James Corden on how Paul McCartney saved ‘Gavin & Stacey’ final scene

James Corden has revealed that a last minute message from Sir Paul McCartney helped get a pivotal moment in the final episode of Gavin & Stacey get to air.

In the special, teenager Neil the Baby (Owen Hartland) plays ‘Blackbird’ by The Beatles at the wedding of his father Smithy (Corden). In the new book When Gavin Met Stacey And Everything In Between, the actor recalls the cast being reduced to tears by the performance, only to find out that the royalties for the song would mean it would be too expensive to licence.

“In terms of getting permission to use the song, the BBC have a licensing agreement which is great for UK transmissions of music,” he said (via BBC). “But I think The Beatles sit outside of that, which we didn’t know, and it’s so expensive if you want to use one of their songs.”

In a last-ditch effort, Corden contacted the song’s writer, McCartney, to ask for his permission to use it. “I wrote just telling him that I felt this was a pivotal moment in the show and that I would never request anything if I thought it was going to be in any way derogatory” he recalled.

The Beatles legend replied agreeing to clear the song in a way that was affordable for the production. “He said in his email that he was so touched and honoured, and he would love nothing more than this to happen, and they’d do everything in their power to make sure it could” Corden said. “Then, within 20 hours, it was done, and we had clearance to use the song.”

In the book, the show’s co-creator Ruth Jones (who also played Nessa) said of the moment: “(Hartland’s) voice was so pure, and the guitar playing was just so gorgeous. I almost couldn’t listen to it, it was just too much. I’m delighted with that scene, I think it tells a really gorgeous story.”

Broadcast on Christmas Day last year, the Gavin & Stacey finale was adored by fans, who declared it “perfection from beginning to end”. The show’s initial audience of 19.3million viewers made it the most-watched scripted show across all broadcasters and streamers since records began in 2002.

Last month, Corden and Jones revealed they would be writing a new sitcom together for streaming service Apple TV+.

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