James Corden and Ruth Jones spend Christmas Day together to watch the Gavin and Stacey finale
AHEAD of the Gavin & Stacey finale episode, writers and stars of the hit series James Corden and Ruth Jones shared a selfie on social media.
The sweet selfie of James, 46, who played Smithy, and Ruth, 58, who plays Nessa, was shared ahead of the final ever episode of the beloved sitcom airing on BBC One last night.
James and Ruth beamed in the festive snap as they spent Christmas Day together in order to watch the Gavin & Stacey finale together after working on the show with one another for 17 years.
"We had to be together to watch tonight," James penned on Instagram alongside a selfie of him and Ruth.
Beaming in the photo with a Christmas tree behind them, James could be seen with his arm around Ruth as she held a cup of tea.
"We really hope you enjoy the finale of Gavin and Stacey," he went on, "It has been the greatest privilege making this show over the past 17 years.
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"We’ll see you on BBC One at 9pm. The years go by so fast, let’s hope the next beats the last. Happy Christmas. x."
The show then aired for 95 minutes, with more than 12.3 million fans tuning in to watch the final ever episode of Gavin & Stacey, aptly titled The Finale.
The Finale episode came 17 years after the first episode aired, and five years after the last Christmas special ended on a cliffhanger of epic proportions.
In the 2019 Christmas special, Nessa proposed to Smithy before the closing credits rolled, leaving the nation reeling and wondering whether or not the cheeky chappy from Essex said "yes" to the Ness.
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And last night, millions of Brits tuned in to see what happened five Christmases ago, with the episode twisting and turning before ending on a high note that satisfied the nation.
'THE ENDING WE ALL WANTED'
"The Ending we all wanted and needed," penned one fan underneath James and Ruth's selfie, "Thanks so much to you both for giving this to us and for 17 years of the best and most brilliant of memories. Gavin and Stacey, we adore you."
A second person wrote: "The perfect ending. The closure we all needed. The Christmas pick me up we needed. Thanks for putting a smile (and a few tears on mine and everyone’s faces)."
"Amazing episode," gushed a third, "Can’t believe we didn’t find out what happened on the fishing trip."
A fourth then said: "Imagine being responsible for making Christmas 24 so magical for most of the UK. Thank you both."
While a fifth penned: "That was beautiful, I feel my childhood how now properly ended. Loved it. Well done."
Gavin and Stacey's Best Moments
With the news that the show is set to make an exciting return to screens, let's take a look at some of the comedy programme's biggest and best moments...
- Smithy and Rudi's American Boy rap - No one will ever forget when James Corden and Sheridan Smith rapped perfectly word for word the Kanye West and Estelle hit American Boy as they walked across the car park on the phone to Gavin.
- Pam's Vegetarian faux pas - Despite loving a cheesburger, Pam found herself caught up in a web of unexpected lies when she claimed to be Vegetarian. She is forced to keep up the secret throughout the entire show and uses hubby Mick to help her scoff meat. She is later rumbled when Stacey catches her in the act as she scoffs ham in the kitchen. Stacey says to her: “Is that ham, Pam!?… “I’ve seen you, Pam. A scotch egg here, a bit of bacon there, putting those regular sausages into the Linda McCartney box”.
- THAT fishing trip - It remains one of the biggest mysteries in Gavin and Stacey history as to just exactly what did happen on the ill-fated fishing trip. Bryn appears to be hiding a secret as to an occurance between him and his nephew Jason which has left relations fractures. Ness' on-off boyfriend, Dave, is the only other person to know the whole truth. Bryn did appear to allude to him and Jason lying together naked to keep warm as he said to Dave: “We’re going to have this out, once and for all, man to man, you may know what happened, David, but you don’t know why it happened! It was freezing cold, it was! And when you are that cold…”
- Islands in the Stream - No one can ever forget the classic Karaoke performance of Islands in the Stream. Nessa and Bryn performed the track in front of all their nearest and dearest. It saw the whole pub burst into some line-dancing as they enjoyed a boozy night out.
- The Xmas special proposal - In 2019, fans were left overjoyed when the show made a comeback but it ended on the ultimate cliffhanger. Nessa asked Smithy if she would marry him as she finally laid bare her feelings for him. Fans were gutted as the show then cut straight to the credits as they never found out just how Smithy answered. Will all be revealed in the brand new episode?
And a sixth said: "It was absolutely elite. Can’t imagine the pressure to write something that conformed to the nation’s highest expectations on Christmas Day of all days - but you and Ruth nailed it.
"We laughed, we cried, and most of all as a nation we felt united - and god knows few things have the power to do that these days. Absolute respect to all."
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BIGGEST CHRISTMAS AIRING SINCE 2008
This comes after it was revealed that The Finale of Gavin & Stacey was watched by a staggering 12.3 million viewers.
Beating the last Christmas special five years ago, it has also been announced to be the biggest Christmas show to air since 2008.
