TOURISM in South Wales is expected to rise after Gavin and Stacey began filming for their Christmas special recently.
New research has revealed a search increase for ‘Barry Island’ after the cast of comedy drama Gavin & Stacey were spotted filming an upcoming Christmas special in the Welsh town.
Experts at JeffBet.com uncovered a 131% increase in Google searches for ‘Barry Island’ over the last 30 days in the UK.
A spokesperson for JeffBet.com said: ”It will be fascinating to see if Barry Island witnesses an influx of visitors as excitement ensues for the filming of Gavin & Stacey’s final Christmas special.
“Barry Island has long been a holiday destination, but the recent increase in searches for the area suggests there are fans currently interested in visiting the Welsh town to catch a glimpse of the show’s production.
“Gavin & Stacey’s penultimate Christmas special attracted an estimated 17.1 million viewers in 2019, making it the most-watched scripted television comedy since the Only Fools and Horses Christmas Special in 2002, which garnered 17.4 million viewers.
“As eager fans have waited five years for Gavin & Stacey’s return, we won’t be surprised if the upcoming Christmas special dethrones Only Fools and Horses’ record.”
Interest in the Welsh town increased significantly September 1 when reports surfaced that Gavin & Stacey writer and actor Ruth Jones was spotted in the area.
Writers Ruth Jones and James Corden announced May 3 via Instagram that they had finalised the script for the Christmas episode, confirming it would be the show’s last.
September 2, James Corden took to Instagram to share a picture of the iconic work van used by his character Smithy on the show, indicating that filming had begun.
Gavin And Stacey started strong when it first aired on TV for three series between 2007 and 2010. Then a 2019 one-off festive episode ended on a cliffhanger when Jones' character Nessa proposed to Smithy.
Fans are incredibly excited to see how the much-loved series will finally end.