I Just Learned What Gavin & Stacey's Family Names Really Mean, And It's Dark

Gavin & Stacey fans are now counting down the days until the show’s last ever episode, which is set to air on BBC One over Christmas.

The finale will finally give viewers the answer to its epic festive cliffhanger, with the BBC teasing: “It’s five years since we left Nessa down on one knee declaring her love for Smithy and asking him to marry her. And a lot has happened since then.” 

Though we might not know what Nessa’s surname is these days, I did just find out the haunting story behind some of the other characters’ monikers. 

Per IMDb: “Gavin and Stacey’s surnames (Shipman and West) are named after the famous British serial killers Dr Harold Shipman (one of the most prolific serial killers ever, believed to have had least 200 victims) and Fred West.” 

Fred and Rose West, from Gloucester, faced trial for killing 12 young women between 1967 and 1987.

Meanwhile Harold Shipman was a serial-killing GP who murdered well over 200 people across 30 years, earning him the nickname “Dr Death” in the press.

Though none of the cast or writers have commented on the choice directly, the show references the serial killer titles in its script. 

In one memorable scene before Gavin & Stacey’s wedding, Doris laments: “She lives for the day she can change her name from West – what with all the connotations and what have you º and what does she become? A Shipman.” 

But that’s not all.

IMDb adds that Pete, the long-suffering husband of the equally-beleaguered Dawn, is named after the Yorkshire Ripper, Peter Sutcliffe, with viewers discovering his surname in the original Christmas special. 

The Yorkshire Ripper, who was responsible for at least 13 deaths, shared both a first and last name with the character.