Fans have been waiting years for the finale to much-loved sitcom Gavin and Stacey, but the Christmas episode will not mark the end of the franchise.
The hit TV series aired between 2007 and 2010 and returned in 2019 with a one-off festive special that ended on a cliffhanger when Ruth Jones’s character Nessa proposed to Corden’s character Smithy.
Fans have been waiting nearly five years for Smithy’s response – as the episode ended before he had the chance to reply. Gavin and Stacey: The Finale will air on Christmas Day.
But now James Corden, who plays Smithy, and Ruth Jones, who plays Nessa, have revealed the show’s story will continue in a new book to be published in Autumn 2025.
When Gavin Met Stacey and Everything in Between : A Story Of Love and Friendship will mark the first time the pair will share how they turned their comedy show into a mainstay of British television.
“We’re so excited to be sharing the story behind the story of Gavin and Stacey,” Corden and Jones said in a statement.
“The show has played a huge part in our twenty-five-year friendship and we hope this book will give readers a fresh insight into how it all came about.”
Bill Scott-Kerr from publisher Transworld said: “We are so excited to be publishing this joyous book. Seeing the creative chemistry between Ruth and James up close is an inspiration in itself and a real insight into the fission which made Gavin and Stacey the cultural phenomenon that it is.”
He added,”It’s also inspiring to see how a friendship can translate into something which feels so wonderfully universal and profoundly true.”
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Speaking to The Sun, Corden likened the pressure of getting the Gavin and Stacey Christmas special up to scratch to playing football for England.
“We started writing 20 years ago and it’s nuts, inconceivable, that it means more to people now than it did 20 years ago,” he said.
“I still feel pressure — there’s pressure all the time because you don’t want to let anybody down,” he added.
“I think it’s the closest you could get to being called up to the England team in terms of something meaning a lot to a lot of people.”