Never mind Santa Claus, time off work or seeing the family, the main event of the festive season is the return of the much-loved sitcom Gavin and Stacey for one final outing on Christmas Day.
Fans of the show, which first aired in 2007, are waiting with bated breath to see the loose ends from the last Christmas special tied up. Did Smithy accept Ness’s marriage proposal? And will we ever find out what happened on that fishing trip?
Millions are expected to settle down to watch the very last episode on Christmas night. Last year’s drew 11.6 million viewers on BBC One.
Viewers have waited a full year for the outcome to the cliffhanger that left everyone talking when Nessa, played by Ruth Jones got down on one knee and asked Smithy, played by James Corden to marry her. And fans were left stunned after the 2024 Christmas special, Corden had said there would be no more.
That meant we would never know if the pair, who have son Neil, would end up together or not. Thankfully in May he revealed that him and co-writer Jones had written the final episode to air on December 25.
Whether you’re a die-hard fan or have never watched an episode but want to get involved in the hype, you might be considering starting from the beginning. If you can commit to watching one episode a day then you need to start on December 3.
There were 21 episodes of the show, which is set in Barry Island, Wales and in Billericay, Essex. So grabbing your snacks and making a start on that date means you will be fully caught up by Christmas Eve ready for the much-awaited finale.
If you start from the beginning you’ll need to get through three series and two Christmas specials. Series one has six episodes and starts with Gavin, played by Matthew Horne and Stacey, played by Joanna Page, finally meeting up after months of talking on the phone.
Series two has seven episodes to enjoy and then the 2008 Christmas special. And the third series has six episodes to gorge on to get you fully up to speed.
Last year’s Christmas special should definitely be on your list too to make sure you’re fully abreast of all the happenings between the Shipmans and the Wests. All episodes are available to watch on the BBC iPlayer.
Each episode is only 28 minutes long and the specials were an hour long in 2008 and 1 hour and 3 minutes in 2024. But this year’s special will be 90 minutes long as Corden and Jones try to wind up the storylines that have run through the series.
And apart from wondering if Nessa and Smith do finally tie the knot, fans will also be hoping there will finally be an answer to what happened on THAT fishing trip with Uncle Bryn (Rob Brydon) and his nephew Jason (Robert Wilfort).
The fishing trip is a running theme throughout the show and alludes to something that happened to the two men that caused long-lasting embarrassment that neither will talk about. It’s almost been revealed in both Christmas specials and Wilfort has teased that the time has perhaps come for fans to find out.
Speaking to the Radio Times he said: “It’s the great mystery of Gavin & Stacey! You never quite get to find out what happened… but I can’t say any more, because it’s possible you’ll learn something if you watch the finale.”
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