy. Stacey discovers she is pregnant in the final episode of Series 3, after desperately taking 34 pregnancy tests.

Character History[]

Series One[]

Stacey has been in contact with an Essex Boy, Gavin, for six months through her work phone. For the first time, Gavin and Stacey meet up with each other in London and their friends, Nessa and Smithy tag along to make sure that they are all right. Stacey falls in love with Gavin the moment they meet and they have instant chemistry. Everyone checks into the hotel and Gavin and Stacey spend their first night together. When the dreaded time to leave comes, both Gavin and Stacey are distraught. Then Gavin drives to Wales to surprise Stacey. When they next speak, Gavin's boss hovers over him, forcing him to be professional to Stacey on the phone. This confuses her and she presumes he's breaking up with her, so puts the phone down on him and goes to seek comfort from Nessa. He drives down to Barry and they patch things up, with Stacey coming to stay with Gavin and his parents for a few days. When she leaves, Gavin proposes but jumped the barrier to the train and so is arrested. They get married in the last episode of series 1, despite it being revealed to Gavin that he is Stacey's sixth fiancé after he meets her former fiancé Ahmed during a second stag night with Bryn and Smithy at the Dolphin Pub in Barry.

Series Two[]

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When she and Gavin get married they move into Gavin's Essex home. However it is not long until Welsh born-and-bred Stacey starts to miss home. However, Gavin is unsympathetic and refuses to consider moving there and us stunned when Stacey, angry that he didn't come with her to help with the prep for her mother's birthday party and then decided suddenly that they'd all leave early the following morning and stuns him by saying she's moving back home. This leads to a four week separation. Stacey later trues to return to Essex, but realises she can never be happy there and that if she were really meant to be with Gavin, she'd be happy no matter where they lived. Telling him sadly she cannot ignore this any longer, she breaks up with him for good. Nessa then goes into labour and after the birth they reconcile and at the end of Series Two they discuss where to live and that leads to, at the start of Series 3, them move to Wales.

Series Three[]

Gavin got a job in Cardiff so he and Stacey had to move. Stacey is loving every moment of it but Gavin is lonely now that his best mate Smithy isn't around. The couple are trying for a baby and it is revealed that Gavin has a low sperm count. However they still try, and at the end of season three Stacey becomes pregnant with Gavin`s child. At the end of series 3, she has settled down with Gavin in her hometown, pregnant.

Christmas Special 2019[]

By the 2019 Christmas Special, Stacey and Gavin have inherited Doris' house and are living there, with their three children: Harri, Caitlin and Megan.

Series 4[]

Keep up to date with James Corden & Ruth Jones to find out more!

Trivia[]

  • Staceys’ previous fiancés were (in order): Howell, Kyle, Lleyton, Ahmed and Cliff, before going on to marry Gavin.
  • Stacey vows to start quitting smoking at age 28 and definitely give up by 30.
  • She was going to break up with Gavin but she did not do so.
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