Who is Laura Aikman? After playing insufferable Sonia in Gavin & Stacey… a look at her life and career from Casualty to confidential voluntary work and a cameo in Doctors

It was the ending Gavin & Stacey fans were waiting for.

After 17 years, nineteen episodes and three Christmas specials, Smithy and Nessa finally got married – in front of an astonishing 12.5 million viewers.

But it all happened at the expense of Sonia, the long-term fiancée who would ultimately be rejected at the altar when Smithy realized he was about to make the biggest mistake of his life.

While we’ll never know what became of her, a lot can be said about Laura Aikman, the talented actress responsible for bringing Sonia to life.

Gavin & Stacey fans were already familiar with the 39-year-old star, who was originally introduced in 2019 as Smithy’s insufferable girlfriend.

But her acting credits go far beyond the hugely popular sitcom, with Aikman previously appearing in a series of high-profile TV shows.

As Sonia, she was rejected at the altar during the Gavin & Stacey finale when Smithy realized he was about to make the biggest mistake of his life

She was born on Christmas Eve 1985 and was introduced to film, television and theater at a young age through actor parents Stuart Aikman and Jean Heard.

She attended an all-girls school in Elstree and won her first role in the 1996 film Surviving Picasso, in which she starred alongside acting greats Sir Anthony Hopkins and Julianne Moore.

Four years later, in 2000, she starred in an episode of the long-running hospital drama Casualty – the catalyst for a series of guest roles, including appearances in The Bill, Doctors and That Mitchell And Webb Look.

But in 2009 she landed the first of two recurring roles, as Lucy in the hit BBC Three series Personal Affairs and, importantly, in a return to Casualty, this time as Nurse May Phelps.

A third major TV role came in 2016, when Aikman was cast as Lorna Hutchinson for the tenth series of BBC drama Waterloo Road.

Fans will also recognize her from Keith Lemon: The Film, in which she played Rosie.

Other TV roles include guest appearances in Death In Paradise, Pramface, Citizen Khan and Bluestone 42 – where she met her husband Matt Kennard in 2015.

Kennard, an actor in his own right best known for his recurring role on Doctors, will soon be seen in Andrew Garfield and Florence Pugh’s upcoming film, We Live in Time.

Aikam played famous nurse May Phelps in the long-running BBC hospital drama Casualty

Aikman appeared in 24 episodes of Casualty between 2009 and 2019 (pictured in the show)

Aikman with her husband Matt Kennard (left) and fellow Gavin & Stacey star Russell Tovey (center) in 2019 – the year they exchanged vows

Playing Dyan Cannon in Archie – a recent TV biopic about the life and times of Hollywood legend Cary Grant

Outside of film, television and theater, Aikman — who exchanged vows with Kennard in 2019 — has also lent her voice to numerous video games, most notably the Final Fantasy franchise, in which she voices Lyse and Eloise.

The versatile star has also appeared in numerous theater productions, including Shakespeare’s Henry V – in which she played Princess Catherine – and Bugsy Malone.

Aikman, an advocate for mental health support, volunteered in 2022 with Shout 85258, a confidential text support service.

Gavin and Stacey: The Finale attracted a whopping 12.5 million viewers, becoming the most watched show on Christmas Day.

Viewers had waited five years to learn the fate of the BBC sitcom’s beloved characters and to see if Smithy had accepted Nessa’s proposal.

The final episode was praised as ‘perfect’ by viewers, who were left in tears when the long-running show finally aired its final episode after 17 years.

The BBC won the battle of the channels when it came to viewing figures, as 10 million people also watched the return of Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl.

EastEnders did well with 8.7 million people watching Cindy Beale left for dead after being hit with a shovel in the two-part episode. By comparison, just 2.8 million people watched Gail Platt’s latest episode on ITV’s Coronation Street.