Neil the Baby actor’s music career after Gavin and Stacey cameo moves fans to tears-Asyia Iftikhar and Emily Bashforth-Entertainment – Metro

Neil the Baby returned for the Gavin and Stacey finale on Christmas day and fans can’t stop crying at his emotional cameo.

Oscar Hartland, one of the original babies to play Smithy (James Corden) and Nessa’s (Ruth Jones) child in the original Gavin and Stacey, returned for the highly-anticipated finale.

His standout feature in the 2024 special came towards the end of the episode during Smithy and Sonia’s (Laura Aikman) wedding.

During the ceremony, he is called onto stage and plays a stirring, acoustic guitar, rendition of The Beatles’ Blackbird.

And was then part of the crowd in support of Smithy ditching his wedding to Sonia and chasing his mum Nessa cross-country to finally marry the love of his life. A picture-perfect ending, sigh.

The South Wales actor’s ‘beautiful’ cover and overall re-appearance in the show delighted fans and made them very emotional.

Oscar plays Smithy and Nessa’s son, Neil the Baby (Picture: BBC One)

He played a stunning rendition of Blackbird on Gavin and Stacey (Picture: BBC)

He’s now all grown up (Picture: Ian West/PA Wire)

‘That part of Gavin & Stacey is such an emotional moment. Neil the baby’s singing at the wedding really tugs at the heartstrings, especially paired with the montage of Nessa packing,’ user B.M. Badav wrote.

‘Did Neil The Baby really sinģ that beautiful song Blackbird? It was wonderful,’ @howitts_72 added.

‘Can we just talk about how lovely and talented Neil, the baby is?’ @sharigledhill added.

‘Feeling quite emotional to see how well Neil the baby has turned out,’ @rozlaws shared.

‘Why is nobody talking about how the moment Smithy realised he wanted to marry Nessa was when Neil The Baby was singing ‘Blackbird’ at him and Sonia’s wedding? And then Neil looking directly at him at the end of the song, IVE GONE, IVE ACTUALLY GONE,’ @goldenels0n declared.

‘Neil the baby singing Blackbird was everything,’ @julesitsjules echoed.

And fans were not the only ones spiralling into tears. During the Q&A at the Gavin and Stacey premiere, co-creator Ruth revealed she was behind the camera during filming that day.

She said: ‘When Oscar sang that I was an absolute mess. Just hearing his voice was so pure, and the guitar playing was just so gorgeous.

‘And so I couldn’t, almost couldn’t listen to, it was too much, you know, so I’m just delighted, and then putting that with the pictures, I just think it tells a really gorgeous story.’

Neil the baby is back for one last Gavin and Stacey episode! (Picture: Wales News Service)

Earlier this year, Oscar was spotted on set, battling the elements outside Gwen’s house. Pulling up later in the passenger seat of dad Smith’s iconic car was Neil, played by actor Oscar Hartland, who is now 15 in the show.

Oscar threw up peace signs and waved to onlookers as fans gathered around the set for a sneak peek at what was happening.

In between takes, the young star drank from a coffee cup as he chatted with crew, all smiles while filming one of the most anticipated TV episodes of the year.

Other snaps show James carrying a guitar which we now know is linked to Oscar’s musical number.

He was spotted filming with James Corden (Picture: Wales News Service)

He was seen in the passenger seat of his on-screen dad’s iconic car (Picture: Wales News Service)

Is Neil the Baby the same actor and how old is he?

Oscar Hartland has been with the show from the start as one of three original babies to play Smithy and Nessa’s child.

He was born following a one-night-stand between Smithy and Nessa in the 2000s, while Nessa was in a relationship with Dave Coaches (Steffan Rhodri).

He returned for the 2019 Christmas special where he was portrayed as a 10-year-old, with Smithy and Nessa co-parenting while he dated Sonia.

Co-creator James recalled that Oscar revealed he was one of the three original babies during his audition for the 2019 special.

Neil the baby was born out of a one-night-stand in the 2000s (Picture: BBC)

Oscar reprised his role in the 2019 Christmas special (Picture: BBC)

Meanwhile, Ruth and Rob hugged it out and James got out his phone to film fans who had rocked up to show their support.

’10 years later, he came back in and auditioned, did his audition brilliantly and then at the end of the audition, he mentioned to Ruth and Chris: “You know I’m one of the babies that you had?”,’ he said at the Q&A.

James continued: ‘While we were writing this one, Oscar went on The Voice and song on The Voice so we knew that he could sing.

‘That’s really where we had that idea of him singing at the wedding. He does it so brilliantly, and we were so proud of him and we love him. What a journey – from baby to that.’

Now 16 years old (just in case you didn’t already feel old enough) he returned to Gavin and Stacey once more and his character is now pursuing an apprenticeship.

What is Neil the Baby star Oscar Hartland doing now?

Oscar Hartland’s only acting appearance is in Gavin and Stacey, as per IMDb, but he is pursuing a music career.

As mentioned by the Late Late Show star, Oscar competed on The Voice Kids UK in 2023 as a 14-year-old.

Heartwarmingly, during his appearance on the show, Ruth called him up to wish him luck as shown in a pre-audition clip.

‘Oh, Neil the Baby, what’s occurin? We knows whats occurin, you’re on The Voice Kids. Don’t forget you take after your mother when it comes to music. You go out there and you smash it kid alright!? Crackin!”‘ his TV mum said in a sweet phone call.

He appeared on The Voice Kids where he chose Danny Jones as his coach (Picture: ITV/Rachel Joseph/REX/Shutterstock)

And during his introductory clip he opened up more about being known as Neil the Baby.

‘A lot of people don’t recognise me now, but I was in a huge TV show. I was Neil the Baby in Gavin and Stacey in season 3 and I was Neil the Baby again in the Christmas special 2019.

‘Being in Gavin and Stacey it was crazy. Working with huge names like James Cordon, Rob Brydon, Ruth Jones.’

Before adding: ‘People know me as Neil the Baby from Gavin and Stacey which I absolutely love, but now I want to be known for my music and singing.’

He performed Foo Fighters song There Goes My Hero and had three coaches turn for him: Pixie Lott, Danny Jones and Ronan Keating.

The music artist has 13.7k followers on Instagram and has so far released two singles on Spotify titled, Sunrise and A Thousand Pictures.

In a recent post on social media, he also promised there would be ‘more tracks out in the new year!’ alongside photos of him recording music in Rockfield Studios.

Sadly we won’t be seeing Neil the Baby again as the cast and crew have confirmed this was the final ever episode of the show – and it certainly went out with a bang.

Gavin and Stacey is now available to watch on BBC iPlayer.

This article was first published on September 7, 2024.

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