Huge British actress looks unrecognisable in makeup-free snap with new hair during day out with soap star pal
TELLY fans will be left doing a double take when they work out who this famous British actress is.
The star has been snapped after stripping off her make-up and undergoing a hair transformation – and she is barely recognisable.
The lady in question is Sheridan Smith, but fans could be forgiven for not realising thanks to her gorgeous brown hair and thick heavy fringe.
Sheridan’s new barnet was captured on camera by her soap star pal Charley Webb, who is best known for playing Debbie Dingle in Emmerdale.
The girls are great mates and Charley, 36, couldn’t wait to get a picture of her Gavin and Stacey star pal during a fun day out at the arcades.
Sharing the photo on her Instagram Stories, Charley posted a ‘fire’ emoji and told her followers: “The girl is banging with her new bangs.”
Charley’s photo of 43-year-old Sheridan’s new hairstyle comes following their recent girlie holiday together.
The friends jetted off abroad last month for a break in the sun and had a wild time.
Cilla actress Sheridan was snapped on their first night in a little black dress as they hit up the local bars.
Charley, who played Debbie in Emmerdale from 2010 to 2016, also looked seriously glam in a mini dress.
The girls, who are both mums to young kids, stayed in a stunning villa with their own private pool and spent the daytimes catching rays and chatting.
They also filmed a funny clip of themselves dancing in an outdoor mirror in black bikini tops and shorts.
This Christmas will see the return – and final ever episode – of Gavin and Stacey, although the storyline is being kept under wraps.
The Christmas special was confirmed by show creators and stars, James Corden and Ruth Jones, but not much is known about the plot.
Matthew Horne, Joanna Page, Larry Lamb, and Alison Steadman will be back on our screens to reprise their roles of Gavin, Stacey, Mick and Pam.
There has been no official confirmation about whether Sheridan will be returning as Smithy’s sister Rudi, although insiders say she will feature.
A source previously told the Sunday Mirror: “The script for Gavin & Stacey: The Finale includes all of the show’s major players – including Smithy’s sister Rudi.”
The insider added: “[Sheridan] did not appear in the Christmas Special because her character was not part of that storyline, but it has been a different story this time around.
“Everyone is very excited about this episode – it is going to be a phenomenal last hurrah for the series, which is exactly what it deserves.
“Sheridan and James are still friendly – they recently bumped into each other at the Variety Club Awards and got on really well. So the hope is that she will be able to be part of it.”
Gavin and Stacey ran from 2007 to 2010, with its first Christmas special airing on BBC One in 2008.
Gavin and Stacey best moments
Gavin and Stacey's Best Moments
With the news that the show is set to make an exciting return to screens, let's take a look at some of the comedy programme's biggest and best moments...
- Smithy and Rudi’s American Boy rap – No one will ever forget when James Corden and Sheridan Smith rapped perfectly word for word Kanye West and Estelle hit American Boy as they walked across the car park on the phone to Gavin.
- Pam’s Vegetarian faux pas – Despite loving a cheeseburger, Pam found herself caught up in a web of unexpected lies when she claimed to be a Vegetarian. She is forced to keep up the secret throughout the entire show and uses hubby Mick to help her scoff meat. She is later rumbled when Stacey catches her in the act as she scoffs ham in the kitchen. Stacey says to her: “Is that ham, Pam!?… “I’ve seen you, Pam. A scotch egg here, a bit of bacon there, putting those regular sausages into the Linda McCartney box”.
- THAT fishing trip – It remains one of the biggest mysteries in Gavin and Stacey’s history as to just exactly what happened on the ill-fated fishing trip. Bryn appears to be hiding a secret as to an occurrence between him and his nephew Jason which has left relations fractures. Ness’ on-off boyfriend, Dave, is the only other person to know the whole truth. Bryn did appear to allude to him and Jason lying together naked to keep warm as he said to Dave: “We’re going to have this out, once and for all, man to man, you may know what happened, David, but you don’t know why it happened! It was freezing cold, it was! And when you are that cold…”
- Islands in the Stream – No one can ever forget the classic Karaoke performance of Islands in the Stream. Nessa and Bryn performed the track in front of all their nearest and dearest. It saw the whole pub burst into some line-dancing as they enjoyed a boozy night out.
- The Xmas special proposal – In 2019, fans were left overjoyed when the show made a comeback but it ended on the ultimate cliffhanger. Nessa asked Smithy if she would marry him as she finally laid bare her feelings for him. Fans were gutted as the show then cut straight to the credits as they never found out just how Smithy answered. Will it all be revealed in the brand-new episode?
It returned in 2019 for another Christmas special, although Sheridan’s character Rudi did not appear.
Fans are desperate for a conclusion to the huge cliffhanger it ended on – with Nessa (played by Ruth Jones) proposing in the street to Smithy (James Corden).
Last month James broke down in tears while chatting about the final episode during an interview on Virgin Radio.
He told host Chris Evans: “Last night we were like, ‘Oh that’s it now. We’ve finished. We’ll never write anything that Pam says again.
“We’ll never write interior Gwen’s house.
“We’ll never come up with an interesting thing that Bryn’s done’.
“We just looked at each other and we were like, ‘Wow – isn’t that amazing?'”
The final Gavin and Stacey will air on BBC One on Christmas Day.