Emotional James Corden fights back tears while discussing Gavin and Stacey final and very last line of iconic show
EMOTIONAL James Corden fought back tears while discussing Gavin and Stacey’s upcoming final and the show’s very last line.
James, 46, grew visibly emotional on Friday’s installment of The Graham Norton Show while appearing with his co-star and creator Ruth Jones, 58, to discuss the Christmas special.
The Smithy actor was moved after host Graham quizzed him on the dynamics of filming the comeback episode.
The comedian had said, “What was it like at the end? Did it feel like the end? Were you all crying? Was it really emotional, or is it going to hit you later on that it’s over?”
James replied, “It was a very, very special day. We really kind of scheduled the show so that the very last line that we’ll ever hear in the episode is the last thing we shot.”
He added with a smile, “Which anyone will tell you is so rare that you ever do. Normally, your last day, you’re out on a motorway on your own in a car, and people go, ‘Well done,’ and you go, ‘Bye then.’
“But we really felt like we wanted everybody to be there at the very, very end, and it was just a lot of tears.”
James also spoke about his co-star Joanna Page, 47, who plays Stacey, and her emotional reaction during filming.
He joked, “Joanna basically cried every day. Anytime that you might want to feel like, ‘Oh, I’m just enjoying us being together,’ Joanna would come up and go, ‘Oh my God, can you believe this is the last time we’re ever going to be at Gwen’s?’
“Or, ‘I just realised it’s the last time I’m ever going to wear Stacey’s shoes.’ And that was basically it for six weeks. It’s been a lot of goodbyes.”
Speaking about a private event for the special held earlier in the week, James said, “We had a screening two days ago, which is the first time anybody has seen it, and that was a lot of tears.
“It’s been a very, very emotional thing to do, really.”
When Graham asked if they planned to watch the episode on Christmas Day, Ruth confirmed, “Yeah, we’re going to watch it together.”
James added, “With our families, it’s how we watched the last one.”
The Gavin and Stacey Christmas special, running for 90 minutes, will serve as the final chapter in the beloved comedy, which first aired on BBC Three in 2007.
The show, spanning three series and 20 episodes, followed the long-distance relationship of Gavin, from Essex, and Stacey, from South Wales, along with the dynamics between their families.
Over the years, the series has cemented its place in fans’ hearts and turned its cast members, including Mathew Horne and Joanna, into household names.
And, while fans won’t get to see Gavin and Stacey return to the small screen after Christmas Day, James and Ruth recently revealed they’re writing a new book about the show.
When Gavin Met Stacey and Everything in Between: A Story Of Love And Friendship will be published in autumn 2025.
It will share for the first time how the pair turned their little comedy into a full-on cultural phenomenon.
The pair said: “We’re so excited to be sharing the story behind the story of Gavin and Stacey.
“The show has played a huge part in our twenty-five-year friendship and we hope this book will give readers a fresh insight into how it all came about.”
According to the publisher, the book will feature never-before-heard stories and behind the scenes gossip.
James and Ruth will also recount the rejection, obstacles and challenges they faced on the way to giving birth to their beloved comedy creation and also explore their own real-life friendship.
Bill Scott-Kerr from publisher Transworld said: “We are so excited to be publishing this joyous book.
“Seeing the creative chemistry between Ruth and James up close is an inspiration in itself and a real insight into the fission which made Gavin and Stacey the cultural phenomenon that it is.
“It’s also inspiring to see how a friendship can translate into something which feels so wonderfully universal and profoundly true.”
The Gavin and Stacey Christmas special 2019 ended on a huge cliff-hanger, with Nessa proposing to Smithy and fans were left begging to know what happened next.
Asked by the Radio Times if this will be addressed in the new episode, Mathew, who plays Gavin, said: “I doubt – very much doubt – that anything will happen.
“It would be nice to find out whether Smithy and Nessa do get married, but I don’t think we ever will find out.”
Gavin and Stacey's Best Moments
With the news that the show is set to make an exciting return to screens, let's take a look at some of the comedy programme's biggest and best moments...
- Smithy and Rudi’s American Boy rap – No one will ever forget when James Corden and Sheridan Smith rapped perfectly word for word the Kanye West and Estelle hit American Boy as they walked across the car park on the phone to Gavin.
- Pam’s Vegetarian faux pas – Despite loving a cheesburger, Pam found herself caught up in a web of unexpected lies when she claimed to be Vegetarian. She is forced to keep up the secret throughout the entire show and uses hubby Mick to help her scoff meat. She is later rumbled when Stacey catches her in the act as she scoffs ham in the kitchen. Stacey says to her: “Is that ham, Pam!?… “I’ve seen you, Pam. A scotch egg here, a bit of bacon there, putting those regular sausages into the Linda McCartney box”.
- THAT fishing trip – It remains one of the biggest mysteries in Gavin and Stacey history as to just exactly what did happen on the ill-fated fishing trip. Bryn appears to be hiding a secret as to an occurance between him and his nephew Jason which has left relations fractures. Ness’ on-off boyfriend, Dave, is the only other person to know the whole truth. Bryn did appear to allude to him and Jason lying together naked to keep warm as he said to Dave: “We’re going to have this out, once and for all, man to man, you may know what happened, David, but you don’t know why it happened! It was freezing cold, it was! And when you are that cold…”
- Islands in the Stream – No one can ever forget the classic Karaoke performance of Islands in the Stream. Nessa and Bryn performed the track in front of all their nearest and dearest. It saw the whole pub burst into some line-dancing as they enjoyed a boozy night out.
- The Xmas special proposal – In 2019, fans were left overjoyed when the show made a comeback but it ended on the ultimate cliffhanger. Nessa asked Smithy if she would marry him as she finally laid bare her feelings for him. Fans were gutted as the show then cut straight to the credits as they never found out just how Smithy answered. Will all be revealed in the brand new episode?
However, fans will notice their character’s have never snogged on screen.
Speaking to The Sun, Ruth explained why and told us: “You’ll also notice that Nessa and Smithy have never kissed, because there is no way me and James could do it.”
The pair met on the early noughties show, Fat Friends and were firm friends ever since.
The BBC‘s official synopsis reads: “It’s five years since we left Nessa down on one knee declaring her love for Smithy and asking him to marry her. And a lot has happened in those five years.
But that’s not the only question fans want answered because they have also wondered what really happened on Uncle Bryn and his nephew Jason’s fishing trip.
The story has been teased ever since the first series, but we have never found out the secret.
The mystery began in series one at Gavin and Stacey’s wedding reception with Jason attempting to clear the air with Bryn outside the venue.
He said: “I never told anyone, you know. And besides, it wasn’t a big deal. Lots of people do it, it’s not against the law.”
- Gavin and Stacey: The Finale will air Christmas Day at 9pm on BBC One and iPlayer.