Lessons from Gavin & Stacey's: how a town's culture was transformed

We’re all delighted with the news that Gavin and Stacey is returning to our screens, occurring for a Christmas Day special, yet what is overlooked about the show’s amazing popularity is its success in transforming the culture of its hometown of Barry.

I moved to Barry in 2007, very much a real-life Gavin and Stacey, being an East End boy, married a Barry girl, living on Barry Island (with the body of Smithy).

Having moved from Yorkshire where I witnessed the incredible effect TV tourism had on Holmfirth through BBC TV’s ‘Last of the summer wine’ I anticipated the local businesses and community to seize the commercial dividend from nationwide, and later global, TV coverage.

Instead, I was astonished to find near zero promotion of its new-found opportunity. The only trace was a small dayglo card with a felt pen message saying ‘Gavin and Stacey filmed here’ on a noticeboard.

I made repeated calls in the local media for my new hometown to wake up to this heaven-sent promotional gift to boost tourism and trade.

Eventually, the message seemed to have hit home with an extensive range of Gavin and Stacey merchandise now on sale (admittedly the T-shirt proclaiming ‘Sugar Tits’ may not be my kind of attire), the delightfully-branded ‘Nessa’s Slots’ amusement arcade, the Barry Town United fans have a chant of 'What's occurin'', and Britain’s most popular TV-themed coach tour with the ‘Dave’s Coaches’ bus rammed with visitors checking out the show’s many local locations.

So why was the Barry public so initially reluctant to capitalize on the show?

My theory was that it was ‘Barryitus’ - a condition a friend defined as a culture, an attitude of the glass not just being half empty, but near bone dry. A favourite example I share of Barryitus is of my dear Barryian mother-in-law, when, a few years back, told her of some good news that I had got a conference speaking gig in the United States, in Seattle. Her reply: “It rains a lot there”.

Positive psychologist Martin Seligman diagnosed a condition he called ‘Learned helplessness’, brought on by repeatedly being exposed to negative feedback. As a result, any new information is received through a negative, pessimistic filter.

Barryitus was perhaps a version of a community culture that after many years of disappointments - its Butlins holiday camp shut in the 1970s, popular lido closed in the 80s and declining High Street bore a permanent unwritten sign saying ‘Crap town in decay’ - had learned to be helpless.

Gavin and Stacey however, told a story celebrating the town’s virtues of irreverent wit, never say ‘No’ to a party or good time, life is lush, and generally making the best of things. It provided a new script for Barry, offering a narrative of celebrating life, friends, and family, and how there is always hope in adversity, and its glass is more than half full (usually of some ale or spirit).

Along with the town’s new Waterfront development bringing many new people into the town (seems half of the BBC’s staff have moved here), coupled with the rise of middle-class dogs - posh people come to Barry to take their pooch for a premium quality dog walk and witness first-hand Barry Island’s innate pleasures of beautiful bays with sea, beach, and bracing fresh air, have all transformed the town’s culture.

I’m looking forward to the Gavin and Stacey Christmas special, although I’m still banging the drum about making the most of this wonderful promotional opportunity the show provides. ?My idea of a ‘Gavin and Stacey Day’ on May 13, commemorating when the show was first aired in 2007, has yet to be taken up. But I’m still optimistic, like the rest of my adopted hometown.

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