James Corden gives emotional speech to Gavin & Stacey fans as he and Ruth Jones finish filming at Pam and Mick’s ‘Essex’ home – and reveals cast are just DAYS away from wrapping Christmas special

James Corden gave an emotional speech to Gavin & Stacey fans this weekend as he and Ruth Jones completed filming at Pam and Mick’s ‘Essex’ home.

The actor, 46, who plays Smithy, wrapped filming at the location where Gavin’s parents Pamela (Alison Steadman) and Mick (Larry Lamb) live, which in the show is set in Billericay in Essex.

The house they film these scenes in is in Dinas Powys, South Wales, with James thanking local residents for their support.

As he went to greet the crowds of fans on the street, he said: ‘Today is our last day in ‘Essex’. Everyone in Dinas Powys was so great at the show, so thank you so much. It means more to us that you will ever know and we hope you enjoy the show.”

He was quick to clarify in his speech that this wasn’t their last day of filming ever – just the last day of filming at Pam and Mick’s house in ‘Essex’.

The actor, 46, – who plays Smithy – wrapped filming at the location where Gavin’s parents Pamela (Alison Steadman) and Mick (Larry Lamb) live, which in the show is set in Billericay in Essex

James added that their last day of filming ever should be on Monday, meaning it’s only a few days away.

Ruth added as they spoke to loyal fans: ‘Thank you so much for being such dedicated fans and for being here every day watching us even though we were hiding there in the house.

We hope you enjoy our little episode on Christmas Day.”

Earlier this week on Tuesday, the entire cast came together for more taping of the Christmas special.

The likes of Nessa (Ruth Jones), Smithy (James Corden), Mathew Horne (Gavin), Joanna Page (Stacey), Mick Shipman (Larry Lamb) and Pam Shipman (Alison Steadman) appeared to be on their way to Pam and Mick’s house in Billericay.

The set for their home is actually in Wales – where the rest of the filming took place – and not in Essex, as depicted in the much-loved BBC show.

On-screen best friends James, 46, and Mathew, also 46, walked onto the set together and gave the waiting fans a big smile and a “hello.”

Ruth, 58, gave a thumbs up and looked cheerful as she donned a black coat over her suit.

The house they film these scenes in is in Dinas Powys, South Wales – with James thanking local residents for their support

As he went to greet the crowds of fans on the street, he said: ‘Today is our last day in ‘Essex’. Everyone in Dinas Powys was so great at the show, so thank you so much’

Ruth added as they spoke to loyal fans: ‘Thank you so much for being such dedicated fans and for being here every day watching us even though we were hiding there in the house’

James was quick to clarify in his speech that it wasn’t their last ever day of filming – just the last day of filming at Pam and Mick’s ‘Essex’ home

James added that their last day of filming ever should be on Monday, meaning it’s only a few days away

Ruth, Alison, James, Larry and Julia Davis, who play the character Dawn, greeted their fans

It comes after it was reported bosses were forced to implement extra security measures to keep the Christmas special under wraps after much of the script was leaked

Larry, 77, braved the cold weather in shorts as he left the taping to chat with fans and take pictures with them.

Rob Brydon, who stars as Uncle Bryn, was seen in his classic all-brown and gray costume as he walked around the set with James Corden.

Joanna Page, meanwhile, held a hot drink in her hand as she hurried to get out of the rain and continue.

The actress, 47, was seen in a floral mini dress and cropped denim jacket and after a quick wave with fans, she ran inside.

As they walked along the street in front of the house, James and Matthew seemed to get along like a house on fire, smiling and waving to fans as they got ready to film.

The pair appeared to have buried the hatchet and appeared as close as ever, years after James discussed their relationship on Piers Morgan’s Life Stories in 2011, where he admitted they had grown apart.

Alison, who plays Gavin’s mother Pam, made quite an entrance as she was seen climbing out of a car in a bright pink floral patterned blouse and white trousers, alongside Adrian Scarborough, who sported a beard for his upcoming scenes.

Melanie Walters, who plays Stacey’s mother Gwen, looked cheerful but didn’t stay out for long as she took cover to escape the rain.

The actress, known for cooking omelettes in the kitchen, wore a skirt with turquoise, green and pink floral patterns, an off-white T-shirt and a light blue cardigan.

While Julia Davis as Dawn Sutcliffe gave a thumbs up to waiting fans and bundled up in a black jacket, blue hoodie and leopard pattern dress.

Rob Brydon, who plays Uncle Bryn, was also on set alongside Robert Wilfort who plays Stacey’s brother Jason – meaning viewers could eventually find out what happened during their infamous fishing trip.

The characters have a long-standing secret about something that happened during a trip together.

The fishing trip is a running joke throughout the show and references a meeting between Bryn and Jason.

The incident is so embarrassing that the couple can’t talk about it and avoid eye contact when it comes up.

The only clues given are that the pair were on their knees, that it was a cold night, that it was legal in Britain and that, according to Dace Coaches, it defied the laws of gravity.

Last week the cast confirmed they had finished filming scenes on the famous Trinity Street, which serves as the backdrop to the homes of both Stacey and Gavin, her mother Gwen and uncle Bryn.

The last Christmas special was in 2019 and was left with a huge cliffhanger when Nessa proposed to Smithy

“You haven’t seen anything because we’ve been inside, which shows that you are truly dedicated fans of the show and we hope you won’t be disappointed on Christmas Day when all will be revealed,” Ruth told fans.

“This is our farewell to Barry and to Trinity Street, so you won’t see us here again, but we’ve had a wonderful 17 years, it’s been fantastic.”

James added: “Thank you so much to everyone, we’ll see you soon.”

It comes after it was reported that bosses were forced to implement extra security measures to keep the Christmas special under wraps after much of the script was leaked.