The Gavin & Stacey finale special lived up to the hype on Christmas Day.
Smithy and co. returned for a one-off Christmas special five years since the last reunion in 2019, and 17 years after the show debuted on BBC.
Alongside the return of Wallace & Gromit, it made for a wonderful evening of TV on BBC on Wednesday night and, as with Wallace & Gromit, there were a few surprises in store for Gavin & Stacey fans.
Set five years after we last met the main characters, fans hoped 'The Finale' would answer the major questions lingering from the 2019 Christmas special. The cliffhanger ending of that special saw Smithy's troublesome fiancée Sonia storm out, with Nessa proposing to Smithy on Christmas Day.
As 'The Finale' began on Wednesday, fans were surprised (and maybe even a little disappointed) to see that Smithy had decided to go through with his engagement to Sonia. (We'll keep any further spoiler talk light for anyone who mightn't have seen the special yet).
Those fans were surely not as surprised as the family of Laura Aikman, who plays Sonia across the two specials.
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Sonia actor kept Gavin & Stacey return secret
Footage of Laura Aikman's family reacting when she appeared on screen in the Gavin & Stacey reunion special was shared on social media on Wednesday night.
Aikman had kept her return a complete secret, with her family evidently believing that her storming out on Christmas Day five years ago was the last part her character had to play in the show.
A pre-show Q&A revealed that Aikman had stayed in different hotels to the rest of the crew to keep her role in the finale a secret, and that she had not notified her family.
Laura Aikman (who played Sonia) didn’t tell her family she was back in Gavin & Stacey until she popped up on the screen last night. #GavinAndStacey pic.twitter.com/EC5lcpywlq
— Scott Bryan (@scottygb) December 26, 2024
The caption on Aikman's post read, 'The moment my family realise Sonia is ruining Christmas again.'
The complete surprise on the faces of Aikman's family is absolutely priceless, and was surely mirrored by many Gavin & Stacey fans watching along on Christmas Day.
With surprises and twists and turns throughout, it's safe to say the Gavin & Stacey Christmas special lived up to the hype and brought the show to a fitting conclusion.
