Published by Mason Oldridge, 3 January 2025
CONTAINS SPOILERS!
12 million viewers tuned in on Christmas Day to see if Smithy said “yes” to Nessa five years ago as the legendary sitcom wraps up after 17 years.
The finale opens with preparations for Smithy’s wedding… to Sonia. We learn that Nessa’s proposal went unanswered after Gavin interrupted and it was never mentioned again. Elsewhere, Gavin and Stacey try out roleplaying and Gwen has a new mystery man.
There are some funny comedy moments throughout the feature-length episode such as Smithy oversleeping for his stag events and resolving to have his arm broken as the only reasonable explanation to his fiancé, Pete’s dread over getting back together with Dawn, Bryn’s reaction to the reveal that Dave Coaches is Gwen’s new partner and how everyone who encouraged Gavin to speak up goes quiet when he eventually does so at the ceremony.
However, there were less comedic moments as the priority for the finale was properly concluding the much-loved series, which it successfully does so. After an emotional scene in which growing audience members proclaim their disapproval of Smithy and Sonia’s wedding, Sonia angrily tells Smithy that he won’t find anyone better than her, to which he replies “I already did, 17 years ago in Leicester Square” in a truly tear-jerking moment. A race to Southampton Docks then pursues with the gang aboard Dave’s coach for Smithy to confess his love to Nessa before she sets sail on a cargo ship for work. Refusing to propose again, Smithy is the one who gets down on one knee this time as we fast-forward to the wedding we all wanted to see this Christmas. The episode ends with the group photographed together and the series has nicely wrapped everything up. Well, except for finding out what happened on the fishing trip, but I think we can allow for that!
Focusing on two down-to-Earth families as their lives overlap thanks to the titular couple’s blossoming romance, Gavin & Stacey is one of the most successful sitcoms of all time and it is easy to see why its perfect finale drew overwhelming viewing figures.
10/10