Gavin and Stacey co-creator Ruth Jones plays down rumours about ...

Image source, PA Media

All the original cast returned for the Christmas special

By Noor Nanji

Culture reporter

What's occurring? Gavin and Stacey is coming back after five years... or is it?

On Tuesday, US TV and film website Deadline reported that the hit sitcom is set to return to the screens for a one-off special in December, sending the rumour mill into overdrive.

However, there has been no official confirmation by BBC Studios.

Some cast members appear to be in the dark. Asked about the report on BBC Morning Live on Wednesday, Steffan Rhodri, who plays Dave, said he had "no knowledge to impart".

"I've heard there was a rumour, I never know where they start and I certainly don't know where they'll end," he added.

TV critic Scott Bryan thinks it could simply be "a bit too early" to get a definitive answer about an episode that is supposed to happen this Christmas.

"It's still only February," he says. "If the speculation is true, I would expect an announcement like this to be happening more around April, May or June."

There have also been press reports that Gavin and Stacey's return is at the centre of a bidding war, with the Sun claiming Netflix is trying to wrestle it away from the BBC. Netflix has indicated that is not the case.

Bryan suggests the leak could have been tactical, if it was intended to drum up interest in the show.

"We don't know if someone has told Deadline as a way of trying to build up some support for it, and streamer interest - or it could be that Deadline found out about the story from a trusted source and then did great sourcing to back it up," he says.

You could certainly understand why a streaming platform might be interested, given the success of Gavin and Stacey's last Christmas special in 2019.

That episode was the UK's most-watched scripted TV programme of the 2010s, with 17.1 million viewers.

That made it the most-watched comedy since the Only Fools and Horses Christmas special in 2002, which was seen by 17.4 million people.

Only sporting events and the 2010 X Factor final were watched by more people during the 2010s.

Other older programmes like Friends have done extremely well on streaming services, which could also drive platforms' interest in Gavin and Stacey.

But the BBC would also fight hard to retain it, Bryan says.

"For the BBC it's one of their biggest shows. You can understand why they'd want to keep it," he says.

"It's such a British show and has a huge fan base," adds Rachel Aroesti, a TV critic for the Guardian. "You would assume they'd want to keep it it on the BBC."

The BBC has also already confirmed that Wallace and Gromit are coming back for a Christmas special this year. To have two hugely successful returning shows would clearly be good news for the corporation as it looks to capitalise on festive viewing.

If there is a bidding war between the BBC and the streamers, it could come down to who has deeper pockets.

But Bryan argues that Gavin and Stacey is probably not a particularly expensive programme to make. "If you think about it, it's a pretty traditional sitcom. You have of course got some big names, but they're not the stars that would necessarily attract a huge Hollywood fee."

Co-creator and star James Corden is the biggest name - he's coming fresh from eight years as host of The Late Late Show on US TV.

Gavin and Stacey surely has to return sooner or later, after all. The last special famously ended on a cliffhanger after Nessa, played by co-writer Ruth Jones, proposed to Corden's Smithy.

Did he say yes? Hopefully we will find out this Christmas.

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