Fans of Gavin and Stacey were surprised to see Neil the Baby return on screen Wednesday night. The upcoming finale follows the 2019 episode where Nessa proposed to Smithy. The best part was Nessa and Smithy’s son Neil’s appearance. Oscar Hartland plays the character and now looks completely unrecognizable.
The 17-year-old actor has portrayed Neil since he was a child. Neil was conceived from a one-night stand between Nessa and Smithy during their rocky relationship. Oscar Hartland made his first appearance back in 2008 in the finale of the second series.
He appeared on screen four years ago in the 2019 festive special. While you may know about Oscar Hartland parents from the series, what about the actor in real life? Let’s explore Hartland’s journey from child star to rising music sensation.
The Singing Career Of Oscar Hartland
Oscar Hartland started his career as a child star in one of the iconic sitcoms of the United Kingdom. However, as he grew old he found liking to music. The talented actor from Machen in South Wales got going into the music industry just as well.
He started his music career as one-fourth of the Welsh Alt-Indie Band, Redwood City. It was short-lived and he left the group in May 2024 and kicked off a solo career. Just after a month, he released his first single Sunrise.
The teenage singer has planned some exciting stuff for 2025. Hartland recently posted on Instagram and made an announcement saying:
So Happy to officially announce there will be more Tracks out in the new year! Can’t thank you guys and everyone back at home any more for the support you showed on my last releases. Putting my heart and soul on the line with these next one(‘s). Love x.
Oscar is also known for auditioning for The Voice Kids UK. When he appeared in the show he talked about the cast in Gavin and Stacey. He is proud of his part in the show but he thinks it’s time to move on. He said:
Being in Gavin and Stacey was crazy, working with huge names like James Corden, Rob Brydon and Ruth Jones – it was just like, wow! People know me for being Neil the Baby in Gavin and Stacey, which I absolutely love, but now I wanna be known for my music and singing.
How Oscar Hartland Was Cast as Neil?
Surprisingly, the kid landed the role of Neil by accident. Oscar Hartland parents shared in 2019 that it was an unexpected turn of events.
His mother, Kirsty, shared that she sent a picture of six-month-old Oscar to Baby Cow Productions. She revealed that one of her friends told her the company was looking for a baby. In an interview at South Wales Argus in 2019 she said that:
I did not think they would get back in touch. But a few days later they did and we were called in, my son was offered the part. There were two other babies playing Neil, too.
She further said that now when she looks at his son’s role she thinks it came about by accident.
Something similar happened when the 2019 Christmas special was announced. Oscar re-auditioned for the role, but this time, many other teenagers with more acting experience were also auditioning. He told Good Morning Britain:
I didn’t really get my hopes up as there were other people who did acting. I was in a couple of newspapers and they noticed me. I did my audition in Cardiff. A few weeks later I found out I got the job. It was really cool.
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