BBC Gavin and Stacey star's two-word message after Rylan Clark reveals what made him 'proper happy' about final episode

Rylan Clark was among the more than 12 million people who sat down on Christmas Day to see what finally happened to the Barry and Essex clans in the final-ever episode of Gavin and Stacey.

The beloved BBC sitcom – written by and starring James Corden and Ruth Jones – originally aired between 2007 and 2010, and told the long-distance love story of title characters Stacey West and Gavin Shipman, played by Joanna Page and Mathew Horne.

It returned in 2019 for a special episode that at the time held the record for the highest overnight Christmas ratings since 2008. It was then announced earlier this year that James and Ruth, who star in the show as Neil 'Smithy' Smith and Vanessa 'Nessa' Jenkins, had reunited to create one last episode of the hit programme.

The finale, which aired on Christmas Day (December 25) on BBC One, kicked off in both Billericay, Essex, and Barry, South Wales, as the family of Stacey and her husband Gavin prepared for a wedding – presumed to be between Smithy and Nessa after she got down on one knee during the last Christmas special in 2019.

However, fans were initially disappointed to discover the wedding was between Smithy and Sonia – his girlfriend from the 2019 Christmas Day episode – played by Laura Aikman. The new special episode revealed that Nessa’s previous proposal was interrupted before Smithy could give his answer and the pair never discussed it again.

Fast-forward to the wedding day and, after a series of bridezilla moments, ring bearer and best man Gavin tells Smithy during the ceremony that he thinks he is making a mistake marrying Sonia. After many guests – including Neil the Baby, Smithy and Nessa’s teenage son – stand up when asked if anyone else objects to the marriage, Smithy realises he has to confess his true love and leaves Sonia a jilted bride.

The gang then embark on a race against time to reach Nessa before she sets off from Southampton Dock to work on the ships, as Neil the Baby is set to move to Essex to begin an apprenticeship with his father. After a famously on-off relationship, Smithy proposed to Nessa and the final scene features a heartwarming montage of a low-key wedding, with Nessa sporting a black dress and the couple finally getting their happily ever after.

But another big shock in the episode was that Stacey's mum, Gwen West, and Nessa's ex, Dave Coaches, had embarked on a new romance which surprised her family and left her brother-in-law Bryn furious.

Following the episode, TV and radio star Rylan offered his verdict. He wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter: "Perfect," alongside a red love heart and a picture of the cast which they were seen posing for at the end of the episode.

He then followed up the post by writing: "As much as I’m over the moon about the ending of Gavin and Stacey, the one thing I’m proper happy about is Gwen is happy aswell." Actress Melanie Walters, who plays Gwen, was among those to respond as she simply wrote: "Me too," alongside another red heart emoji.