Presenter and opera singer Wynne Evans and ‘Gavin and Stacey’ star Joanna Page have been speaking about their ‘All at Sea’ epic adventure along the Welsh coastline – which saw filming take place in Tenby and Saundersfoot – with the show set to start on BBC later this month.
Old friends Wynne and Joanna cast off on a boating adventure, sailing along the beautiful Welsh coastline from Cardiff to St Davids in brand new series ‘Wynne & Joanna: All at Sea’ which comes to BBC One, BBC One Wales and iPlayer from Monday, January 27 at 8.30pm.
In the series, opera singer, BBC Wales presenter and Strictly Come Dancing star, Wynne joins his friend and actress, Joanna, who played Stacey in one of Britain’s best loved sitcoms, Gavin and Stacey, for a fun-fuelled adventure.
Taking a break from their busy lives, the trip gives the pair the chance to re-connect with their homeland, spend quality time together and most importantly, have a laugh. Oh, and they manage to pick up some (basic) sailing skills along the way!
Accompanied by Skipper Wayne, and Wynne’s dog Ginny, their adventure takes them roughly 200 miles by boat from Cardiff to Pembrokeshire – stopping off at some special places along the way, including Penarth, where they join a rowing club; Barry Island, which plays an important part in Joanna’s life as the setting for Gavin & Stacey; Joanna’s hometown of Swansea and Wynne’s home county of Carmarthenshire.
They also stop off at Saundersfoot and Tenby, and have the experience of a lifetime swimming with Puffins on Skomer Island, before their final stop at Britain’s smallest city, St Davids.
Teeming with non-stop laughter, revelations and poignant moments between two friends.
Wynne & Joanna: All at Sea is produced by Barn Media for BBC Cymru Wales. It was commissioned by Sorelle Neil, commissioner for BBC Cymru Wales.
The series producer was Julia Foot and the executive producers were Brett Allen and Ceri Barnett.
Gavin and Stacey sitcom star Joanna joined members of Tenby Male Choir at Tenby harbour for a spot of filming (Pic: Gareth Davies Photography)
Q&A with Wynne and Joanna
What was it like filming the series?
Wynne: “The series was the best fun I’ve ever had filming a TV series! We just got on from the start as we always have, and we laughed our way through the entire series. It was brilliant fun.”
Joanna: “To be honest it was quite life changing filming the series, it was brilliant having such freedom, getting to go off on a boat with a really good friend of mine and just be free. I had no responsibilities other than not crashing Wayne’s boat, but it was a chance to sort of go back to the old me and rediscover myself again.
“I was learning new things to do with the boat, and then all of the water sports we did – the surfing and kayaking and paddleboarding, it was all things I’d never thought about doing before.
“It was so good to be doing something so physical, and right next to the sea air and being in the water, throwing your body around so much and doing a brand new physical sport that was so exhausting, doing stuff like that really takes you out of your mind and out everything you usually think about or worry about, out of your everyday things. It was great getting back to what life’s all about – having fun!
“On top of that, Wynne, who’s a MasterChef winner, would cook for me, we’d have lovely bottles of wine on the boat. Wayne sailed us around everywhere, we spotted seals, we went swimming with puffins – it was exhilarating, it was life changing and it just opened my eyes up to what I could be doing in the world and in my life. It was brilliant fun and I don’t think I’ve laughed that much in a long time.”
You’re obviously good friends, so why was this trip together so special?
Joanna: “This trip with Wynne was so special because we’ve both got such busy lives and it’s really difficult to connect with each other and get to spend time together. We’ll go out for the odd meal together, spend a few evenings together and that’s it for a few months because I’ve got my kids and he’s out and about opera singing and dancing with Strictly, we’re both really busy people so it was important to get to spend time with a good friend.
“I’m with my family, my husband and my dog all the time, so I don’t really get a lot of time to hang out with my mates and just go back to the old Jo, having a laugh.
“So it was really good to connect with a friend and have Wynne just really make me laugh. It aired the lungs, it was really good fun!”
Wynne: “Because we got to spend proper quality time together, it was so lovely! It was also exactly the same when the cameras were turned off to what it was with the cameras on. We went and had dinner together every single night. It was just such good fun to reconnect and chat absolute rubbish with each other!”
What’s the secret to your friendship?
Joanna: “I think the secret to our friendship is that we don’t judge each other at all. We’re not judgey, we’re not precious, we’re not ambitious in wanting to do outdo each other. It’s literally like we are teenagers having a laugh, going around town, having a drink and just being back in Wales together.
“It’s a good old fashioned friendship. He’s so funny, we just make each other laugh. We’re completely and utterly honest with each other, there is nothing that I wouldn’t say or haven’t said to him. We take the mick out of each other but we ultimately love each other so much and he makes me laugh like no one else.”
Wynne: “We just don’t wind each other up so it’s really, really good fun. We never have a cross word to say, but we just take the mickey out of each other from morning until night and I think laughter is the secret of the friendship. Really, we laugh all the time – nobody makes me laugh like Jo does.”
What was your favourite moment from the trip?
Wynne: “There were so many good moments I have to say, but I think it was the simplest things that were the nicest. I enjoyed kayaking with her when I fell in the water because I actually thought she was going to laugh so much that she was going to fall in as well. There’s so many good moments to the programme!”
Joanna: “I have so many favourite moments from the trip. Surfing, for me, on my own was one of my most favourite things because I just didn’t want to come out of the sea. I was like my spaniel when she looks at me like ‘there’s no way in hell I’m coming out’.
“Wynne had had enough after his second go of surfing, and he was stood on the side just going ‘come on, get out of the sea, I’ve had enough’. I kept promising it would be just be one more go. It was so exhilarating, it was just out of this world.
“Aside from that, swimming with puffins – trying to get into an incredibly tight, all-in-one wetsuit (with a headpiece) was so funny, as well as watching Wynne get into his! And putting puffins on our heads with our mic packs in – before Wynne had even got into the water his puffin fell off his head and his mic pack went into the water. I was in hysterics.”
What has the trip taught you?
Wynne: “I’m not sure I’ll ever be experienced enough to work on the sea, I still get sea sickness – so does Jo! But it taught me that making time for each other and friendship is the most important thing in life and not just material things, so it’s been really good for me as a person.”
Joanna: “This trip has taught me to sort of just go back to the old me. You get so bogged down in your responsibility and in life, in looking after the kids, the school runs, organising everybody and everything, and on top of all that you’re trying to work as well… it’s just so much. It’s made me realise what’s important, and that’s that we all have fun and we bring a lightness back to our life, and not get so bogged down in the responsibility of everything.
“Also to put some time aside for myself – going and doing some swimming or a yoga class, it’s not a thing to feel bad about. I can’t always be everything to everyone, sometimes I’ve got to take that little five minutes to myself. It’s brought back the importance of friendship and the importance of myself.”
Joanna and Wynne with his dog Ginny (BBC)
In this first part of the six-leg journey, they set sail from Cardiff Bay and, after negotiating their first obstacle – Cardiff Barrage – they head for Penarth where they join the local rowing club to sail under Penarth Pier in the aptly named rowing boat, the ‘Wynne Evans’.
Their next port of call is Barry Island which has an important part in Joanna’s life as the setting for Gavin & Stacey, in which she starred as the eponymous Stacey. After meeting up with Marco, from Marco’s Café and playing the slots in the arcade, Jo persuades Wynne to face his fears and take a ride on the famous Log Flume.
Wynne and Joanna embark on the second leg of their sailing adventure, taking them along the south Wales coast from Cardiff to St Davids. Their first stop is Porthcawl, where they meet three of the hundreds of Elvis tribute performers who make the pilgrimage to the town each year for the annual Elvis festival.
Heading on, they pass the industrial coastline of Port Talbot before inflating their dinghy to get ashore on Aberavon Beach for a wander and a round of mini golf, where Wynne’s dog, Ginny, is convinced the balls are being hit purely for her to chase.
Arriving at Jo’s home city of Swansea, the pair head for a seafront coffee and decide to join a beach yoga session. Wynne ducks out to make for the local market to shop for ingredients to create a Welsh-inspired paella on the back of the boat.
Episode 3 – Tied up in Knots
In this third leg of their journey, they leave Jo’s hometown of Swansea to head for Wynne’s Carmarthenshire and one of his favourite places in the world, Llansteffan.
On the way they stop off on the Gower Peninsula to explore the beautiful headland with its fields of sunflowers, before dipping down onto the dog friendly Rhossili Beach where Wynne reveals his dog, Ginny, has been his lifesaver through some of his darkest times. Heading back to their boat they get waylaid with some mackerel fishing.
Heading on to Carmarthenshire Bay they catch the amphibious ferry from Ferryside across the estuary to Llansteffan, where they discover nothing tastes as good as when you forage it for yourself.
Episode 4 – Plain Sailing
Wynne and Joanna set sail on the fourth leg of their voyage, which this week sees them travelling from Carmarthenshire Bay to Tenby in Pembrokeshire. Their first stop is the pretty seaside town of Saundersfoot, where they try their hand at paddleboarding.
Next, it’s on to Laugharne, once the home of poet Dylan Thomas, where Wynne organises a trip to a spa so mother-of-four Jo can have some ‘me’ time. There’s also the chance to stop at neighbouring Pendine, where Wynne used to spend childhood holidays with his grandma and where he finally fulfils a long-long ambition to become an ice-cream seller.
The final destination on this leg of the journey is picturesque Tenby, with its brightly painted houses. The duo get a warm welcome from the local male voice choir and Wynne introduces Jo to the woman who launched his operatic career.
Episode 5 – Still Waters Run Deep
This episode sees Wynne and Joanna sailing in Pembrokeshire, from Tenby to Dale and along the quiet Cleddau to Lawrenny.
Their first stop is the launch point for an adventure with a difference where they get a once-in-a lifetime opportunity to swim with puffins off Skomer Island – if Jo can get the deep sea wetsuit on!
Then, heading for calmer waters, they pass Wales’ busiest port, Milford Haven, and sail on to Lawrenny Quay, where there’s a chance to moor up and take an even closer look at the Cleddau from a kayak.
The final leg of their journey to St Davids sees the pair set off from the Cleddau River estuary before heading into open seas.
Their first stop; joining the RNLI St David’s lifeboat team for an action-packed training exercise where they take their turn at the helm of the boat. Then there’s a quick call in at St Davids, Britain’s smallest city, before heading back to their boat.
Their final stopping off point is Porthselau Beach where Wynne and Joanna take a dip in the sea, joining others out for their daily swim before they turn the boat around and start heading for home.