James Corden reveals BBC Gavin and Stacey finale side effect after emotional six-word admission

James Corden has revealed a huge side effect of the last episode of Gavin and Stacey after he made an emotional six-word admission to fans.

The actor and presenter delighted fans earlier this year when he revealed that he and Ruth Jones 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.

Five years on since the last episode, Gavin and Stacey: The Finale 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.

After gaining millions of viewers on the night of it being aired, James has since shared how the show had made another impact. He shared a screenshot of Shazam's Top 200 this week in the UK with Pelican by The Maccabees at number one. The song was played during Smithy's race to Southampton to Nessa.

It comes after James wrote an emotional farewell to the show, which drew an average audience of 12.3 million on Christmas Day, according to overnight figures shared on Boxing Day.

On Thursday evening (December 26), he wrote on Instagram: “Here’s some behind the scenes photos from the special. Thank you so much to everyone who watched last night. It means more than you’ll know. All my love, James xx.”

Underneath the post, music producer Darren Styles wrote: "The perfect ending! BRB (Be right back) while I rewatch every episode for the millionth time." Girls Aloud star Kimberley Walsh also commented: "Aw loved it so much."

James also shared photos of him as Smithy and Ruth as Nessa along with the cast filming Gavin And Stacey: The Finale in Wales. This included Sonia (Laura Aikman) – Smithy’s girlfriend from the 2019 Christmas Day episode, which ended with a cliff-hanger when Nessa proposed to him – returning as a bride to be. The photo sees Nessa in the background looking in low spirits while Sonia is wearing a wedding dress and the cast is holding up masks of her face.