‘I’m Barry Island’s real life Nessa – Gavin and Stacey changed my life’-Gethin Hicks-Entertainment – Metro

Kaz Barrett, from Barry, says she ‘knows Nessa inside out’

For one Gavin and Stacey super fan, Nessa is more than just her favourite character.

The popular BBC sitcom cultivated a huge fanbase during its run from 2007 to 2010 before returning for a Christmas special in 2019 and a grand finale in December 2024.

It follows the family and friends of titular couple Gavin (Matthew Horne) and Stacey (Joanna Page) and the slow-burn romance of their friends Nessa (Ruth Jones) and Smithy (James Corden) who also co-created the series.

But for some people, this fictional world is just everyday life.

Kaz Barrett, who lives on Barry’s High Street, is South Wales’ real life Nessa – she rides Dave’s Coaches, drinks in The Dolphin and has people shouting ‘what’s occurrin’ at her out of their car windows.

‘I’m pretty much the same as her,’ said the carer.

Kaz became the official Knock-off Nessa in 2019

Ruth Jones returned for the 2024 finale, much to Kaz’s delight (Picture: BBC/Toffee International Ltd./Tom Jackson)

‘I’m the same size as her, the same shape as her, I have the same personality as her.’

But she only realised the striking resemblance five years ago, when Ruth Jones, who plays Nessa in the hit show, visited Barry to turn the town’s Christmas lights on.

Kaz said: ‘It was 2019 and I was running a café on High Street.

‘Ruth came to turn the lights on and it was amazing, it was brilliant – but it was a logistical nightmare.

‘4,000 people turned up and Barry town can’t hold that many – no one could really see or hear her. So I had an idea.

‘I thought, why don’t I dress up as Ness and run up and down the High Street to try and get people into the café? So I did it.

‘I literally ran up and down the street just having a laugh with people and they absolutely loved it.’

Ruth Jones has played Nessa since 2007 (Picture: PA Wire)

When she’s not in-character, Kaz lives with two gentlemen with learning disabilities who she has cared for since 2014

In fact, people loved it so much that Kaz, who says she’s ‘worked everywhere’ just like Nessa, landed a gig as an impersonator of the Gavin and Stacey character – and she’s never looked back.

She began performing at nightclubs, weddings and charity events. Kaz was even booked to turn up at the funeral of a Nessa-lover recently.

Her impersonations, which she says come ‘naturally,’ have been so successful that Kaz was actually able to quit her job last year to become a full time knock-off Nessa.

She said: ‘I enjoy it so much it doesn’t feel like a job.

Gavin and Stacey will return for the last time this Christmas Day(Picture: BBC/Fulwell73 & Tidy Productions/Tom Jackson/PA Wire)

‘I do all the bookings and I’ve got my own tour company, ‘Nessflix’- we do tours on Dave’s Coaches.

‘It’s crazy but it’s lovely. I’ve got people leaning out of their car windows to shout ‘what’s occurrin’ at me. I get noticed all the time around Barry.’

What may shock some Gavin and Stacey lovers from outside of Wales’s biggest town is that it’s actually very rare to hear the iconic Nessa line, ‘what’s occurin,’ in Barry.

Kaz, who reckons she’s seen the whole series through more than 100 times, said: ‘Everyone knows a Bryn, a Ness, a Gwen, a Stacey – Barry’s full of ’em.

‘The one thing we don’t do though, is say what’s occurrin, no one in Barry says that. It’s a total Nessa-ism.

‘But I can’t fault James Corden or Ruth at all, they’ve created something iconic which is going to live on for years.

‘Years ago we were well known for Butlins, when that went away all of the tourism went with it – but people come here for Gavin and Stacey now. They’ve put Barry on the map.

‘To be honest, if you don’t love Gavin and Stacey, you’re a fool!’

Fans were left on a cliff-hanger after the last episode with Nessa proposing to Smithy

This time round it was Smithy’s turn to get down on one knee (Picture: BBC One)

The show’s last ever episode aired on Christmas Day, after fans were left on a cliff-hanger last time when Nessa proposed to Smithy.

Knock-off Nessa, much like the rest of the nation, is firmly team Smithy and Nessa, even if Sonia (Laura Aikman) is getting in the way of true love in the 2024 special.

She said: ‘Smithy and Nessa are meant to be together, but also apart – Nessa doesn’t have to marry him to love him.’

Luckily, in the end, Smithy realises his mistake in marrying Sonia and jilts her at the altar to chase Nessa cross-country and finally get together with her.

And how could I interview the real-life Nessa without asking her what happened on Bryn and Jason’s mysterious fishing trip?

In classic Nessa fashion, she answered: ‘I can’t tell you exactly what happened, but I can tell you this – it was cold that day, it defied the laws of gravity, but it was legal in Wales so we’ll leave it there.’

Gavin and Stacey is available to stream on BBC iPlayer.

This article was first published on December 24, 2024.

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