Gavin and Stacey star Alison Steadman admitted she feared a follow-up to the show’s 2019 Christmas Special was never going to happen due to James Corden and Ruth Jones’ conflicting schedules. The show creators sparked a frenzy last week by announcing that the much loved show will finally be making a comeback five years after leaving fans on a cliff-hanger.
In surprising scenes aired in the Christmas special, Nessa (played by Ruth) got down on one knee and proposed to her ex Smithy (played by James), but fans didn’t get to see his response as the episode came to an abrupt end.
Now, it seems as though viewers will finally learn the fate of Nessa and Smithy’s complicated relationship following their surprise announcement last Friday. Taking to Instagram, James and Ruth pair shared a black and white photo of themselves holding up the script to Gavin and Stacey: The finale as they grinned behind the paperwork.
With the long-awaited reunion finally confirmed, fans immediately expressed their excitement in the comments section. Amongst the reaction, Amanda Holden wrote: “OMFG,” alongside a clapping hands emoji, while Emmerdale’s Lisa Riley typed: “Ding dong.”
Gordon Ramsay also commented with multiple love heart emojis, as John Bishop wrote: “Brilliant.” Speaking ahead of the announcement to Express.co.uk, Alison, 77, who plays Pam Shipman, spoke of her fears that a reunion wouldn’t happen for at least two years due to cast and crew’s previous clashing schedules.
Following the 2019 Christmas special, James spent 2020 living in America with his focus mostly being on his The Late Late Show, while Ruth had other commitments in the UK.
Alison told Express.co.uk at the time: “They are extremely busy people. Finding the time to get together and put another show together is very difficult.
“These things take months and months. You develop it, you change it, and then you have another idea and so on.
“It’s quite a long process. And then you’ve got to get the actors free. It’s not an easy thing to do.”
Despite this however, Alison said the cliffhanger was “a tease” and couldn’t be left without an update, adding: “Let’s just wait and see what happens.”
Just weeks later, hopes for a reunion were squashed due to the coronavirus pandemic and worldwide disruption. Once back to normal, rumours about the cast rekindling swiftly began again.
More recently in March, the actress claimed she still didn’t have an update about a potential new episode, but expressed her hopes at returning.
She told The Mirror: “If we did another series or episode, I would absolutely love it.
“None of us have been sent scripts, none of us, so until there’s something definite and it’s announced, then I’m not going to go along with anything, it might not happen. It’s all up in the air.”
Ruth had previously denied there was a plan for a reunion when quizzed in past interviews.
Following widely published reports about a finale earlier this year, she said on RTE Radio 1 February: “If there was something to say on that front, James and I would happily announce it,” but claimed it was “sadly just a rumour”.
Meanwhile just days before the pair confirmed the reunion, James shared artwork of Smithy and Nessa hugging alongside the line: “Tell me tomorrow, I’ll wait by the window, for you.”
To caption the post, James kept things cryptic, choosing to only share three love heart emojis which left many fans speculating about what was to come.
