Gavin and Stacey is one of the Great British public’s favourite shows – with the adventures of Gavin, Stacey and their extended families/friends entertaining us for three years, and who can forget the 2019 Christmas reunion special.
The show had so many crazy plotlines, and while many answers were given throughout the show, there was one big question that was left unanswered – what happened on the fishing trip?
Yes, that fishing trip. Surely the darkest secret in the West family, the fishing trip has confused, intrigued and downright angered viewers for over a decade. We never seem to get any answers, but we do have some clues.
In this article, we piece together all of the various anecdotes, quotes and other information that we have in regards to the fishing trip. We also have an article that looks at the main theories to do with the fishing trip.
Season One
We first learn that there is a degree of beef in Season One, when Jason surprises everyone by coming home early from Spain, ahead of Gavin and Stacey’s wedding. The scene is joyous, until Bryn enters the room, when a deep and awkward silence hits.
As viewers, we are totally perplexed. Bryn retreats to the kitchen, resulting in Gwen going to see what is wrong with Bryn. Gwen mentions that Bryn and Jason “got on as good as gold” before the fishing trip. Ever since then, things have not been the same, and Bryn hasn’t ever told his closest confidente Gwen.
Bryn returns to the living room afterwards, and says a civil hello to Jason. You can see the scene below.
Later on in the season, we get our first details on what happens. At Gavin and Stacey’s wedding, Jason attempts to make peace with Bryn. Jason mentions that “it wasn’t a big deal. Lots of people do it, it’s not against the law”.
Bryn replies by saying “Jason please, how can I ever forget that look on your face”. Jason reassures Bryn that it is all going to be okay. That is all we get out of Season One.
Season Two
We don’t hear too much about the fishing trip initially in Season Two. But the effects of the event are still very much felt, as we see in the famous episode where Bryn organises a surprise party for Gwen.
We see that Bryn still struggles, as Jason’s surprise appearance at the barn dance leads to an awkward silence. Bryn later tells Stacey that he wasn’t expecting Jason’s arrival, and that since he arrived, that he had heard the term “fishing trip” muttered four times.
The next development comes a couple episodes later, when we have a bombshell dropped on us. Bryn tells Jason that he told Dave Coaches about what had happened, at a time when Bryn was feeling especially low whilst playing mini golf.
Of course, Dave has now became a part of the family, leading to Bryn and Jason seeing him more regularly. Jason asked if Bryn had said “even about-“, which Bryn interrupted by saying “yes, everything”.
Bryn said that Dave was “sickened by the whole thing”. Jason said that what happened was “perfectly legal in this country.” Bryn asks Jason if he “ever thinks about it”, to which Jason nods, before exiting the room. You can see this scene below.
The Barry contingent head to bingo, which Dave drives the group to. At one point, the bingo caller calls out “down on your knees”, which results in Bryn, Jason and Dave making awkward eye contact.
In the final episode, Nessa enters labour, bringing the Barry and Billericay crew together. We see Bryn getting a soup from a vending machine, which Dave comments on. Bryn asks if Dave’s question has a deeper meaning.
Dave then states “I wish I didn’t know either, but I do. But it’s difficult for me as well, seeing you standing there with a soup like (sic). It sets my mind racing, you know?” Dave confirms that he hasn’t told anyone – stating that “even if I wanted to tell anyone, I wouldn’t know where to start because in my mind it’s a physical impossibility, it defies gravity”.
2008 Christmas Special
The next time that the fishing trip is mentioned is in the 2008 Christmas special, when Bryn and Jason attempt to bury the hatchet over a glass of Nesquik milkshake.
The fishing trip soon comes up, with Jason asking Bryn about whether or not Dave mentions it. Bryn says “there’s the occasional comment, the odd look. Times when I know that he’s wondering how a man and his nephew could…”, before Jason cuts him off.
Dave walks in on the two of them hugging. When Bryn starts to attempt to discuss “why” the events of the fishing trip happened, he said “it was freezing cold, it was, and when you are that cold…” – Gavin soon interrupts.
Season 3
In Season 3, the fishing trip takes a backseat, only being mentioned once. It appears that now, Bryn and Jason have reconciled, and are on better terms.
When the Shipman and West families have a barbecue, they talk about living arrangements for the upcoming week, with Nessa and Dave’s wedding fast approaching. When Bryn mentions that Jason is to sleep in his house, Mick asks if everything is sorted between the two of them.
Another awkward silence ensues, before Bryn toasts the couple Nessa and Dave. That is the last we hear about the fishing trip for over a decade.
2019 Christmas Special
It seemed inevitable that the 2019 reunion special would breach the topic of the fishing trip, and indeed, it came up in conversation, with Gwen inadvertently giving Jason and Bryn a framed picture of the duo on the infamous fishing trip.
It appeared that all of our questions were to be finally answered, when Bryn said that it was time to talk about what happened on the fishing trip. But frustratingly, the children interrupted Bryn.
The only additional details we got were “it was very dark, in every sense of the word”. Jason added “And can I just point out that we knew nothing about camping”. Bryn also mentioned that whatever happened was his fault.
Once again, we were left with more questions than answers.
Theories
There are many theories that exist. We have put together an article looking at four of the most popular theories of what might have happened.
These theories revolve around either some form of sexual interaction between Bryn and Jason, a murder, Jason finding out something dark about Bryn, or maybe something very, very innocuous.
Read Now: What Happened on the Fishing Trip? 4 Possible Theories
The Takeaway
Whether or not we’ll ever get the full story is unknown. It isn’t clear if even show creators James Corden and Ruth Jones know what happened.
We hope that in the future, we will finally find out what happened. Though we aren’t expecting that we’ll ever get a definitive answer – sometimes these questions are best left to the imagination of viewers.
