Gavin and Stacey star Ruth Jones teases character deaths for upcoming Christmas special

James Corden and Ruth Jones
James Corden and Ruth Jones (BBC)

Ruth Jones has opened up about Gavin and Stacey’s last-ever episode which she has penned with her co-creator and co-star, James Corden. The star, who plays Nessa Jones in the hit sitcom, spoke about the show on Rob Brydon’s Wondery podcast Brydon & - and Ruth gave away a couple of details - though we don’t think she’s being entirely serious!

The star revealed that fans often ask what is going to happen next, explaining: “I go to them, 'Do you seriously want me to tell you what’s going to happen in the Christmas Special?' And they go 'yes!'.

“And I go 'But you don’t, because what happens on Christmas Day when you come to watch it, you’ll know what’s going to happen.' And they go, 'Please tell me’. So, I go (jokingly) 'There’s going to be a helicopter crash, most of the cast is going to get killed', and I just make stuff up!”

Mathew Horn, Joanna Page, Alison Steadman, Ruth Jones, Laura Aikman, Rob Brydon and Robert Wilfort at the NTAs
The cast are reuniting for another Christmas special (Dave J Hogan)

She reflected on how the news of the Christmas special was leaked earlier this year before she and James had a chance to confirm it themselves, saying: “I was very sad that it got leaked. James and I have been writing since September, which is always the case with us. We write it and then we go to the BBC and say do you want it because if we didn’t feel it was going to be good enough, no one else would know and nobody would be any the wiser.

Rob Brydon, who plays Bryn West, is seen during filming for the Gavin and Stacey in 2019
Ruth spoke about the show on her co-star Rob Brydon's podcast (Matthew Horwood)

"So, when we felt it was in good enough shape, that’s when we contacted the BBC. There was all this stuff about Netflix and a bidding war… absolute rubbish, you just go, where did this come from? And so, once we agreed with the BBC we were going to do it, and obviously they were very happy about it because it’s finishing a story and this will be the finale.”

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She continued: “But then there’s a whole process and you can’t announce it because you’ve got to make sure the cast are all available, that the deals are done and the budget is in place… all of these things. Then this journalist went and leaked it.”

What happened in the latest episode of Gavin and Stacey?

The 2019 Christmas special saw Gavin and Stacey reigniting the spark in their marriage after their busy lives with three children gave them no time to spend with one another, while Smithy shocked the Shipman and West families by revealing that he planned to get engaged to his girlfriend Sonia.

Mathew Horne, Joanna Page, Alison Steadman, Ruth Jones, Laura Aikman, Rob Brydon, Robert Wilfort and Larry Lamb at the NTAs
Mathew Horne, Joanna Page, Alison Steadman, Ruth Jones, Laura Aikman, Rob Brydon, Robert Wilfort and Larry Lamb at the NTAs (Gareth Cattermole)

However, after Sonia leaves the Christmas Day festivities early, Nessa confesses to Smithy that she loves him, and proposes, leaving the show on the ultimate cliffhanger. So, did Smithy say yes? Did Smithy break up with Sonia? Will we ever find out what happened on the fishing trip? We couldn’t be more excited for Christmas 2024!