The child star who played baby Neil in TV’s Gavin and Stacey has revealed James Corden and Ruth Jones have not been in touch about a new Christmas special.
Oscar Hartland, 15, is hoping the phone rings after hearing rumours that the cast of the hit family comedy were getting back together one more time.
Starstruck Oscar played Neil as a baby in four episodes and again as a 10-year-old in the Christmas special in 2019.
The teenager, from Caerphilly, South Wales, said: ‘I was quite chubby and I looked a bit like Smithy and Nessa and it helped that I was Neil when I was a baby.
‘I’d love to do it again – I’m ready if they are.
Oscar Hartland, 15, is hoping the phone rings after hearing rumours that the cast of the hit family comedy were getting back together one more time
Oscar played Neil alongside James Corden and Ruth Jones as a 10-year-old in the Christmas special in 2019
He played Neil as a baby in four episodes. Picture shows him with mum and dad on the beach in season three episode five (2009)
‘Everyone’s heard the rumours and the whole country wants to see another episode. I’d love to be part of that.’
‘I don’t want to be a party pooper but I’ve heard nothing.’
Ruth Jones, co-creator of Gavin and Stacey has played down talk of a new Christmas special saying it is ‘sadly a rumour’.
Oscar, who is studying for GCSEs this summer, told how he’s been nicknamed Neil by friends and teammates at Caerphilly rugby club where he plays wing forward.
He said: ‘I get called Neil all the time, I’ve got used to it. Friends, my barber, a lot of people think Neil is my real life name.
‘But one of the rugby dads calls me Hollywood because he thinks that’s where I’ll end up.’
Oscar said: ”I’d love to do it again – I’m ready if they are’
Neil wearing the strip of his dad Smithy’s favourite football club West Ham. James Corden is also a lifelong West Ham fan
Father and son on the set of Gavin and Stacey for the Christmas special in 2019. The episode had 17.1 million viewers – making it the most-watched scripted TV programme of the 2010s
The teenager, from Caerphilly, South Wales, said: ‘I was quite chubby and I looked a bit like Smithy and Nessa and it helped that I was Neil when I was a baby’
The classic BBC sitcom Gavin and Stacey followed the love story of Joanna Page and Mathew Horne’s characters as they navigated their family lives in Essex and Wales
Oscar was given a month off school to film the last Christmas special but his teachers gave him a stack of homework so he didn’t fall behind.
He said: ‘I didn’t do one bit, I didn’t have the chance, filming and getting my hair done.
‘Every scene I had I was with Ruth. She was brilliant with me.
‘I’d love to get a phone call asking me to take part in a new episode. I’d be over the moon.’
In the meantime Oscar is concentrating on a career in music – his teen band Redwood City are due to release their first single later this year.
They have recorded at Rockfield Studios near Monmouth where Oasis recorded Wonderwall and Queen recorded Bohemian Rhapsody.
Oscar, a year 10 pupil at St Martin’s Comprehensive School in Caerphilly, said: ‘I got to play the same grand piano Freddie Mercury used for their biggest hit. That was a real thrill.’
Oscar was given a month off school to film the last Christmas special but his teachers gave him a stack of homework so he didn’t fall behind – but he said he ‘didn’t do one bit’
Stars of Gavin and Stacey Ruth Jones, James Corden, Joanna Page and Mathew Horne pictured with Christmas decorations
Fans shared classic moments in gif format to express their happiness when the Christmas special was announced
At the moment he is concentrating on a career in music – his teen band Redwood City are due to release their first single later this year
Oscar is a year 10 pupil at St Martin’s Comprehensive School in Caerphilly
His dreams are to follow the career of his idol, singer-songwriter Sam Fender, headline the Reading Festival and land a part in a future Star Wars film
Oscar on the set of the Christmas special in July 2019 with Stacey (played by Joanna Page)
‘Coldplay recorded their most famous song Yellow there so it was an incredible place to be, considering I’m still only 15.
‘We recorded a song and made a few demos during the two days we were there.’
Rhythm guitarist and pianist Oscar and his band were invited to the iconic studio after writing ‘loads of emails and letters’ asking if they could play there.
His dreams are to follow the career of his idol, singer-songwriter Sam Fender, headline the Reading Festival and land a part in a future Star Wars film.
Proud mum Kirsty praised Oscar for his ambition and entrepreneurial talents – he no longer gets pocket money because he makes cash by giving guitar lessons.
Oscar was the first teenager to be picked in the blind audition of The Voice Kids in 2023. He was mentored by McFly singer and guitarist Danny Jones.
Oscar was the first teenager to be picked in the blind audition of The Voice Kids in 2023
Oscar with Melanie Walters who plays Stacey’s mum Gwen West
Rhythm guitarist and pianist Oscar and his band were invited to play at Rockfield Studios near Monmouth where Oasis recorded Wonderwall and Queen recorded Bohemian Rhapsody after writing ‘loads of emails and letters’ asking if they could play there
The last time Gavin and Stacey aired was in 2019, when a Christmas special saw Nessa – played by Jones – get down on one knee and propose to Cordon’s Smithy
‘I reached the semi-finals or the battles as it’s known,’ said Oscar. ‘It was a great experience and gave some exposure to me and the band.
‘Since then we’ve played at events with crowds up to 7,000 people, it’s crazy stuff.’
Oscar says he would put his musical career on hold if there was a chance of playing Neil as a 15-year-old. ‘I’m just hoping the phone rings,’ he said.
Speaking to an Irish radio station this week Ruth Jones said: ‘All I can say is, if there was something to say on that front, James [Corden] and I would happily announce it, we would.’
That last Christmas special was the UK’s most-watched scripted TV programme of the 2010s, with 17.1 million viewers.
The episode ended on a cliffhanger after Nessa, played by Jones, proposed to Smithy, the character played by the show’s creator James Corden.
But according to Jones, his answer may never be revealed.
She said: ‘I quite like the idea of it just lingering there and us wondering, ‘What did she say? Are they together?”
‘I think she’s still working down the slots, probably coaching the Welsh rugby team, because she’s very good at that.’
