Gavin & Stacey fans have said they have “goosebumps” after watching the long-awaited final ever episode this evening (25 December).
The show returned to BBC One with a 90-minute, one-off festive episode, marking the first time fans had been reunited with Gavin, Stacey, Smithy, Nessa and co since the last Christmas special in 2019.
Viewers have been waiting five years to find out what happened after the cliffhanger ending in 2019, where Ruth Jones’s Nessa proposed to James Corden’s Smithy.
In tonight’s episode, many were surprised to see Smithy preparing for a wedding with Laura Aikman’s Sonia instead, which came to an abrupt stop when Mathew Horne’s Gavin stood up to say he thought his friend was making a mistake.
Several other guests also stood up to show Smithy they also had doubts, but it wasn’t until Larry Lamb’s Mick (who had become like a father figure to him) also stood up in protest at the wedding, that Smithy decided to leave Sonia at the altar.
Smithy then rushed to Nessa to declare his love to her and propose on one knee. “We’re messy and not perfect,” he told her, “but I love you Nessa and I always have. Well, not always, but most of the time… I love you, will you marry me?”
The answer, of course, was yes – and the couple had a casual wedding in which Nessa, in true Nessa style, opted to wear black.
Viewers were in bits. “The whole group slowly standing up and then Smithy asking for Mick’s approval has gave me goosebumps,” wrote one fan on X.
“HE FINALLY CHOSE NESSA,” shared another, while a third wrote: “17 years later… FINALLY married and where they should be. Holy moly.”
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A fourth shared: “Absolutely brilliant! Gutted it’s over, but it had to end one day. It’s been a blast, thanks James Corden and Ruth Jones.”
Others said it was “absolutely perfect” and that they “couldn’t breathe”.
Speaking at the launch event for the episode, Corden – who writes the show with Jones – revealed how he had wanted to “trick everybody” with the plotline for the finale.
For many years, the question of what happened during a fishing trip between Uncle Bryn, played by Rob Brydon, and his nephew Jason West, played by Robert Wilfort, has been the centre of much fan speculation.
But the finale did not reveal the mystery, with Wilfort saying at the promotional event: “I’d like to say now and forever, the joke has always been you don’t find out.”
