Filming for the much-anticipated festive special of Gavin and Stacey is expected to be underway shortly, ahead of the upcoming "finale" episode then airing at Christmas.
There haven't been any new episodes of the acclaimed BBC sitcom since the last special in 2019, but the show's return was finally announced in May. It was revealed in July that the script had been completed after it had been teased that filming would take place from around September.
Over the months since the announcement, several of the show's cast members have spoken about returning for the "finale," which has been written by co-creators Ruth Jones, 57, and James Corden, 46. Ahead of any announcement about the cast of this year's Christmas special, the Mirror has taken a look at who's expected to reprise their roles.
Both James (who plays Neil 'Smithy' Smith) and Ruth (who plays Vanessa 'Nessa' Jenkins) are expected to return for the episode, particularly as their characters were part of the last special's cliffhanger. That episode ended with Nessa proposing to Smithy, but viewers didn't see his answer. Mathew Horne (Gavin Shipman) and Joanna Page (Stacey Shipman) are also expected to reprise their roles, especially as they play the title characters. Joanna, 47, confirmed that she had "signed on" for the special in an interview in July.
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PA)Rob Brydon (Bryn West) is also due to return. The actor, 59, shared his hopes for the special in June and confirmed then that he hadn't yet had the script. Last month, Rob shared that he had since read the script and said that he had previously had to keep news of the reunion a "secret".
Bryn's return was also teased by co-creator James in July. Whilst on the Chris Evans Breakfast Show, he also hinted that Melanie Walters (Gwen West) and Alison Steadman (Pam Shipman) are part of the cast. James said: "We've finished [the script]. We'll never write anything that Pam says again. We'll never write the interior of Gwen's house. We'll never come up with an interesting thing that Bryn's done."
Alison, 78, had already led fans to believe that she would be back for the Christmas special. The actor shared in May, shortly after the news of the show's return, that she hadn't yet seen the script but was expected to be in the cast along with on-screen husband Larry Lamb (Mick Shipman). Asked if they would be involved, she said: "As far as I know, yes. We only found out [it was happening] for definite the other day."
Her co-star Larry, 76, has himself suggested that he will reprise his role in the episode. During an appearance on Loose Women, he recalled receiving a call from co-creator Ruth about being in the special and at the time teased over the cast reuniting for the project in the coming months.
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BBC/GS TV Productions Ltd/Tom Jackson)There's been no news on Julia Davis (Dawn Sutcliffe), Adrian Scarborough (Pete Sutcliffe) and Robert Wilfort (Jason West) reprising their roles. They all appeared in the most recent Christmas special though, so it's possible that they will be back once again. Similarly, it's unknown if Steffan Rhodri (David Lloyd Gooch, known as Dave Coaches) will return after having not featured in the last special.
Whilst Oscar Hartland (Neil 'the Baby' Smith) said back in July that he hadn't yet been approached to return, after appearing as the son of Nessa and Smithy previously, including in the most recent special. Oscar, 15, told the Sun at the time: "I'm disappointed. I was hoping to get the call."
There was initially speculation that Sheridan Smith (Ruth 'Rudi' Smith) wouldn't likely reprise her role, especially as she wasn't in the last special. However, a source told the Mirror in May that 'informal discussions' over her potential return had begun. They said: "[The script] includes all of the show’s major players - including Smithy's sister Rudi. Nothing has been signed and conversations are still very much ongoing. [...] All of the stops are being pulled out to make sure the whole cast are there."
The source added that Sheridan and co-creator James, who previously dated, are "still friendly" and said there was hope that she could be part of the "finale". The source teased: "She did not appear in [2019] because her character was not part of that storyline, but it has been a different story this time around."
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