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Gavin and Stacey's cast will reunite for Christmas, but not on TV

Photo credit: BBC
Photo credit: BBC

From Digital Spy

The question on all Gavin and Stacey fans' lips at the moment seems to be: will there be a brand new Christmas special in 2020?

The BBC released its Christmas Day TV schedule earlier this week (December 1), and it reserved a slot for the British comedy show on Christmas Eve.

This followed recent news that the broadcaster will "one day" be welcoming Gavin and Stacey (and the rest of the beloved characters, of course) back with open arms, as a result of the success of 2019's festive reunion episode. In case you didn't know, it became the most-watched Christmas show of the decade and its shock proposal won Virgin Media's Must-See Moment at the 2020 BAFTAs.

Many may have joined these dots and assumed that 2020's showing would be a brand new instalment – and, by extension, provide an answer to that cliffhanger. But we're afraid, if you were hopeful, we've got some bad news, as this year's Christmas slot will simply be a repeat.

Photo credit: BBC
Photo credit: BBC

The BBC actually previously confirmed that a brand new Gavin and Stacey special wasn't on the cards this year. When this year's festive content was announced, Chief Content Officer Charlotte Moore told BBC News that a follow-up to last year's hugely popular outing to Barry wouldn't be airing in 2020.

"That wasn't something that was going to happen this year," it was revealed.

The appetite is clearly there though, with a comeback being talked about by both the show's cast and fans throughout the year.

The most recent update we've had is from writer and star Ruth Jones herself, who is most certainly best placed to give us an insight. Sadly though, it's not the best of news.

Photo credit: BBC
Photo credit: BBC

"There aren't any plans to write anything, James is in America, I am in Wales," she told Eamonn Holmes and Ruth Langsford on This Morning in late November. "It's not at the moment – I am sorry not to be able to give you any good news."

While this certainly doesn't rule out a future follow-up, Ruth also underlined her belief that 2019's Christmas special ended on a great note.

"I do think the Christmas special, the joy of our last special is that it ended in such a way that if we never go back to Barry, we will always wonder what happened," she added.

It's not all doom and gloom though. The cast of Gavin and Stacey WILL be having a festive reunion of sorts, only it won't be airing on our telly boxes.

Photo credit: ITV
Photo credit: ITV

Stars of the BBC sitcom Joanna Page and Mathew Horne will be coming together again on Christmas Day, this time for a radio spot on BBC Radio Wales.

Page had been hosting Sunday mornings on the channel, but made a point of saying that "Christmas is a day for sharing" before unveiling her special guest (yep, you guessed it, Horne) on the station's official Twitter account.

"I love working with Jo, I love Wales and I love doing radio," Horne said. "Christmas Day is a special day and, particularly this year, it's been very challenging for a lot of people, so it's nice to feel like we might be bringing a little bit of joy."

As if that wasn't exciting enough, they will also be joined by a few other familiar Gavin and Stacey faces, including Melanie Walters, Larry Lamb, Alison Steadman, Steffan Rhodri, Robert Wilfort and Laura Aikman.

Fans have also been promised a special message from co-creator James Corden.

So if you fancy tuning in for your Gavin and Stacey Christmas fix, the two hour special will start at 12pm on BBC Radio Wales and be available on BBC Sounds.

Gavin and Stacey's 2019 Christmas special is available now on DVD.


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