perfection from beginning to end

Warning: spoilers ahead

Fans have been reacting to the Gavin and Stacey finale, after it aired yesterday (December 25).

• READ MORE: Gavin & Stacey review: a near-perfect celebration of everything that made the show great in the first place

The highly-awaited episode came five years after the last special ended on a cliffhanger with Nessa proposing to Smithy.

In the leadup to its premiere on BBC One and BBC iPlayer last night at 9pm, fans had been speculating what the future held for the couple.

Ruth Jones and James Corden – who co-wrote the series together – had previously hinted that the pair may not end up together in the finale, with Jones saying” “I keep telling people this finale might not be what you are expecting, and I guarantee we will definitely not be coming back.”

Corden added: “What people are going to see on Christmas Day is the culmination of a 20-year love story, which hopefully shows, if nothing else, that love is complicated and messy and for everyone.”

Joanna Page and Ruth Jones filming the Gavin and Stacey Christmas Day special. CREDIT: Ben Birchall/PA Images via Getty Images

When last night’s episode began, many fans were shocked to see Cordon’s Smithy planning a wedding with Laura Aikman’s Sonia, rather than Jones’s Nessa.

However, the wedding ultimately didn’t go ahead when Mathew Horne’s Gavin interrupted the ceremony to tell his best friend he was making a mistake – which the entire party seemed to agree with.

Smithy then leaves Sonia at the alter and rushes to meet Nessa before she departs on a boat from Southhampton. There, he professes his love to her and proposes.

“We’re messy and not perfect,” he told her, echoing Cordon’s aforementioned teasers. “But I love you Nessa and I always have,” he continued. “Well, not always, but most of the time… I love you, will you marry me?”

To the delight of fans, she said yes, and the episode ended with a casual wedding with the series’ main stars in attendance.

Viewers have since been reacting on social media, with one calling the episode “iconic”, and another adding the show is “a staple of British heritage.”

Elsewhere, one fan said they had “goosebumps” after watching, and another wrote: “Seventeen years later, and they still delivered perfection. Gavin & Stacey has gone down as one of the best British/Welsh series of all time. James and Ruth, this was perfection from beginning to end, thank you.”

Check out more reactions below.

The vape and the cigarette, the corn on the cob reference, Pete and dawn arguing, Neil… the baby, Dave coaches, the West Ham football kits, smithy’s sister 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼 iconic #gavinandstaceythefinale

— 🦄🌈🌸amy (@amytalker) December 25, 2024

For an hour and half the whole of Britain went on that journey. Shock, drama, tears and a happy ending.

A staple of British heritage. #GavinAndStacey #gavinandstaceythefinale pic.twitter.com/L9yqAWzT4p

— Zach Lowe 🔰 (@Zach_mech) December 25, 2024

THAT’S LITERALLY OUR ROYAL FAMILY #gavinandstaceythefinale pic.twitter.com/DDn1ki2Xxo

— ✧.* ❄︎ bucket hat honeyₜₛ (@notusanymorebws) December 25, 2024

Seventeen years later, and they still delivered perfection. Gavin & Stacey has gone down as one of the best British/Welsh series of all time. James and Ruth, this was perfection from beginning to end, thank you.#GavinAndStacey #gavinandstaceythefinale #jamescorden #ruthjones pic.twitter.com/dvx6vYOvMM

— Ben (@benrdavis) December 25, 2024

The nation when smithy and nessq finally got married #gavinandstaceythefinale #GavinAndStacey pic.twitter.com/dVf1scfdpG

— tasha louise ♡ (@eds_afterglow) December 25, 2024

everything that makes the show what it is in less than a minute 🥺 #GavinAndStacey #gavinandstaceythefinale pic.twitter.com/fYCW4x18f7

— is it sammy? 🌙 (@sapphicsukeve) December 25, 2024

mick calling smithy his and pam’s second son had me SOBBING. family 😢 #GavinAndStacey #gavinandstaceythefinale pic.twitter.com/Fja2x7FMNU

— is it sammy? 🌙 (@sapphicsukeve) December 25, 2024

The whole group slowly standing up and then Smithy asking for Mick’s approval has gave me goosebumps #GavinAndStacey #gavinandstaceythefinale pic.twitter.com/8BlzUW77mI

— Emily O’Neill (@emilyroseon) December 25, 2024

Fans have also reacted to the inclusion of Charli XCX‘s ‘Club Classics’ from her 2024 album ‘Brat‘ in the episode’s soundtrack. “club classics by charli xcx on gavin and stacey after james corden got his trousers pulled down. cracking telly that,” one fan wrote.

club classics by charli xcx on gavin and stacey after james corden got his trousers pulled down. cracking telly that

— mini (the muppet) (@minisversion) December 25, 2024

bryn just pantsed smithy on gavin and stacey while charli xcx club classics was playing pic.twitter.com/zfNAhXyWU3

— jack shep (@jackshepbaby) December 25, 2024

charli xcx on gavin and stacey pic.twitter.com/M7ra7y7T7i

— mj (@bigdybbukenergy) December 25, 2024

One detail excluded from the final episode, though, was the truth about what happened during an infamous fishing trip between Uncle Bryn, played by Rob Brydon, and his nephew Jason West, played by Robert Wilfort.

Prior to the episode airing, a trailer hinted that one of the biggest mysteries in the show would be resolved, with Gwen (Melanie Walters) confronting her brother-in-law and son over the incident, saying: “30 years ago, you two went on a fishing trip that almost tore this family apart!”

But the finale did not reveal the mystery in the end, with Wilfort previously saying: “I’d like to say now and forever, the joke has always been you don’t find out.”

Me going to bed still not knowing what happened on that fishing trip #gavinandstaceythefinale #GavinAndStacey pic.twitter.com/gEwxJaM1eR

— Olivia Brown (@Oliviabrown_20) December 25, 2024

Reports of the finale were first leaked in February, before Jones and Corden officially confirmed the news in May. It was filmed across September and October.

In other news, ahead of the episode airing, Horne defended Corden and addressed rumours of a feud between the pair, saying: “the notion of us falling out wasn’t true”. He described it as a false narrative that “silenced” him when he wanted to talk publicly about Corden.

You can view the original article HERE.