Gavin and Stacey 'at centre of bidding war' as BBC and Netflix fight over the iconic show ahead of its return after five years

Gavin and Stacey is reportedly at the ‘centre of a bidding war’ as the BBC and Netflix fight over the sitcom.

Following the news that the iconic drama is set to return for the first time in five years this Christmas, sources have claimed streaming giant Netflix is battling to steal it from the BBC, which has aired it since 2007.

They told The Sun: ‘Obviously the show has a special history with the BBC, and this seems like its natural and obvious home.

‘Chief Content Officer Charlotte Moore has spoken to the pair and made it clear she wants the show to stay put, but Netflix have also made it very, very explicit that they want to air it.’

The insider added that the streaming company’s CEOs Ted Sarandos and Greg Peters are ‘extremely excited’ as they can top the BBC’s offer, but Ruth and James ‘aren’t’ about the money’.

Gavin and Stacey is reportedly at the ‘centre of a bidding war’ as the BBC and Netflix fight over the sitcom

Following the news that the iconic drama is set to return for the first time in five years this Christmas, sources have claimed streaming giant Netflix is battling to steal it from the BBC, which has aired it since 2007

They said: ‘It would be a huge coup for Netflix to steal this flagship British comedy from the nose of the BBC and, indeed, there may be a world in which this happens.’

It was claimed on Tuesday that a new episode of the beloved BBC sitcom will reportedly be filmed over the summer and screened at Christmas.

Viewers couldn’t contain their excitement following the announcement and begged for there to be ‘no more cliffhangers’ and for all of the old ones to be resolved.

Previously, the series returned for a Christmas Special back in 2019, but ended on a jaw-dropping cliffhanger when Nessa – played by Ruth – got down on one knee and proposed to her on/off flame Smithy – played by James.

Elsewhere during the special fans were left more desperate than ever to find out what really happened on THAT infamous fishing trip.

After years of not knowing what occurred it appeared Uncle Bryn was ready to reveal what led to him and Jason falling out on the trip during the festive family gathering .

The pair were gifted with a photo of themselves together which, unbeknownst to Gwen (Melanie Walters) who gave them the present, was taken on the fishing trip.

Bryn (Rob Brydon) and Jason (Robert Wilfort) both immediately fell silent as the mysterious events of the trip came back to them.

The fishing trip has been a running gag throughout the series and was the cause of Bryn and Jason’s long-standing troubled relationship in the early episodes.

Fans thought they were finally going to get an answer to what really happened on the trip when Bryn stood up to get it off his chest, but he was interrupted by Gavin and Stacey’s children running into the room.

The fishing trip has never properly been spoken off causing fans to brand the cliffhanger as the ‘best unsolved mystery of all time’.

But now BBC viewers are wanting more of the story and taking to X to beg for it to be written into the new script.

One penned: ‘Fishing trip and proposal resolutions please’.

Another fan wrote: ‘If that new Gavin & Stacey episode ends on another cliffhanger I’m pinging James Corden.’

Following the news that the iconic drama is set to return for the first time in five years this Christmas, viewers urged the writers to tie up certain loose ends

A third requested: ‘I would like to know what happened on that fishing trip between Bryn and Jason’.

‘Two words: Fishing trip. #gavinandstacey’, wrote another.

A fifth fan agreed: ‘Already can’t wait for Christmas we need answers did smithy say yes, what really happened on the fishing trip!!!!!’

‘Outcome of the proposal please and of course the fishing trip’, said another.

‘I hope it’s titled ‘The Fishing Trip Explanation”, added another viewers.

An eighth added: ‘They better not be playing with me……we need to know what happened on the fishing trip’

‘What happened on the fishing trip is the best unsolved mystery of all time’, said another.

‘No cliffhanger and fishing trip reveal please,’ begged someone else.

James , who stars as Gavin’s best friend Smithy, is set to reunite with cast members including Ruth, Matthew Horne, Joanna Page, Rob Brydon, Alison Steadman, Larry Lamb and Julia Davis for the special.

Fans have long hoped James’ decision to move back to the UK following his eight-year stint hosting The Late Late Show in the US will increase the chances of making another episode.

And after James was spotted meeting co-creator Ruth in London’s Soho in November 2023, speculation went into overdrive.

Deadline reports that most of the cast will return for the special, including Matthew as Gavin and Joanna as Stacey.

Previously, the series returned for a Christmas Special back in 2019, but ended on a jaw-dropping cliffhanger when Nessa – played by Ruth – got down on one knee and proposed to her on/off flame Smithy – played by James

And on Tuesday viewers couldn’t contain their excitement following the announcement and begged for there to be ‘no more cliffhangers’ and for old ones to be resolved

Previously, James told the RTS Cambridge Convention he felt ‘compelled to come home’ after leaving The Late Late Show after hosting 1,000.

However, he has not stopped interviewing celebrities as his new venture, called This Life of Mine with James Corden, has already scored top guests such as Martin Scorsese, Kim Kardashian and David Beckham.

He also confessed that he didn’t know if he would do any more Gavin and Stacey but stressed he would ‘love to make something together again’ with Jones at the convention.

Meanwhile, Gavin and Stacy fans went into meltdown earlier today when the news of a Christmas special emerged.

One wrote on X, formerly Twitter: ‘GAVIN AND STACY AHHHHHHHHH’. Another said: ‘Gavin & Stacey is back?!?! OMG I suddenly feel so much better!!!’ A third said: ‘OMG YES’. A fourth wrote: ‘Gavin & Stacey back for a Christmas special! O M and G!!’

Sheridan Smith addressed the possibility of a reboot of the smash hit sitcom in an interview late last year .

Speaking to Jason King and Kelly Brook on Heart Breakfast, Sheridan said she didn’t know if the show will return, but said she thinks ‘so many shows overdo it’.

The actress – who played Rudi, the sister of Corden’s Smithy – suggested that the show would not be back, despite fans ‘all wanting’ the all-star cast to return.

During her radio appearance, she said: ‘I have not a clue if they’re going to do any more or not, I really don’t know.’

‘I think what they’ve done is genius, they’ve left it on a high haven’t they, so many shows overdo it, because we all want more, we all want more Gavin & Stacey.’

Her comments came after Joanna crushed fans’ hopes of a comeback , claiming the legendary sitcom was unlikely to ever return.

Speaking exclusively to MailOnline, Joanna said: ‘I can see them never doing any more because it was nice to leave it on a cliffhanger because it’s up to the viewer to imagine what would have happened. So I can imagine them ending it like that.’

Previously Joanna crushed fans’ hopes of a Gavin and Stacey comeback, saying the legendary sitcom is unlikely to ever return

Yet she added: ‘All I can say is, if they were going to do another one I hope it’s soon because we’re all getting so old, I don’t particularly want to see Stacey get that much older.

‘And if there is a comeback, I’ll find out at the same time as the public because I don’t get told anything.’ The BBC declined to comment.

Joanna previously l et fans in on a secret about one of the famous Gavin & Stacey scenes from the original festive episode in 2008.

The Welsh actress said when her on-screen father-in-law Mick Shipman took to the keyboard to perform Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas but the moment was actually fake.

Joanna explained that Larry Lamb, who played Mick, had piano lessons but it made no difference as he was still ‘dreadful’ on the instrument so editors made the decision to dub the scene.

In the episode, Mick ‘played’ the festive classic while surrounded by the main cast, Gavin, Pam, Smithy and Nessa, in the Shipmans’ living room after his wife gifted him the keyboard for Christmas.