Future of Gavin & Stacey revealed as BBC bosses ‘live in hope’ of spin-off show after finale pulls in 12.5m viewers
BBC bosses want to make a Gavin & Stacey spin-off show after the finale scored the highest Christmas Day TV audience for 16 years.
A peak of 12.5 million saw Nessa and Smithy get hitched in the sitcom’s highly anticipated conclusion.
Millions more are expected to have watched on catch-up.
Insiders say execs are keen to coax more material from co-writers James Corden and Ruth Jones.
A source said: “It would be madness to close the door on such a hit.”
The spin-off could come in the form of a sitcom following warring couple Dawn and Pete, insiders said.
A TV source said: “James and Ruth are adamant this is the last of Gavin & Stacey. But, when a programme achieves such results, execs will always hope for more.
“At the end of the day, ratings talk and it would be madness to close the door on such a hit forever when fans loved it so much.
“Bosses have had casual discussions about whether options like a Pete and Dawn spin-off could work.
‘Bosses live in hope’
“They were always more separate to the main group and a new universe could be developed which didn’t involve any of the core cast, so James and Ruth’s involvement could be a little different.”
The 2019 Christmas special, when Nessa, played by Ruth, proposed to Smithy (James) was supposed to be the final episode. But The Sun then sensationally revealed the gang were coming back five years on.
Our source went on: “No one thought James and Ruth would ever return following 2019’s special, so it’s definitely considered a ‘never say never’ situation and bosses live in hope.
“Even when news of this Christmas special broke, Ruth denied it publicly, so any plans will always be shrouded in secrecy.
“At this point they are rightly so proud of what they delivered and why would they risk ruining it all? But no one can be blamed for one day hoping for more.”
The BBC last night said there were no plans for a spin-off.
Christmas Day’s classic finale saw Nessa and Smithy get the happy ending fans were hoping for. But other characters have obvious room for more, after Pete and Dawn Sutcliffe divorced then were reunited.
There is also Stacey’s mum Gwen West finding love with Nessa’s ex Dave Coaches. Fan favourites such as Smithy’s sister Rudi and his mates Budgie, Chinese Alan and Fingers are also candidates.
The BBC has had huge success with spin-offs that are based within the same “universe” as a popular show, such as Beyond Paradise and now Return To Paradise for cop show Death In Paradise.
The source said: “As with any big shows, options are always discussed in planning meetings and there are obvious options within Gavin & Stacey.
“It’s all down to James and Ruth whether anything will be developed, though.”
The 2024 special surpassed its 2019 predecessor by more than half a million viewers. Yesterday, photos were released of the cast and crew posing for final photos on set.
Charlotte Moore, BBC’s Chief Content Officer, said: “Ruth Jones and James Corden created a magical finale fans will treasure forever.
“Their exquisitely written comedy creation is a show all about family, love and joy and it proved to be the unmissable TV event of the year.”
The special was packed with twists and big reveals, kicking off with the dreaded Sonia being Smithy’s bride-to-be at the start of the episode, not Nessa.
Christmas Day on the BBC brought people together in their millions.
Charlotte Moore
Actress Laura Aikman, who plays Sonia, told on the night how she kept it a secret from loved ones.
She posted a video of her family gasping when she appeared. Laura wrote: “I take an NDA (non-disclosure agreement) very seriously! The moment my family realise Sonia is ruining Christmas again.”
The finale crowned an epic Christmas Day for the BBC, which had all the top ten most-watched programmes.
The return of Wallace & Gromit with Vengeance Most Fowl drew in the next biggest tally, with a peak of ten million, followed by stalwarts including Call The Midwife, Doctor Who and Strictly.
ITV’s best efforts came from The Chase’s celebrity special with 2.9 million and Freddie Flintoff’s Bullseye special on 2.4 million.
Ms Moore said: “Christmas Day on the BBC brought people together in their millions. I’m very proud the line-up was a showcase for the very best in British storytelling.”
Ally Ross' verdict on the finale
IT’S not Gavin & Stacey’s fault, but I’d started hating the Christmas special long before it came to screen.
A resentment you can probably put down to personal failings and the fact that rolling news, the print media and even the BBC’s main bulletins seemed to be hyping the 90-minute episode’s expectations way beyond a point it could possibly deliver.
Without anything else worth watching on Christmas Day, since the last Gavin & Stacey special in 2019, the longing was as understandable as it was damning, I suppose.
But for the first half, at least, it seemed like all the pre-publicity had been a dreadful miscalculation.
The storyline was going nowhere and everyone, bar James Corden and Ruth Jones, who’ve written themselves the two best parts, seemed to be performing instead of acting, to an annoying degree in the cases of Rob “Bryn” Brydon and Alison “Pam” Steadman.
They clearly knew something we didn’t, though. Because, as soon as Smithy and Sonia’s abortive wedding scene kicked in, everything made perfect sense.
It was an old-fashioned love story that had momentum, heart, soul, staggeringly good stars, Anna Maxwell Martin and Sheridan Smith, and also the good sense to flag up its own plot holes, on the final chase to Southampton Docks.
As I’m sure the whole audience was screaming “Give her a ring,” long before Joanna Page’s Stacey said “I’ll try her on her mobile” and Jason replied “Why didn’t we just call her in the first place?”
They would have looked daft, of course, if the show hadn’t delivered the ending the audience craved and deserved.
But it gave the people what they wanted, a Smithy and Nessa wedding, and spared them from the one thing that infected other significant parts of the BBC’s Christmas Day TV, preachiness.
For there were no gear-crunching references to diversity, as we got in the King’s Speech and EastEnders, nor was there any bleating about the arms trade, as in Doctor Who.
For 90 minutes on Christmas Day, TV was a glorious, happy, woke-free zone again. And if you think the BBC will learn from Gavin & Stacey’s triumph and cut the political lectures in 2025? Well, I’d settle back and watch the Christmas special again and again, if I were you.