James Corden and Ruth Jones reveal previous plans for Gavin & Stacey finale

James Corden and Ruth Jones have admitted that they had several plans for the Gavin & Stacey finale!

Five years after the hit BBC sitcom last appeared on our screens, Gavin & Stacey will be back for its final episode this Christmas Day. The 90-minute special – which reunites the entire main cast – will showcase the Welsh gang travelling to Essex, and will resolve the cliffhanger of Nessa proposing to Smithy.

As fans gear up for the last-ever episode, the show’s co-creators, co-writers and co-stars, James Corden and Ruth Jones, have revealed that the finale was debated for years before it was finally written.

Speaking to Heat Magazine, the sitcom duo shared that they had previously been tempted to produce an additional special episode in 2019, to air on New Year’s Day.

“The idea was that, after we put the special out on Christmas Day, we’d have another episode ready to air on New Year’s Day, so the show would finish with Nessa saying, ‘Marry me’, and then it would say, ‘Find out what happens on New Year’s Day, BBC One’. But in the end, it was too much to take on,” James explained.

Ruth then went on to reveal that they had discussed filming another Gavin & Stacey episode in 2020, but their plans were scrapped due to the Covid pandemic. 

“Then we spoke last summer, and I was very sure after a while that the cliffhanger was an unsatisfactory ending, if it was going to be the end forever,” James recalled, with Ruth adding: “And I think people were annoyed – not in a nasty way – but when you watch the Gogglebox reaction to it, you do go, ‘Oh, actually, that is really frustrating!’”

The pair, who play Smithy and Nessa respectively, detailed that they had also considered writing a feature-length Gavin & Stacey episode, to be released in cinemas.

However, Ruth noted that Gavin & Stacey is “not a cinema film”, as James agreed: “The idea of our characters blown up that big felt wrong. They’ve always been in the corner of your room, and that’s where they should remain.”

Gavin & Stacey: The Finale airs on BBC One on Christmas Day at 9pm.