Gavin and Stacey Christmas Special: ‘Certain moments make it very clear the show can’t carry on’
James kept a special item from the final set...but what?
Last updated 20th Dec 2024
It’s the subject on countless people’s lips in the run up to Christmas this year…the (very last) Gavin and Stacey Christmas Special is now just days away, and the show’s very famous writers have been dropping crumbs of exciting details.
James Corden and Ruth Jones joined Fleur, James and Matt for a Hits Radio Christmas special to tell us how they felt filming the final scenes as the iconic Smithy and Nessa, and tell us why the show simply ‘cannot carry on’…
“It can’t carry on, it genuinely can’t. And you’ll realise that there’s certain moments that happen in the episode, which make it very, very clear that the show cannot carry on. We as writers wouldn’t know how to carry on that story,” James said.
“We feel very, very proud of it. We’ve really given it everything we could have given it.
“It’s all come with quite a lot of pressure, the idea of being so definite and announcing that this is it, it’s going to end. And trying to get it right. Trying to serve the characters, serve the audience. And make sure that everybody feels satisfied by it. And I think right now in this moment, of course there’s nerves. You hope that people just feel that this is the right way to say goodbye to these characters that have been in our lives for so long.”
James remained tight-lipped about the show’s storyline, but he did reveal one surprising detail, which goes against the grain of the last two Christmas specials: “We can tell you it isn’t set at Christmas. And it’s five years on from where we left off.
“We were running out of Christmas music that we could use!”
James did say though, that the infamous fishing trip “certainly comes up, for sure”.
With this year’s Christmas Special marking the final EVER episode of Gavin and Stacey, it’s no wonder the final scenes meant an awful lot to Ruth and James, who have written the show together since its first episode in 2007.
The friends both admitted taking something from the set to remember the show by. While James said he took ‘an item of clothing’, he couldn’t reveal what it was, as he says it would reveal the episode’s secrets.
When asked if emotions ran high on set, Ruth revealed: “Joanna Page is an absolute professional crier, she can find anything to cry at, it’s lovely.”
“Every day we’re filming she’s like ‘Oh my god, can you believe this is the last time we’re ever going to film on Trinity Street, are you gonna cry on the last day Ruth? Oh my god, I’ve just realised it’s the last time I’m ever going to wear Stacey’s shoes!’” James told us, in his best Welsh accent.
When asked what a normal Christmas looks like for them, Ruth told Fleur, James and Matt: “I think Christmas Day is always dependent on the weather; the way that you enjoy Christmas. The good thing is, if it’s rubbish weather you just kinda cootch up and stay indoors. And if it’s sunny you go for a nice brisk walk - and say Happy Christmas to everybody.”
James said it’ll be the first Christmas his family will wake up at home for a decade, due to work commitments in America. He also revealed he’ll be watching the Gavin and Stacey Christmas Special with co-writer Ruth on Christmas Day, just like they did for the last one in 2019. Aww!
What to expect on Hits Radio this Christmas...
As well as being able to listen to the full Christmas Special episode with James Corden and Ruth Jones on Christmas Day, from 10am, we'll be bringing you a packed schedule on Hits Radio over the festive period, with a great line up of guests. Listen online, on your smart speaker, or via the Rayo app.