‘Gavin & Stacey’ Christmas Ep Confirmed; James Corden & Ruth Jones Say Special Will Be Final Ever Episode
Gavin and Stacey Tom Jackson/BBC
It’s been confirmed. Deadline’s scoop from earlier this year that another Gavin & Stacey Christmas special was in the works has been rubberstamped and it will be the smash comedy’s final ever.
Posting on Instagram in the past few minutes, co-creators James Corden and Ruth Jones wrote: “Some news… It’s official!!! We have finished writing the last ever episode of Gavin and Stacey. See you on Christmas Day, BBC One. Love Ruth and James.”
Deadline had revealed that the episode was in the works several weeks back, although multiple members of the cast quickly sought to downplay our story. Baby Cow, Corden’s Fulwell 73 and Ruth Jones’ Tidy Productions are behind the special.
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Gavin & Stacey is doubtless one of the most beloved British sitcoms of all time and the 2019 Christmas special was the most-watched show in a decade at more than 18 million viewers.
The last Christmas special, which aired nearly five years ago, ended with a cliffhanger, with Nessa (Jones) proposing to the ever-cheeky but lovable Smithy (Corden). That cliffhanger has led to undimmed chatter over the past few years that Corden and Jones would return to the show, noise that has only grown louder with Corden’s return to the UK as he ended his eight-year-long Late Late Show stint in the States.
We understand cameras will roll over the summer. Deadline is told that the majority of the main cast will likely return. Other than Corden and Jones, Gavin & Stacey stars Matthew Horne and Joanna Page play titular roles along with an ensemble cast including Rob Brydon, Alison Steadman, Larry Lamb and Julia Davis.
Following the ups and downs of the title characters and their much-loved family and friends, the show which brought fame to the Welsh seaside town of Barry and the Essex town of Billericay started in 2007 as a small BBC Three sitcom but quickly grabbed a cult fanbase and was shifted to BBC One.
It ran for three seasons from 2007 to 2010, winning a BAFTA along the way, and also aired a much-loved Christmas special in 2009. The BBC will be hoping Gavin & Stacey can hand a bit of a boost to what has been a quiet couple of Christmases, with the most-viewed show in 2023 being the King’s Christmas message followed by a Strictly Come Dancing special watched by just over 5 million.
The 2019 Christmas special wasn’t without controversy. The ep featured Nessa and Bryn, played by Brydon, singing a karaoke duet of The Pogues’ ‘Fairytale of New York’ that included a homophobic slur, which wasn’t bleeped out. The slur has been removed from BBC iPlayer and was removed from repeats of the show the following year.