Gavin and Stacey Christmas special announced! Everything we know so far…

Ruth Jones on what's occurin' in Gavin & Stacey

‘Ruth Jones and I have been keeping this secret for a while…’ says star James Corden

The BBC has announced a one-off Gavin and Stacey Christmas special for this festive season - the first episode of the hugely popular comedy in almost a decade.

Matthew Horne (Gavin), Joanna Page (Stacey), James Corden (Smithy), Ruth Jones (Nessa), Larry Lamb (Mick), Rob Brydon (Bryn), Melanie Walters (Gwen) and Alison Steadman (Pam) will all be back.

Creators Ruth Jones and James Corden said: “Over the last ten years we’ve talked a lot about Gavin and Stacey - where they might be today and what their lives might look like. And so in secret we took the plunge and wrote this one hour special.

“We’ve loved revisiting Barry and Essex again and bringing the characters back together has been a joy. We’re so excited to get the chance to work with our fabulous cast and crew once more and to give fans of the show a festive treat this Christmas. Thank you BBC for helping to make this happen.”

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James Corden tweeted the first page of the script, saying: “Ruth Jones and I have been keeping this secret for a while… We’re excited to share it with you. See you on Christmas Day.”

Joanne Page also sounded thrilled about the prospect of a new Gavin and Stacey Christmas special, tweeting: "I'm so excited! It's happening. See you at Christmas !!!!"

The BBC said it will announce further details in due course. It’s not clear at the moment if Sheridan Smith will be reprising her role as Rudi, Smithy’s little sister.

Gavin and Stacey originally ran over three series (plus a Christmas special) from 2007 to 2010.

Charlotte Moore, Director of BBC Content, says: “Everyone at the BBC is hugely excited to be welcoming back Gavin and Stacey to BBC1 this Christmas. We can’t wait to see what’s happened to everyone over the last nine years, and what’s next for one of the nation’s favourite comedy families.”

The Gavin and Stacey Christmas special will be shown on Christmas Day.

David is the What To Watch Editor and has over 20 years of experience in television journalism. He is currently writing about the latest television and film news for What To Watch.

Before working for What To Watch, David spent many years working for TV Times magazine, interviewing some of television's most famous stars including Hollywood actor Kiefer Sutherland, singer Lionel Richie and wildlife legend Sir David Attenborough.

David started out as a writer for TV Times before becoming the title's deputy features editor and then features editor. During his time on TV Times, David also helped run the annual TV Times Awards. David is a huge Death in Paradise fan, although he's still failed to solve a case before the show's detective! He also loves James Bond and controversially thinks that Timothy Dalton was an excellent 007.

Other than watching and writing about telly, David loves playing cricket, going to the cinema, trying to improve his tennis and chasing about after his kids!