Are you ready to say goodbye?
Gavin & Stacey co-creator James Corden has confirmed that the script for the upcoming Christmas special is now complete, revealing that he feels “very emotional” about bidding farewell to the hit sitcom.
Last month, the comedy star addressed the “tight” schedule for the episode, which isn’t expected to film until September or October, meaning there will need to be a smooth shoot and rapid post-production to have it ready in time for Christmas Day.
At the time, he also revealed that a “few trims and little adjustments” were needed, which have now been made by himself and co-creator Ruth Jones – although it was by no means easy.
Speaking to Chris Evans on Virgin Radio, Corden explained: “Writing is really fun because you can just go ‘anything can happen’.
“But when you rewrite stuff, you’re dealing with a lot of logistics and, ‘Well, look, we might not be able to shoot that, or this needs to be in this location, is there any way this can change?’
“And, frankly, it’s too long. What we have been doing the last few weeks really is just trying to make it as economical as possible. And we finished it [the script] yesterday.”
The episode has a big cliffhanger to resolve, with 2019’s record-breaking Christmas special ending with Nessa (Jones) proposing to on-again, off-again flame Smithy (Corden) in a bombshell twist.
Soon enough, fans will finally learn his response in a momentous special that will say goodbye to all of the show’s beloved characters – as Corden has again emphasised that the show is “never” coming back after this.
“We will never write anything that Pam says again. We will never come up with an interesting thing that Bryn has done,” he added.
But the former Late Night host said it was “inconceivable” to himself and Jones that they “have the luxury of deciding to end it” and are “in a position where people still care”.
The final episode of Gavin & Stacey is expected to reunite the cast of the beloved sitcom – including Corden, Jones, Joanna Page, Mathew Horne, Rob Brydon, Alison Steadman and Larry Lamb – for one last heartwarming slice of life this Christmas.
Gavin & Stacey returns to BBC One and iPlayer on Christmas Day.
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