The actress headed to Neath, as part of the latest season of BBC show Shift the Thrift
Joanna Page stopped for a picture with Charlotte Hurford at Ten21(Image: Ten21)
Residents in a small Welsh town were left stunned after spotting a familiar face heading into their local cafe. Joanna Page, best known for playing Stacey West in BBC sitcom Gavin and Stacey, was spotted at Ten21 in Neath.
The Swansea-born actress is believed to have been in the area filming for the second season of BBC programme Shift the Thrift, which celebrates Britain’s charity shop scene and the growing popularity of buying and reselling second-hand items. Indeed, Joanna was also spotted filming at the Shaw Trust charity shop in the area.
Not long after, she made at stop at local cafe Ten21, much to the surprise of its staff and customers. For the latest TV and showbiz gossip sign up to our newsletter
Charlotte ‘Charly’ Hurford, who works at the cafe, said Joanna was part of a group of six who came in for coffee and cakes. She said the film crew initially came to the counter to place the order, with Joanna later joining them at the table.
When Charly took the coffee over to the table, she asked whether they could take a photograph with Joanna for the cafe’s social media.
She said Joanna was happy to oblige and, before leaving, came over to the bar and even put her arm around Charly while a member of the film crew took their photograph.
Charly said Joanna also told her about what they were filming and when the programme was expected to air.
She double-checked that she was happy for the photograph to be shared online, to which Joanna reportedly replied: “Yes of course you are, make sure you hashtag Shift the Thrift!”
Charly described the actress as “so down to earth” and said she was “so friendly and smiley”.
Ten21 also praised Charly, describing her as “a wonderful and valued member of our Ten21 team”.
News of Joanna’s appearance quickly spread on Facebook, with locals commenting after spotting the actress and a camera crew in the area.
One local wrote: “Wondered why there was a guy running around with a camera.”
Another said: “I saw her going into a charity shop. She kindly stopped to chat with a group of young ladies. She was chatting away, complimenting the young lady on her blue her. Good to see some publicity for Neath.”
Joanna is the host of Shift the Thrift, where she mentors two competitors as they hunt for bargains in charity shops across the UK.
The teams are challenged to find second-hand treasures, transform selected items and then sell them through energetic, live-streamed auctions.
The 12-episode series was filmed in towns across Britain, with the first season including six episodes shot in Wales.
Each episode begins in a different British town, where Joanna and two visiting experts explore the local charity shops before setting the competing teams a bespoke shopping list.
The list includes an item which must be renovated, as well as a location-specific scavenger hunt task.
The teams are given one hour to spend up to £100 on a maximum of 10 items, including the piece they must revamp with help from leading social media upcycling experts.
They then have to create a sales presentation for their finds before taking part in a fast-paced, live-streamed sale.
