Gavin and Stacey will return on Christmas Day, four years after the series came to a close in 2019.

Many of the BBC cast and crew have suggested that the festive special is a one-off, and that fans shouldn’t hold hope of a proper renewal. While the news is bittersweet, show creators Ruth Jones, 58, and James Corden, 46, have shared that they do have something more up their sleeves before leaving Gavin and Stacey in the past for good.

The talented comedians have joined together to write a novel, ‘When Gavin Met Stacey and Everything in Between: A Story Of Love And Friendship,’ which will be released in autumn 2025. The book will reveal how Ruth and James turned their sitcom idea into such a beloved show, and will also feature never-before-heard gossip and secret insights from behind the scenes.

“We’re so excited to be sharing the story behind the story of Gavin and Stacey,” the duo announced, according to OK! They added: “The show has played a huge part in our twenty-five-year friendship and we hope this book will give readers a fresh insight into how it all came about.”

The Gavin and Stacey co-creators have written a book together revealing all of the secrets behind the show, and it’s set to be released next year

This week, actor Adrian Scarborough – who plays Pete on the show – seemed to pretty much confirm that the Christmas special will be the final episode of Gavin and Stacey. Speaking about the odds of a return on the Off the Telly podcast, he spilled: “I like what they put at the end of the script – ‘The End, forever and ever. Amen.’ Also, I think it’s really, really brave to finish things because often I just think things go on a little bit too long.”

He added: “And I think with this, the best thing they could have done was just go, ‘We’ve got an ending.’ Endings are good, moving on and moving onto new projects, which hopefully we’ll all be in.”

While Adrian’s firm words may have made the end of Gavin and Stacey seem absolute, fellow actor Larry Lamb – who plays Mick Shipman – revealed that there would still be plenty of surprises on Christmas Day. He divulged: “For all the people who have been watching religiously since the show started, you’ve got a trip coming up, I’ll tell you that!

“Everybody is going to get flipped and flipped again because it’s so, so clever, what Ruth and James have done. Having spent a year keeping it all a secret, my big buzz will be watching my family watch it and seeing their reactions.”

Larry hinted that there’ll be some things in store that we could never expect – but the BBC has made some elements of the plot clear. The broadcaster revealed that the upcoming episode will pick up five years on from the last Christmas special, which ended on a cliffhanger and left viewers reeling as Nessa (played by Ruth) proposed to Smithy (played by James).

The BBC teased: “It’s five years since we left Nessa down on one knee declaring her love for Smithy and asking him to marry her. And a lot has happened in those five years.”