GAVIN and Stacey fans have worked out the 'real reason' behind the show's emotional ending.
Over 12 million viewers tuned in to watch the BBC sitcom's final ever outing after 17 years.
James Corden's alter ego Smithy finally got married to Ruth Jones' Nessa Jenkins in tear-jerking scenes.
It almost didn't happen as the larger-than-life character was set to get hitched to Sonia before family and friends intervened.
Beforehand, Smithy's friends organised a big stag do for his final week of freedom
However, it didn't go according to plan with their once hilarious foam disco parties now failing to hit the mark.
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Commenting on the scenes, Gavin and Stacey fans understood why James and Ruth wrote the scenes the way they did.
One viewer remarked: "The disappointment of the night out the lads had meticulously planned was so relatable…trying to repeat the past never works and helped them to realise how much they’ve changed.
"Old Smithy would have been inconsolable about this fail - the more mature version is the man he needs to be to finally get together with Nessa and not care what anyone else thinks."
A second replied: "I thought it was also a gentle message to the audience about how the show cant carry on or come back and be just how it was - sometimes you just have to appreciate things for what they were and move on."
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"I also thought it was a good nod to how much older they are now compared to the original series when they did enjoy foam parties," a third posted.
Overnight figures show Gavin and Stacey attracted the largest Christmas Day audience since 2008.
Meanwhile, Ruth Jones revealed how one character was cut from the show as they 'had no space' for him.
Some viewers will remember Barry's own Del Boy, Dick Powell, who has popped up throughout the series, flogging random wares.
He's sold everything from Black Market sat navs to meat he's stolen from the slaughterhouse.
Dick is also the only resident on the Island who speaks only Welsh.
Despite appearing in two episodes and being mentioned many times throughout the show, the dodgy salesman was not in the finale.
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?