In which we try to review and show pictures and clips of the best bits from everything Gavin & Stacey actress Joanna Page has been in on TV, radio, theatre and film (we're drawing the line at audio books). As life challenges go, it's not quite up there with Danny Wallace's Yes Man, but it's worth doing.
Our Joanna does like to talk, as her appearance on Jonathan Ross's show proved beyond contention. Now she's launching a campaign to encourage people to talk more.
Knowing how important it is to make time for a chat, Joanna is encouraging us all to slow down , have a cup of tea, snuggle up on the sofa, and make time for our special calls.
Brits still spend a breathtaking amount of time talking to each other. However, the quality of those conversations is in jeopardy.
Increasingly we’re squeezing in our calls when we’re doing other things, rather than making time for a proper chat with people we care about, and this is damaging relationships and killing quality conversation. Calls made hurriedly in transit (or chit for short) are getting in the way of our chat. These are just some of the findings of a new social study carried out by BT as it paints the UK’s first ‘Talktrait of a Nation’.
As part of the study, people can go to www.talktraits.co.uk and take a quiz to find out whether they are a Happy Chatter, a Duty Dialler, an Evader or even an Unrung Hero.
Here she is in what's obviously her home and not a set, looking exactly the way she does whenever she's on the phone.
It's been a long time since the last Today's Joanna Page. What's she been up to? When she's next going to be on tele, I hear you ask?
Well, obviously I don't hear you ask, because that would be sure sign of insanity. Although…
Anyway, you could ask her yourself since she's now on Twitter. But after doing panto over Christmas…
…she filmed an episode of Marple with Sir Donald Sinden. Haven't yet watched Marple so this one'll be a first. Apparently, she laughed a little too much on the last day of filming when the body turned up.
But spare a thought for her poor hubby, James Thornton, who ended up in hospital over Valentine's Day weekend after being hit by a car. He's on the mend now, thankfully, which means he'll likely end up doing yet another Ready, Steady, Cook with her – they've done two so far.
Everyone watch Gavin & Stacey over Christmas? Good, that's what I like to hear. As a reward, here's a picture of Joanna Page from FHM as well as a pic of her as Cinderella – she's been doing panto over Christmas, too, and giving advice to Pamela Anderson on the subject, too.
After the jump, her recent chat with Paul O'Grady on his chat show. Happy New Year to you all!
I'm sure you all tuned in to watch Joanna Page on Friday Night With Jonathan Ross last week. If you didn't, you missed a clip from the third series of Gavin & Stacey as well the information that it's going to be broadcast next month (no news about when it'll be making its way over to BBC America, I'm afraid). Bad luck.
Anyway, just for your delectation, here she is again, courtesy of YouTube (unfortunately, sans Gavin & Stacey clip. You'll have to go to the iPlayer for that: the interview starts at about 24 minutes in). It's worth watching, even if you're not a big Joanna Page fan, because
You get to see Jonathan Ross out-talked by a woman
You get to see the kind of speed the women of Swansea talk at if you've never seen it before (yes, lovely wife does talk that quickly)
If you stick around until the end, you get a really cracking joke from Jo that leaves Jonathan speechless. Nice
Next time, it'll be Adrenaline Junkie, where our Jo beats a bunch of blokes at powerboat racing and more. Cracking.
Social workers aren't best loved right now, so a new campaign had been launched to point out they're actually quite useful people, really. Various big name stars, including Sadie Frost and Michelle Ryan, have been lending their voices to the campaign, as has our Joanna. Here, she gives Joyce a voice.
I'm on holiday in a lovely sunny land. It's probably still raining where you are. Here's a picture of Joanna Page on Barry beach, filming Gavin & Stacey a couple of weeks ago to brighten your life up for you. Unless it's actually sunny where you are, of course.
Well, I've not finished listening to the 2007 radio adaptation of An Ideal Husband, in which she played Mabel, so today, you'll just have to content yourselves with pictures of our Joanna enjoying the summer weather in Cardiff. She's on the last week of filming series three of Gavin & Stacey.
Our Joanna is currently off in Wales filming the third series of Gavin & Stacey. But a little while ago, I mentioned she was in Dubai, filming Jack Osbourne's Adrenaline Junkie. Turns out, all that navy fun in Making Waves stood her in good stead for some powerboat racing.
“Joanna couldn’t wait to get in, she was jumping up and down. Reggie didn’t like water but he was really good and just said ‘I’m getting in’. Jack and Jesse went back to the hotel. We thought it was really strange - adrenaline junkie or not?!”
But the next day, the boys decided to go ahead with the race.
Sarah said: “Joanna was buzzing and I think she went back to the hotel and told them how amazing it was. Then they were under pressure because if a girl could do it, then they should be able to do it. It wasn’t very adrenaline junkie. Joanna is a true adrenaline junkie.”
About the blog
This is a UK media blog with daily news, views, exclusive reviews and good conversation. There's a bit of a bias towards the latest and greatest US TV, but we also cover British TV ranging from new Doctor Who to old Z Cars, Property Ladder to Big Brother, and BBC4 to S4C – yes, this blog is firmly part of the conspiracy to promote all things Welsh where possible, particularly Caerdydd.
Add in film, theatre, art, books, events and media journalism and you've (hopefully) got one of the best places on the web for media lovers. Oh yes, and there's The Carusometer, the ultimate guide to quality TV.
About me
I'm Rob Buckley, a freelance journalist who writes for UK media magazines that most people have never heard of. I've edited Dreamwatch, Sprocket and Cambridge Film Festival Daily; been technical editor for trade magazine Televisual; reviewed films for the short-lived newspaper Cambridge Insider; written features for the even shorter-lived newspaper Soho Independent; and contributed sarcastic articles about television to the blink-and-you-missed-it "web site for urban hedonists" The Tribe. I'm freelance now and have contributed to the likes of Broadcast, Total Content + Media, Action TV, Off The Telly and TV Scoop. Have pity on me.
Read more on What did you watch on TV last week (w/e March 14)