It’s a mystery that has plagued Gavin & Stacey fans for as long as Bryn and Jason’s fishing trip or exactly how Gavin’s gang of friends earned their nicknames… what exactly is the story with Owain Hughes?
First seen in the third and final season of the award-winning sitcom, Owain is a colleague of Gavin’s who introduces himself with the curious opening line: “Owain Hughes… and before you ask, no I don’t.”
Despite everyone around him (including, at one point, Uncle Bryn) seemingly finding the one-liner hilarious, Gavin was always in the dark about what it meant – and so, for that matter, were Gavin & Stacey viewers.
In a new interview with the BBC, actor Steven Meo reveals he’s often approached by “a bunch of Gavin & Stacey fans” who have their own theories as to what Owain Hughes’ name really means.
“You get on these threads and there are so many people who [think they] know exactly what the joke is – ‘it’s a play on “wine”’ or ‘no you’ve got to speak Welsh, I speak Welsh and I’m not telling you’ – it’s brilliant,” he explained.
However, Steven has insisted these theories are all bogus, and Gavin & Stacey screenwriters James Corden and Ruth Jones actually just threw the reference in there to try and confuse people.
“It was literally just a red herring designed to wind people up,” he said.
Well, all we can say is… mission accomplished.
Next week will see Gavin & Stacey returning to our screens for what’s being billed as its last ever episode on Christmas Day.
So far, little is known about what the feature-length special will entail, although teaser images have hinted at the return of an unexpected familiar face, as well as a resolution to the cliffhanger to end all cliffhangers in the 2019 Christmas special.