I’m a lifelong Gavin and Stacey fan and dreading the Christmas special
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Oh! What’s occurring? A Christmas Day Gavin and Stacey finale, that’s what. As a long-time Gavin and Stacey fan, you’d think I’d be thrilled – and, surely, only the coldest heart wouldn’t want to head to Barry Island to spend Christmas Day with the Shipmans and the Wests – but hear me out.
![[James Corden and Ruth Jones as Smithy and Nessa in Gavin and Stacey. She is on one knee proposing. There are Christmas lights behind them.]](https://metro.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/SEI_202428891-af38.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=630)
I think I might be disappointed. Five years ago, Nessa, played by Ruth Jones, got down on one knee and proposed to Smithy (James Corden) in the last Gavin and Stacey Christmas special, giving TV viewers one of the most spectacular cliffhangers of modern times.
![[WARNING: Embargoed for publication until 00:00:01 on 02/12/2019 - Programme Name: Gavin and Stacey - TX: n/a - Episode: Gavin and Stacey Christmas Special 2019 (No. n/a) - Picture Shows: Stacey Shipman (JOANNA PAGE), Gavin Shipman (MATHEW HORNE), Mick Shipman (LARRY LAMB), Neil 'Smithy' Smith (JAMES CORDEN), Gwen West (MELANIE WALTERS) - (C) GS TV Productions Ltd - Photographer: Tom Jackson]](https://metro.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/PRI_115485623-d665.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=646)
We never heard Smithy’s answer – but that didn’t matter. Making another show feels like an afterthought. And I don’t want a neat, happy ending because that’s not in the spirit of Ness and Smithy. They’re just not meant to get it together, except when they’ve had a few too many pints.
![[The Gavin and Stacey cast during the last Christmas revival]](https://metro.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/PRI_176931278-a438.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=646)
In fact, I don’t want a 2024 Christmas special at all. Back in 2007, Gavin and Stacey stole my heart with their slow-burn storylines, hilarious ensemble cast and subtle in-jokes. I was at the same life stage as them, going on random dates like Stace and debriefing with my own equivalent of Ness. And I fell in love with Pam and Mick’s hilarious home life – and of course Uncle Bryn, one of the funniest characters of this millennium.
Even now, if I’m having a bad day I’ll re-watch Smithy’s flawless American Boy rap. Early episodes had real heart and didn’t rely on a lot of action. They were deliberately low key, made with a commercial innocence as writers James Corden and Ruth Jones had zero knowledge of what a catchphrase-spawning telly juggernaut the show would become.
