James Corden and Ruth Jones had big disagreement over Gavin and Stacey ending

Ahead of the eagerly-awaited final episode of Gavin and Stacey, James Corden and Ruth Jones have opened up about issues during production as they were at “different places”.

The pair star as Smithy and Nessa in the hit comedy series, which they wrote together. However, speaking on The Graham Norton Show, they confessed that they didn’t always agree on how things should pan out in the finale.

Discussing the episode, which will air on Christmas Day, the pair shared how they worked through their differences to come to an agreement on the ending, the Mirror reports. Ruth told Graham: "Initially when the last episode went out, I was keen to follow it up and James wasn't, then he was keen and I wasn't."

The 58-year-old continued: "I think over the last few years we have been in different places with it. I was content to leave it on a cliffhanger, but then eventually we both landed in a place where we felt we owed it to fans of the show to finish the story."

James, 46, agreed, adding: "It was quite pressured and hard to think about how to make the end satisfying to the audience and to the characters. Ruth and I got together on our own and it was only when we thought we had a story – about 70 pages into a 100-page script – that we called the BBC."

The pair were in agreement that this is definitely the last take of the show. James went on: "It's very hard to talk about because there are so many spoilers but when people watch it on Christmas, they will see why it will be, without question, the last time you will see these characters."

He explained how the final day of filming was "very special". "'Everyone was there at the end with lots of crying. Joanna, who plays Stacey, pretty much cried every day. There were lots of goodbyes. It was very emotional."

While there will be no more episodes of the iconic show, Ruth and James have announced that they are writing a new book together, titled When Gavin Met Stacey and Everything in Between: A Story Of Love And Friendship. The pair's literary offering is set to hit book shops in Autumn 2025 and will detail their journey to creating a comedy that touched the hearts of a nation.

Speaking in the wake of the book deal being announced, Ruth, 48, and James, 46, told fans: "We're so excited to be sharing the story behind the story of Gavin and Stacey. The show has played a huge part in our twenty-five-year friendship and we hope this book will give readers a fresh insight into how it all came about."

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