diff --git a/britney2/policies/autopkgtest.py b/britney2/policies/autopkgtest.py
index 31db78d..e562e1e 100644
--- a/britney2/policies/autopkgtest.py
+++ b/britney2/policies/autopkgtest.py
@@ -651,6 +651,29 @@ class AutopkgtestPolicy(BasePolicy):
 
         tests = []
 
+        # gcc-N triggers tons of tests via libgcc1, but this is mostly in vain:
+        # gcc already tests itself during build, and it is being used from
+        # -proposed, so holding it back on a dozen unrelated test failures
+        # serves no purpose. Just check some key packages which actually use
+        # gcc during the test, and doxygen as an example for a libgcc user.
+        if src.startswith('gcc-'):
+            if re.match(r'gcc-\d$', src) or src == 'gcc-defaults':
+                # add gcc's own tests, if it has any
+                srcinfo = source_suite.sources[src]
+                if 'autopkgtest' in srcinfo.testsuite:
+                    tests.append((src, ver))
+                for test in ['binutils', 'fglrx-installer', 'doxygen', 'linux']:
+                    try:
+                        tests.append((test, sources_info[test].version))
+                    except KeyError:
+                        # no package in that series? *shrug*, then not (mostly for testing)
+                        pass
+                return tests
+            else:
+                # for other compilers such as gcc-snapshot etc. we don't need
+                # to trigger anything
+                return []
+
         # Debian doesn't have linux-meta, but Ubuntu does
         # for linux themselves we don't want to trigger tests -- these should
         # all come from linux-meta*. A new kernel ABI without a corresponding
diff --git a/tests/test_autopkgtest.py b/tests/test_autopkgtest.py
index 88035e4..801c166 100644
--- a/tests/test_autopkgtest.py
+++ b/tests/test_autopkgtest.py
@@ -2411,6 +2411,24 @@ class AT(TestAutopkgtestBase):
     # Tests for special-cased packages
     ################################################################
 
+    def test_gcc(self):
+        '''gcc only triggers some key packages'''
+
+        self.data.add('binutils', False, {}, testsuite='autopkgtest')
+        self.data.add('linux', False, {}, testsuite='autopkgtest')
+        self.data.add('notme', False, {'Depends': 'libgcc1'}, testsuite='autopkgtest')
+
+        # binutils has passed before on i386 only, therefore ALWAYSFAIL on amd64
+        self.swift.set_results({'autopkgtest-testing': {
+            'testing/i386/b/binutils/20150101_100000@': (0, 'binutils 1', tr('passedbefore/1')),
+        }})
+
+        exc = self.run_it(
+            [('libgcc1', {'Source': 'gcc-5', 'Version': '2'}, None)],
+            {'gcc-5': (False, {'binutils': {'amd64': 'RUNNING-ALWAYSFAIL', 'i386': 'RUNNING'},
+                               'linux': {'amd64': 'RUNNING-ALWAYSFAIL', 'i386': 'RUNNING-ALWAYSFAIL'}})})[1]
+        self.assertNotIn('notme 1', exc['gcc-5']['policy_info']['autopkgtest'])
+
     def test_gcc_hastest(self):
         """gcc triggers itself when it has a testsuite"""