It looks as though we’ll be returning to Barry and Billericay after all!
It’s the news that Gavin & Stacey fans have been waiting years – it looks as though the hit comedy series is set to return for a 2024 Christmas special.
As reported by Deadline, the series is set to return, with filming commencing on the episode this summer, and it expected to be released this Christmas. Talk about a Christmas miracle!
According to Deadline, “the series is in development/pre-production and cameras will roll in a few months time on the show”. When approached by RadioTimes.com, the BBC declined to comment.
It’s been a long time coming for fans of the sitcom, after the 2019 Christmas special went down in history as the most-watched show in a decade, with more than 18 million viewers.
Despite comments from the original main cast expressing doubts over returning for a special episode in the future, Deadline also reports that “the majority of the main cast” will reprise their roles.
As of yet, details about the reported special remain under wraps, so we’ll just have to wait and see who exactly will return and whether or not we’ll get an answer to Nessa’s (Ruth Jones) cliffhanger proposal to Smithy (James Corden).
Of course, Corden achieved worldwide fame after the comedy and went on to host the Late Late Show in the US for nearly a decade.
With his return to the UK, rumours have circulated about a possible Gavin & Stacey return for some time, as it’s the brainchild of Corden and Jones.
While we can only anticipate what the new episode will cover, RadioTimes.com did ask Matthew Horne – who stars in the series as Gavin Shipman – whether he thought we would ever get a resolution to the 2019 Christmas special cliffhanger.
He said: “Firstly, I very much doubt it will be addressed. I doubt – very much doubt – that anything will happen,” he added. “It would be nice to find out whether Smithy and Nessa do get married, but I don’t think we ever will find out.”
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Just a month before Horne’s comments, series stars Alison Steadman and Larry Lamb said that they wouldn’t want to return for a full new series of Gavin & Stacey but that they would want to reprise their roles as Pam and Mick for another special.
Steadman revealed: “I’d like to do another, but I don’t know if I could do seven episodes. A special would be great fun and it wouldn’t be too draining and exhausting. The Christmas special cliffhanger ending was brilliant. I was really touched and moved by it.”
Lamb also said: “It’s like getting the family together again, so absolutely yes to another one. But a one-hour special, which is three weeks of really intense work, that will do me.”
Gavin & Stacey is available to watch on BBC iPlayer now. Check out more of our Comedy coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide for more to watch.
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