BBC Gavin and Stacey Sonia star's early TV past uncovered as fans say what finale will 'never' make happen

Gavin and Stacey fans have been uncovering actress Laura Aikman's early TV past following her unexpected appearance in the last episode of the sitcom.

James Corden and Ruth Jones left fans thrilled earlier this year when they revealed they had reunited to write one more episode of the hit BBC One sitcom, which has since aired on Christmas Day (December 25) and saw them reprise their roles as Neil 'Smithy' Smith and Vanessa 'Nessa' Jenkins.

As Gavin and Stacey: The Finale got underway, there were jaws on the floor after minutes went by of fans thinking Smithy had accepted Nessa's proposal at the end of the last Christmas special in 2019, only for Smithy to join Sonia at a department store to sort their wedding list.

And while it was a surprise to fans, those taking part in the finale, which racked up an impressive 12.3 million viewers on the night it aired, also had no idea Laura's character was returning until arriving onto set as they show went to extreme lengths to keep the special's plot under wraps.

James revealed that Laura stayed in different hotels to the rest of the cast and set off to work in the middle of the night to avoid being spotted by the press. He paid tribute to Laura and explained: "She stayed in different hotels. She was going into places in the dead of night. She's not part of any of this, such is her want to try and protect it."

She didn't even tell her parents, and she filmed her parents reaction to her appearing in the episode. Laura posted the hilarious clip on social media platform Instagram with the caption: "I take an NDA very seriously".

Now, other fans are digging up the actress' children's TV past and said her former character means they'll 'never' be able to dislike her despite Sonia becoming the unlikeable character of Gavin and Stacey's last-ever episode.

While the 39-year-old has a string of other TV credits under her belt, one that is remembered by many is the children’s show Mysti, which appeared on our screens from April 2004 to December 2005 and aired on Saturday mornings and saw Laure playing the title character who was half-human half-fairy.

A clip of her in the show has resurfaced on TikTok and others have taken to X, formerly known as Twitter, to talk about her two-decade-old role. @_mariekx asked: "Who else remembers sonya from the mysti show when we were kids? #GavinAndStacey." @LFK_Teach said: "The only thing about #GavinAndStacey is that I grew up watching the Mysti show so will always love Laura Aikman." @HaydnC95 added: "Mysti, theyll never make me hate you #GavinAndStacey."