The final ever episode of hit BBC sitcom Gavin And Stacey has aired, and fans are in bits.
The series, which originally aired between 2007 and 2010, follows Gavin’s family, the Shipmans, who live in Billericay, Essex, and Stacey’s family, the Wests, who reside in Barry, Wales.
In 2019 the show returned after almost a decade for a special that saw Vanessa Shanessa ‘Nessa’ Jenkins (Ruth Jones) get down on one knee to confess her love for Neil ‘Smithy’ Smith (James Corden) leaving fans on the ultimate cliffhanger.
Corden, 46, who co-wrote the show, announced in May that the comedy series would return for a festive special, a year after he filmed his last episode as host of The Late Late Show in the US.
After – spoilers ahead – realising Smithy did say yes to a wedding in the first moments of the show, fans were left in absolute bits as they said goodbye to the beloved comedy.
A spanner was thrown in the works though, as it turned out Smithy and Sonia were betrothed, not him and Nessa.
Shortly following this bombshell, fans realised Dawn Sutcliffe (Julia Davis) and Pete Sutcliffe (Adrian Scarborough) were divorced.
‘DAWN AND PETE DIVORCED??? SMITHY MARRYING SONIA???’ shouted @joexmuller, while @travers_lass said: ‘Willing to bet the nation collectively gasped in outrage that it’s not Ness.’
‘Not Dawn and Pete, Christmas is ruined,’ added @aleishasha23.
Not only that, but fans were gasping as it was revealed Gwen West and Dave Coaches were also in a relationship.
‘OMG GWEN AND DAVE,’ raved @dg250999_.
However, in true romantic comedy fashion, at the ceremony when asked if anyone had any objections to the marriage, Gavin stepped in followed by half the congregation. What ensued was a cross-coutnry sprint for Smithy to reach Nessa before she boards a boat to leave the island forever.
After a famously on-off relationship, Smithy proposes to Nessa and the final scene features a heartwarming montage of a low-key wedding, with Nessa sporting a black dress and the pair finally getting their happily ever after.
Meanwhile Gavin and Stacey, played by Mathew Horne and Joanna Page, are looking for new ways to spice up their 17-year marriage.
Nessa and Smithy’s son, Neil ‘the Baby’, is about to embark on an apprenticeship with his father, while Gavin’s mother, Pamela Shipman (Alison Steadman), is feeling stressed about playing host.
Her husband Mick Shipman (Larry Lamb) is newly retired and practising his golf swings, with their friends, Pete and Dawn – who actually reconciled during in the episode. Phew.
There was uproar online when the big fishing trip mystery was not solved in the episode.
A first-look trailer teased that viewers could ‘maybe find out what exactly did happen on that fishing trip’ with Stacey’s uncle Bryn (Rob Brydon) and her brother Jason (Robert Wilfort).
Bryn and his nephew Jason allude to the events of the ‘fishing trip’ during the series, but all viewers know is that the two men were close before the incident and rarely spoke after it.
However, as Dave was about to share the story, hamming viewers up by describing a crackling fire and soup bubbling away on a stove, a fire alarm went off and the story was interrupted.
Line Of Duty star Anna Maxwell-Martin also makes a cameo as the registrar for the first wedding.
The hit TV series returned in 2019 for a special that scored the highest overnight Christmas ratings in 12 years.
It attracted an average audience of 11.6 million viewers, making it the biggest festive special since Christmas Day 2008.
By the New Year, it had been viewed by 17.1 million people, making it the biggest scripted programme of the decade at the time.
It also won the impact award at the National Television Awards in 2020.
The show was co-created by Corden and Jones, and the 90-minute special is written and executively produced by them.
The documentary Gavin And Stacey: A Fond Farewell will be shown at 7pm on New Year’s Day on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.
Gavin And Stacey: The Finale is available on BBC iPlayer.
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