James Corden and Ruth Jones to give Gavin & Stacey ‘lovely’ send off

The stars of Gavin & Stacey have been reflecting on the show's incredible success ahead of its Christmas Day finale, which hopefully will give fans an answer to a cliffhanger from five years ago, says ITV News Entertainment Reporter Rishi Davda

I take real pride in having memorised Smithy’s Indian takeaway order which, for those of you who don’t know, is a "chicken bhuna, lamb bhuna, prawn bhuna, mushroom rice, bag of chips, Keema naan and nine poppadoms."James Corden - who co-wrote Gavin & Stacey, as well as playing Neil ‘Smithy’ Smith - told me he once "met a couple of people who’d chosen to tattoo Smithy’s curry order, one guy down his stomach, which is a bold choice".The 46-year-old actor and comedian went on to global stardom following the show’s original conclusion in 2010.He hosted The Late Late Show in Los Angeles for eight years but puts much of his success down to his time on the sitcom.

Ben Winston, James Corden, and Robbie Crabbe pose at the 2016 Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards. Credit: AP

"It changed the entire trajectory of my life. Not just professionally to my career, but personally with the friends that I have made and this second found family we have."

Gavin and Stacey first aired back in 2007, running for three seasons. It then returned in 2019 for a Christmas special, which pulled in around 18 million viewers.

That ended on a cliffhanger, with a marriage proposal, when Nessa - played by Ruth Jones - asked Smithy to marry her.

We will hopefully get an answer on Christmas Day, as the cast returns for one final feature-length programme.

The cast of Gavin and Stacey arriving for the 2007 British Comedy Awards. Credit: PA

Jones, who wrote the series alongside her friend Corden, believes there is "something quite lovely about leaving those characters to live their lives after the final credits have rolled, and I think they do, I think Nessa will keep working down the slots". The writers have been lauded for decades by fans and critics alike for producing moments of comedy gold, nuanced giggles and scenes of relatable emotion.Gavin & Stacey spends much of the time travelling between Barry in South Wales and Billericay in Essex, poking fun at the cultural differences and finding the often-subtle similarities.

The show's cast at a BBC launch event for Gavin and Stacey: The Finale. Credit: PA

Joanna Page has been the show’s Stacey since the beginning. She remembers that when she first read the script.

"I thought, I know these people, this is my life, this is my family. I know these people and I think that is why it resonates so much…everyone knows a Smithy."Alison Steadman brings the laughs as Gavin’s mother Pam. She shares similar sentiments to Stacey when reflecting on the start of the series, nearly 2 decades ago."I knew when I read the script from the start’, she said ‘that it was fun and the writing was brilliant, I knew that straight away."

Gavin & Stacey seems to have become one of those series that people binge. A whole new generation has been introduced to it in recent years, so I’m sure the figure for the number of people who tune in to watch on Christmas Day will be staggeringly high.Corden and Jones, as well as pretty much everyone else involved in the show, have confirmed that this is the end…one final goodbye.However, Larry Lamb - who is Mick Shipman on the programme - said, "who knows", when I asked him if this was truly a finale."This is a golden goose, who’s going to kill the golden goose? The BBC? I don’t think so, you give it a few years and you might be back here asking the same questions."Gavin & Stacey: The Finale will air on BBC One and BBC iPlayer from 9pm on Christmas Day.

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