James Corden shared sweet artwork of his Gavin And Stacey character Smithy with his partner Nessa to his Instagram on Friday hours after confirming the beloved sitcom will return with a Christmas special.
The actor and presenter, 45, sparked hope that his character Smithy accepted Nessa’s proposal with the artwork by Lucy Claire Dunbar.
In the painting, Smithy wraps his arm around Nessa and the two are surrounded by hearts and words below read: ‘Tell me tomorrow, I’ll wait by the window for you’ – the lyrics to the show’s theme song from Stephen Fretwell.
Nessa (who is played by the show’s co-creator Ruth Jones) proposed to Smithy in the 2019 Christmas special.
Viewers never got to hear Smithy’s response as the episode ended on a cliffhanger but, as the couple already share son Neil, fans were hopeful Smithy accepted.
James Corden, 45, shared sweet artwork of his Gavin And Stacey character Smithy with his partner Nessa to his Instagram on Friday hours
It came just hours after he confirmed Gavin And Stacey would return with a Christmas special, also on Instagram
Fans flooded James’s comments section with hopes for the special and questions about the meaning of his post.
They wrote: ‘Tell me at Christmas we will find out what happened on the fishing trip’; ‘Is this a clue’; ‘I can’t wait for the final but I also don’t want it to end ❤️’;
‘OK you can just fast forward to December now for me nothing in-between even matters’; ‘IT’S ALL THE DRAMA MICKKKKKKKK’;
‘I want to watch it and not watch it both in equal measure because watching it will satisfy my need to know what happens next but then watching means it’s really the end.’
Earlier on Friday, James announced Gavin And Stacey’s return by sharing a black and white snap of himself and Ruth holding the upcoming special’s script.
He captioned the post: ‘Some news… It’s official!!! We have finished writing the last ever episode of Gavin and Stacey. See you on Christmas Day, BBC One. Love Ruth and James ❤️.’
It comes after reports that the BBC and Netflix were locked in a bidding war for the rights to air the special.
A source told The Sun: ‘They held conversations with Netflix who threw everything at them to land what is seen as a gem of British comedy.
‘James, Ruth and the team were effectively offered a multi-million pound one-off deal, and were promised it would open the show up to a whole new international audience.
‘Obviously it was tempting, but they felt Gavin and Stacey belonged to the BBC — and the nation, really. The optics wouldn’t have been great had they ‘sold out’ so they went with their hearts, not the cash.’
The source finished by saying James and Ruth are happy with their decision.
Fans flooded James’s comments section with hopes for the special and questions about the meaning of his post
Previously, the series returned for a Christmas Special back in 2019, but ended on a jaw-dropping cliffhanger when Nessa (Ruth) proposed to her on/off flame Smithy (James)
Previously, the series returned for a Christmas Special back in 2019, but ended on a jaw-dropping cliffhanger when Nessa got down on one knee and proposed to her on/off flame Smithy.
Elsewhere during the special fans were left more desperate than ever to find out what really happened on the infamous fishing trip.
After years of not knowing what occurred it appeared Uncle Bryn was ready to reveal what led to him and Jason falling out on the trip during the festive family gathering .
The pair were gifted with a photo of themselves together which, unbeknownst to Gwen (Melanie Walters) who gave them the present, was taken on the fishing trip.
Bryn (Rob Brydon) and Jason (Robert Wilfort) both immediately fell silent as the mysterious events of the trip came back to them.
The fishing trip has been a running gag throughout the series and was the cause of Bryn and Jason’s long-standing troubled relationship in the early episodes.
Fans thought they were finally going to get an answer to what really happened on the trip when Bryn stood up to get it off his chest, but he was interrupted by Gavin and Stacey’s children running into the room.
The fishing trip has never properly been spoken off causing fans to brand the cliffhanger as the ‘best unsolved mystery of all time’.
Fans have long hoped James’ decision to move back to the UK following his eight-year stint hosting The Late Late Show in the US will increase the chances of making another episode.
And after James was spotted meeting co-creator Ruth in London’s Soho in November 2023, speculation went into overdrive.
It’s thought James and Ruth were ‘effectively offered’ a multi-million pound one-off deal by Netflix for the final episode, but turned it down