Gavin and Stacey actress Lauren Cornelius splashed cash on show merchandise in Nessa's Slots
Lauren Cornelius splashed out £60 on 'Gavin and Stacey' merchandise in Nessa's Slots when shooting the finale, because she is a fan of the BBC sitcom.
Lauren Cornelius splashed out £60 on 'Gavin and Stacey' merchandise in Nessa's Slots when shooting the finale.
The star played Anna, one of Sonia's (Laura Aikman) bridesmaids, and while she was in Cardiff to shoot the hen party scene, the fan of the hit BBC sitcom stopped off in Barry Island, Wales - where the show was primarily filmed - to take in the filming locations and scoop up some momentos from the amusement arcade where Nessa (Ruth Jones) worked in the programme.
She exclusively told BANG Showbiz: "I went to Nessa's slots, and you can buy lots of 'Gavin and Stacey' merchandise and memorabilia from there.
"So, I spent something like £60 in Nessa's Slots, just magnets.
"And I've got two mugs. I've got a Pamela mug, and I've got a Nessa 'What's Occurring' mug, which is fantastic."
Despite not taking any screen-used memorabilia, Lauren did bag herself some themed Christmas baubles from the December screening of the finale at The Ham Yard Hotel, in London.
The 'Call the Midwife' actress confessed: "I was really lucky enough to go to the screening, which was just a few days before the before the Christmas special at The Ham Yard Hotel.
"There were some 'Gavin and Stacey' Christmas baubles, and they had all the faces of the lead characters on them.
"And I was really cheeky, and I got a Smithy (James Corden) and a Nessa.
"So every year, I'm gonna put my 'Gavin and Stacey' Nessa and Smithy baubles on my tree."
The show - which followed the up and down relationship of Gavin (Mathew Horne) and Stacey Shipman (Joanna Page) and their loved ones - pulled in 12.3 million viewers on Christmas Day.
In a scene where Sonia is having her hen party before her and Smithy's special day, Lauren was joined by Joanna, Ruth, Julia Davis (Dawn Sutcliffe), Melanie Waters (Gwen West) and Alison Steadman (Pamela Shipman).
Despite initially being nervous to meet Alison - who Lauren saw sitting behind her at a Madness concert at the O2 Arena years ago - she eventually "plucked up the courage" to talk to her, and the 78-year-old actress gave Lauren some words of encouragement.
The BBC Radio 4 'Little Dorrit' performer said: "Alison was so kind. She took the time at the end of the day to say how wonderful I did because I did mention I was so nervous.
"I remember her saying, 'This will not be your last TV gig. I'm sure there'll be plenty more to come from this.'
"I'm going to hope and pray that Alison Steadman's words of wisdom are going to come through for 2025, for sure."
