December 19th 2024.
It's been five years since Gavin and Stacey left us on the edge of our seats with that epic cliffhanger. You know the one - when Nessa shocked us all and popped the question to Smithy. It was one of the greatest cliffhangers of all time, leaving us all desperate to know what would happen next. But now, Ruth Jones, who has played Nessa for an impressive 17 years, has revealed why she couldn't bring herself to recreate that moment again.
Nessa and Smithy's on-again, off-again romance has been a central plot throughout the show's 22 episodes. And the last time we saw them, they were once again struggling to define their relationship. Despite Smithy moving on with Sonia, he ended up back in bed with Nessa on Christmas Day in Barry Island. And when Sonia abruptly left, overwhelmed by the chaotic Wests and Shipmans, Nessa took the opportunity to propose to Smithy. And just as Smithy was about to give his answer, the credits rolled, leaving fans hanging for five long years.
But at a special screening of the highly anticipated Gavin and Stacey finale, Ruth joked that she wouldn't be able to recreate that iconic proposal moment. "It took me a little while to get up off my knees, and to be quite honest with you, I don't think I could get down on one knee now," she chuckled, speaking on stage at London's Ham Yard Hotel.
For fans, the wait for the conclusion of the characters' stories has been a long one. But for Ruth, one of the most emotional aspects of the show's success has been the recurring theme of love. "What has remained throughout all of the episodes is this sense of love," she explained, her voice wavering with emotion. "Love between friends, love between family members, conventional boy meets girl love stories, and unconventional relationships." She went on to say that the lack of cynicism in the show has also been a constant, with all the characters genuinely caring for each other.
Ruth and James Corden, who co-created the show together, have been on an incredible journey with Gavin and Stacey. And during the screening, Ruth took a moment to thank James for being her "travel companion" on this wonderful ride. James, in turn, expressed his gratitude for having the chance to work with someone who makes writing such a joy. "I love you very much," he said, concluding with a heartfelt, "I'm very proud of all of it."
The beloved show tells the story of Gavin Shipman from Essex and Stacey West from Barry Island, and the joining of their families. Thanks to the hilarious scripts and top-notch acting, it quickly amassed a huge fanbase. But after three seasons, Ruth and James decided to bring the show to a close in 2010. James has since revealed that one of the reasons they decided to stop was that their "absolute dream" had already come true with the initial Christmas special two years earlier. "That was enough for us," he said.
He went on to explain that they also felt they had told enough of the story and were struggling to come up with new scenarios for the characters to meet. "We really felt like we'd probably told enough of the story, and if we're honest with ourselves, we were finding it hard to construct ways for the families to keep meeting up," he shared. James and Ruth felt that the show was at its best when these situations occurred.
But for fans, the wait for the final episodes was well worth it. However, there was also another reason for the delay - it took James and Ruth some time to get on the same page. "I think we both had various points where we talked about doing it, and for one reason or another, Ruth may have said, 'I think we should do it now.' And I was like, 'I don't know,'" James recalled. "Then I can remember a moment where I was like, 'I really think we should do this and write it.' And Ruth was like, 'I just don't feel in the right headspace,' or 'it's not the right timeline.'"
Eventually, last summer, they agreed to have a FaceTime conversation solely about the show, rather than their usual friendly catch-up. And to their surprise, they both had the same idea. So in September 2023, they finally got together and began writing. And according to James, it felt like the characters were speaking through them, rather than them being in control of the story. Once they had 70 pages of script, they contacted the BBC to see if they would be interested.
For fans, the wait for the conclusion of the characters' stories with a special in 2019 and the finale in 2024 has been a test of patience. But for James, it's also a lesson in what we should be valuing. "Here's a show that ended 15 years ago, waited 10 years to tell another hour of their story, and waited five more years to end it," he reflected. "Maybe the lesson for all of us - for people that write about television, for people that talk about television, for people that write television - is that time, patience, and care might be the answer to things having longevity outside of what we consume on our phones."
And now, the wait is finally over. Gavin and Stacey will return to the BBC for one final time on Christmas Day, bringing an end to a truly iconic and beloved show. As Ruth and James have shown us, good things come to those who wait.
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