THE talented young actor who returned to the role he first played as a baby in much-anticipated Gavin & Stacey Christmas special has said he would love to see more episodes.
Oscar Hartland, 10, from Machen, was one of two babies to play Neil the Baby in the original series - and this week made his return in one-off Christmas special.
He said he wasn’t expecting to return as Smithy and Nessa’s son, but got the call to audition in the summer after his mum posted on Facebook.
“When they announced the special, I put a post out on Facebook and asked people to share it in the hope he would get noticed,” said mum Kirsty Pritchard. “One day I got a message from a casting agent asking if he would come in for an audition.”
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“I didn’t want to get my hopes up,” said Oscar. “I’m not an actor and was auditioning with people who had acted before.
“A couple of weeks after the audition I was called in for a reading with the director and the other children.
“We were supposed to go on a family holiday to Florida on the same day. My parents asked me would I rather go on holiday or do Gavin & Stacey. I said Florida will always be there, Gavin & Stacey won’t be.”
Oscar Hartland, who plays Neil the Baby in Gavin & Stacey, with his mum Kirsty Pritchard.
The special finished on a major cliffhanger, as Nessa professed her love to Smithy and got down on one knee to ask him to marry her - which Oscar was as surprised as anyone to watch.
“Oscar wasn’t involved in the proposal scene or the fishing trip scene, so he didn’t know about it,” said Ms Pritchard. “We were as shocked as everyone else when we watched it.
“We sat down with our whole family to watch it, and had a Gavin & Stacey themed party.
“Oscar went in his costume, and I went as Nessa. The rest of our family were all dressed up as all the characters.
“My mum even put out a red carpet for Oscar when he arrived.”
And Oscar said he was hopeful this would not be the end for the beloved sitcom.
“I would like them to make a series four so much,” he said. “Firstly, I would like to see everyone again; secondly I want to see what happens next; and third because I love Gavin & Stacey so much.
“All the cast would talk about how good it was to be back and how we could start it off again and what could happen.
“I don’t know anything myself, but I would love to see it.
“I asked James (writer and Smithy actor James Cordon) and he said it was about what the fans want. He said he doesn’t want people to be like ‘Oh no, it’s Gavin & Stacey on again.’”
When asked what he would like to see in a new series, he said: “I would like Smithy to say yes, and for the last episode to be their wedding.”
Oscar Hartland, who plays Neil the Baby, with messages from Ruth Jones and James Corden, who wrote "Oscar you are a God!"
The Christmas special was watched by an average of 11.6 million viewers, making it the biggest Christmas Day special since 2008.
“That’s surreal,” said Oscar. “I’ve watched it over and over and the main thing for me is it doesn’t look like me acting, it looks like Neil the character.
“I was worried about whether people would like me or if my acting skills would be up to it. But everyone has said I did a good job, and I am so grateful for all the positive messages.
“What I love about Neil is he is a mix of both his parents – and they are my two favourite characters.
“You can see that in the episode when he’s gluing down coins in the arcade machine like Nessa would, or when he’s handing out presents wrapped in tin foil like Smithy does.”
Oscar said he became close with both his on-screen parents while filming and was given a picture of himself with his on-screen parents with a message from them after filming wrapped.
Oscar Hartland as a baby, with actress Melanie Walters
“All Neil’s scenes were with Nessa, so I built up a close relationship with Ruth Jones,” he said. “James Corden was super fun around set.
“There was one scene where I was playing scrabble with Bryn, Nessa and Gwen, and we had to do it about 50 times as James couldn’t stop laughing.”
When asked what he sees for Neil the Baby in the future, Oscar said: “He loves his parents, so I could see him working either in the arcade and taking that over from his mum, or being a plumber like his dad,
“Maybe they would set up their own plumbing business together.”
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