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Gavin And Stacey finale: Will Smithy say yes to Nessa?

The hit show aired for three series and returned for a Christmas special in 2019, but left viewers with many questions.

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Ruth Jones and James Corden

Gavin And Stacey is set to return to our screens on Christmas Day for one final episode.

The show, co-written by James Corden and Ruth Jones, was an almost instant hit and followed the lives of “Essex boy” Gavin (Mathew Horne) and Stacey (Joanna Page), from Barry, Wales.

It aired for three series and returned for a Christmas special in 2019, but left viewers with many questions.

Mathew Horne, Joanna Page, Alison Steadman, Ruth Jones, Laura Aikman, Rob Brydon, Robert Wilfort, Larry Lamb and guest with the impact award for Gavin And Stacey, Christmas Special at the National Television Awards in 2020
Mathew Horne, Joanna Page, Alison Steadman, Ruth Jones, Laura Aikman, Rob Brydon, Robert Wilfort, Larry Lamb and guest with the impact award for Gavin And Stacey, Christmas Special at the National Television Awards in 2020 (Ian West/PA)

Here is a round-up of the questions that remain unanswered:

– Will Smithy and Nessa finally get together?

The ending of the 2019 episode left viewers with big questions: did Smithy (Corden) accept Nessa’s (Jones) proposal and will we see the characters married when we next see them on screen?

Nessa and Smithy had a tumultuous relationship throughout the series. After sleeping together on-and-off, they had their son “Baby Neil” and began raising him between Wales and Essex.

The 2019 special finished on a cliff-hanger, with Nessa finally proposing to Smithy, but the episode ended before viewers heard Smithy’s answer.

– Will the secrets of the infamous ‘fishing trip’ finally come out?

Joanna Page, Rob Brydon and James Corden with the programme of the year award for Gavin And Stacey at the British Academy Television Awards in 2008
Joanna Page, Rob Brydon and James Corden with the programme of the year award for Gavin And Stacey at the British Academy Television Awards in 2008 (Yui Mok/PA)

The “fishing trip” was one of the enduring mysteries on Gavin And Stacey, but viewers have never been told what actually happened on the trip.

Stacey’s uncle, Gwyn, (Rob Brydon) and his nephew, Jason (Robert Wilfort), allude to the events of the “fishing trip”, but all viewers know is that the two men were close before the incident and rarely spoke after it.

– How many jobs has Ruth Jones’s Nessa really done?

Fan favourite Nessa has had an array of jobs on the show. It has been referenced that she worked as a news producer at the BBC, a driver and a Santa impersonator, among several other jobs.

How she came to have so many occupations is still a mystery to viewers, as is whether Nessa is telling the truth about what she has really done.

– How will Pam feel now that Camilla Parker Bowles is the Queen?

Smithy’s mother, Essex housewife Pam, played by Alison Steadman, was a devoted fan of Camilla Parker Bowles throughout the series.

Alison Steadman, James Corden and Melanie Walters celebrate with the comedy award for Gavin And Stacey at the National Television Awards in 2010
Alison Steadman, James Corden and Melanie Walters celebrate with the comedy award for Gavin And Stacey at the National Television Awards in 2010 (Zak Hussein/PA)

Pam’s love for Camilla does not extend to Diana, Princess of Wales, however, as she even went as far as to describe her as a “hussy”.

While Gavin And Stacey was airing, Camilla was not yet the Queen. In the new episode, viewers will finally see how Pam feels about her beloved royal becoming Queen.

– Is Pam a vegetarian?

Pam’s struggle to maintain her vegetarianism is one of the most famous jokes from the hit BBC show, after she changed her diet to impress Stacey’s family.

Her quest to stay a vegetarian, in the face of “Western civilised greed”, ultimately failed though. Stacey caught Pam in her lie when she spotted her eating ham. Pam eventually abandoned her vegetarianism in the Christmas special.

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