It’s up there with whether or not Ross and Rachel ‘were on a break’ in Friends and now it seems to have been answered: Yes, Uncle Bryn in Gavin and Stacey is gay.
Uncle Bryn has become an iconic character in the hugely popular series since it premiered on BBC One back in 2007 and actor Rob Brydon, who plays Bryn, has had a lot of fun playing the role of the endearing, balladeering, family-focused Welshman.
Yet, always in the background, sometimes in the foreground, has been the question-mark over the bachelor’s sexuality – an old-fashioned motif in the hit comedy – and what really happened on that fishing trip with nephew Jason that is sworn to secrecy.
Gavin and Stacey creators Ruth Jones and James Corden have never answered the question and the awkwardness around it has generated much comedy over the years, but Brydon spoke to Jessie and Lennie Ware in their Table Manners podcast: “There’s a part of me that doesn't want to say anything because I think it should be in the mind of the audience.
“Obviously they have written it... but it’s not ambiguous is it? I’d be surprised if he wasn’t [gay].
“I wonder if he’s just never acted on it. They’ve never said to me… it’s just what’s there in the script."
Speaking on the Table Manners podcast, he added: “But, you know, the way he gazes at Larry Lamb, who plays Mick…”
Hosts Jessie and Lennie interjected to agree and Rob added: “Well, he's a lovely looking boy...”
To confuse things somewhat, Rob continued: “[Ruth and James have] never nailed it on the head. I think it’s for the audience to decide themselves.”
The last time we saw Gavin and Stacey was the one-off Christmas special in 2019, which drew a combined audience of 18.5 million, the most-watched scripted show of the entire decade. In it, Ruth’s character Nessa proposed to James’s Smithy, a cliff-hanger if ever there was one.
