James Corden broke down in tears as he said an emotional goodbye to Gavin and Stacey at the show’s premiere, just days before the comedy’s final episode ever hit screens.
17 years after the first episode hit the screen, the finale saw on/off lovers Smithy and Nessa finally declare their love for each other.
It was a fitting end to the couple’s unconventional relationship, which started with a drunken tryst during the show’s first episode.
And during a Q&A with the cast at the premiere last week, James was visibly emotional as he took the stage after watching the final episode unfold.
The presenter co-created the show with long-time friend Ruth Jones, with the pair set to play Smithy and Nessa.
Discussing the show’s final scenes, Ruth said: ‘I’m not going to lie, I’m feeling a bit exhausted. It was so beautiful to watch it with an audience, mainly made up of people who worked on the show.
James Corden broke down in tears as he revealed he wanted Gavin and Stacey’s finale to ‘satisfy’ die-hard fans before reflecting on the ’emotional’ final day of filming
In the show’s finale, on/off lovers Smithy and Nessa finally declared their love for each other in a fitting end to the couple’s unconventional relationship.
“I hope we made you proud and it’s just nice to hear all the reactions because obviously you know when you watch it and we’ve seen it multiple times so for people who are watching it for the first time to hear that The initial reactions were simply wonderful.’
James also hinted at the surprise return of star Laura Aikman, who reprized her role as Smithy’s girlfriend Sonia, in a revelation that was kept secret from viewers until the episode hit screens.
He said: ‘I just want it to feel satisfying, that’s all. Obviously you’re waiting for little key moments like Sonya’s reveal and I think it’s very, very important to say that Laura, who plays Sonia, gives as good a performance as you could ever ask for, and she’s here not today, for fear it is still leaking somehow.
“She stayed in hotels, she went places in the middle of the night, she’s not part of this, that’s her wish and our will to try to protect the feeling we had here, so we really enjoyed giving her a round of applause.’
“An almost impossible task now, and in anyone else’s hands would be a cartoon, and I hope she is celebrated for what is essentially a perfect achievement.”
Gavin and Stacey came to terms with the feature-length finale on Christmas Day, with many viewers quick to hail the ending as ‘perfect’.
The series, which debuted in 2007 after being created by stars James Corden and Ruth Jones, ended with on/off lovers Smithy and Nessa finally declaring their love for each other and tying the knot, but not without a few hiccups along the way.
And during a Q&A with the cast at the premiere last week, James was visibly emotional as he took the stage after watching the final episode unfold.
Ruth admitted: ‘I’m not going to lie, I’m feeling a bit exhausted. It was so beautiful to watch it with an audience, which mainly consisted of people who worked on the show’
James also hinted at the surprise return of star Laura Aikman, who reprized her role as Smithy’s girlfriend Sonia, in a revelation kept secret from viewers.
Smithy was originally going to marry his girlfriend Sonia, revealing he never answered Nessa’s proposal, which formed the cliffhanger of the show’s 2019 Christmas special.
But after the entire Shipman/West clan finally declared that he had made a mistake, Smithy finally declared his love for Nessa and proposed to her in an emotional scene at Southampton Docks.
The episode then cut to Smithy and Nessa finally exchanging vows in an intimate ceremony in Barry, with the series ending with an emotional montage of the family marking the occasion at The Dolphin pub, before posing together for a family snap.
Ruth and James also revealed that their last day of filming was also the last scene viewers watched, making it an emotional day for the entire cast.
James said: ‘On the first program of the show we were done, I think I was going to be in a car on a flatbed by myself and Ruth and I were like ”that can’t be the last day! ”
“And I think this is the only time we’ve been” “we like to have a say in the schedule here,” and it all had to do with people’s dates…
‘This is a huge cast who are all very busy and have different things to do and have juggled a lot of things to do it, but we really felt that the last day should be the last scene and the last line should be the last that we ever photograph.
Fans first fell in love with the series in 2007 (pictured)
Ruth added: “If you look at the script, it’s just the editing, isn’t it? And so we had a whole day, it was quite a luxury because normally you look at the clock and you’re up against it and you have to pack, and we were so blessed that everyone in production created this so that we could have the luxury of a last day where everyone was there and all we had to do was we didn’t really have any lines!
‘It was lovely because it felt like a real wedding, didn’t it? Like a real wedding with a cafe reception of sorts and we were very grateful that we were pampered, because we were able to do that, because it made such a world of difference that we did that last shot.
“And then on the very last take, when Chris called Cut, she arranged for the sound department to play [Run by Stephen Fretwell, the show’s theme] and that got us all going.”
James added: “It was probably the most emotional film set I’ve been on and it was quite amazing, so many of our crew have been there from the start and so it’s a wonderful way to end it all on a Monday in Barry.’