Gavin & Stacey the finale: confirmation, cast and more

OMG. Gavin & Stacey will return once again for a Christmas 2024 special, five years after their last reunion episode. Oh! Gwen! We can't cope! Here's everything we know about the final ever episode so far.

The countdown to Christmas, and most importantly the Gavin & Stacey finale episode is on, with just over a month to go. And now the BBC has confirmed the all important plot details for the new episode. Set five years on from Nessa's proposal to Smithy, we'll see Bryn preparing for the trip to Essex, Gavin and Stacey looking for ways to spice up their marriage, and Gwen is behaving rather strangely.

Nessa is starting a new business and Neil the Baby is about to start working with his dad. Over in Essex, Pam is unsurprisingly flustered about hosting Christmas, while a newly-retired Mick is working on his golf swing (priorities). And of course there's trouble in paradise for Pete and Dawn.

We'll see the group come together for Christmas, and crucially find out what *actually* happened on that fishing trip 👀. On 10th December, the BBC also shared loads of first look pictures from the new episode:

After keeping us waiting (yep, that teaser was literally not enough), the BBC at long last have released a trailer for the much-anticipated Gavin & Stacey special. Appearing on the Strictly Come Dancing 2024 final, Ruth Jones appeared on stage as Nessa to introduce the trailer — and what an exciting trailer it is!

View full post on TikTok

"We are NOT ready for this 😭," the caption for the trailer — which was shared to the BBC's TikTok — read. "Here's your official trailer for #GavinAndStacey: The Finale, coming to #iPlayer and BBC One at 9pm on Christmas Day."

Grab the mince pies and mulled wine, and settle in as the finale episode will be an incredible 90 minutes long. It will air on Christmas Day at 9pm on BBC One.

Yes! We're in luck, as the BBC has just shared one new image of the four main cast members James Corden, Ruth Jones, Joanna Page, and Matthew Horne, recreating an image from season one.

See the image here:

On 2nd September 2024, the cast revealed they had begun filming for the final episode.. James Corden, who plays Smithy, took to Instagram to share a photo of his character's van, with the caption, "Day 1. Here we go x"

View full post on Instagram

Joanna Page, who plays Stacey, shared a photo of her trailer, adding the caption, "🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿O my god, we’re starting! 😁I’m so excited!! 💕"

View full post on Instagram

Deadline first shared the news in February 2024. They revealed the plan is to film one new episode this summer, to air in December. As fans of the show will know, the last episode ended on a major cliffhanger, when Nessa proposed to Smithy on Christmas Day. The screen then faded to black before we got a chance to hear his answer.

Then, on 3rd May 2024, James Corden and Ruth Jones confirmed (!) the news of the new episode, writing on Instagram, "Some news… It’s official!!! We have finished writing the last ever episode of Gavin and Stacey. See you on Christmas Day, BBC One. Love Ruth and James ❤️" OMG.

View full post on Instagram

They also confirmed it would be the final ever episode, holding up a script which said Gavin & Stacey: The Finale.

The first report confirmed "the majority of the main cast will likely return for the special", including James Corden and Ruth Jones, who play Smithy and Nessa, as well as Matthew Horne and Joanna Page, who play the titular roles. Even Rob Brydon, Alison Steadman, Larry Lamb and Julia Davis are on board, too.

Days after the news broke, Ruth Jones addressed the rumours, throwing a spanner in the works by attempting to deny there was any truth to them. "Who is this source? Where does this stuff come from?" she said in an interview with RTÉ Radio 1. "It's lovely that people love it and are so desperate... it's sadly a rumour. All I can say is if there was something to say on that front, James and I would happily announce it," she continued.

View full post on X

Joanna Page then appeared on The One Show on 28th January 2024, and shared something similar. "I don't know anything at all," the actor, who plays Stacey, told presenters Jermaine Jenas and Alex Jones. "I've got no other information, sorry, I've got no exciting information."

Sounds like they were misdirecting us!

Over the years, the cast have been asked time and time again whether they'll make more Gavin & Stacey, with James Corden speaking about the prospect back in September 2023. "I genuinely don’t know if we’ll ever do another one," he told Sky News at the time.

"I think Ruth and I would love to make something together again… I really don’t know with Gavin & Stacey. I think we feel so proud of that last special. I think, in a way, those characters, they live on, they carry on, they’re still out there somewhere living and breathing. Their lives carry on and we just sort of get together and open this portal and find out.

"Some people say to me, ‘I want to know what happens’. And I go, 'so do I!'"

While confirming the special episode was happening, James Corden and Ruth Jones revealed it was scheduled for Christmas Day on BBC One, and will air at 9pm.

We can't WAIT.