Gavin & Stacey went to extreme lengths to keep hated character's return under wraps

Gavin and Stacey actress Lauren Cornelius has revealed that until the moment of filming, she had no idea that she was a bridesmaid for Sonia – five years after the last bombsjell

It was a twist that not even the cast saw coming when Sonia burst back into Gavin and Stacey on Christmas Day.

Smithy left fans on the edge of their seats when he told Gavin he planned to propose to uptight Sonia back in 2019 – but fans expected him and Nessa to tie the knot after she proposed. But five years on as wedding prep got underway, it emerged that Sonia was his bride to be.

But those taking part in the finale, which racked up an impressive 12.3 million viewers had no idea Laura Aikman's character wasn't returning. Bridesmaid Anna, played by Lauren Cornelius told the Mirror: "We never met Laura until filming, she was secret, she was in different hotels and not allowed to be part of anything. She didn't exist, her name wasn't on anything."

Bosses of the fan-favourite sitcom went to extreme lengths to keep Sonia's return a secret, often hiding her with umbrellas to ensure no details leaked. Lauren also had no idea what she was auditioning for when she was asked to film a self-tape, before being recalled to do a brief read-through with creators Ruth Jones and James Corden.

Lauren's character was so secret, Corden and Jones gave her several names throughout the audition process. "It was Katie first, then it was Leticia, and then it was Anna," she said. "It was totally wild, it was surreal in itself, it was absolutely incredible," she commented, before adding that she had an agonising four day wait to find out if she had bagged the role. After being told by her agent, Lauren screamed with her mum, sister and their dog before "crying."

But while she looks back with fond memories, Lauren admits she's spent the past four months "completely stressed" thinking she would accidentally leak the bombshell. Fans first saw her during Sonia's formal hen do, with her bridesmaids taking part in a "Mr & Mrs quiz," grilling the bride to be.

"It was so nicely done, how both the hen and stag didn't work out in the way everyone wanted it to go, it really added to the end of the episode, it wasn't right for either of them but it's really nice to be a part of."

That wasn't the only shock for Lauren – who at the read through, took on several parts, including Sheridan Smith's return as Rudi. "I did know what was going on which was really nice, there was only a couple of us that were new cast members, everyone made us feel welcome. It was like listening to it on the TV – you could hear a pin drop in that room, it was surreal. Hearing the story for the first time because none of us were sent the script, we didn't know anything, everything was revealed at the first read through."

Ruth and James had one more bombshell that the cast had no idea about – Gwen and Dave Coaches' romance saw the "biggest gasp," according to Lauren. She said: "Gwen and Dave – we all gasped at the table, everyone went 'oh my GOD', that was a huge twist that I would have never thought about, it took everyone by surprise, what a brilliant twist."

Lauren, who grew up watching the BBC sitcom went on to say: "I feel like they really did it justice. The reaction has been incredible, and it's so well deserved, because they tied it up beautifully. They gave the people what we wanted. I think in this day and age, there's so many endings of long running series that are just hopelessly disappointing.

"And you just think, 'Why did they do that?' But this one, I have no notes. It was just as a fan. As someone that's grown up watching the show and grown with these characters, it ended perfectly. I was sobbing. It was just so good."

Although Lauren's first love is comedy, she also made a name for herself in Call The Midwife. Speaking of her role as a factory worker, she said: "I love a period drama. The 60s has been an era that I've always been really, really fascinated by and interested in, especially 60s East London.

"And so I was a big fan of Call The Midwife. I'd auditioned for it a few times before getting that part, and also I was playing someone a little bit mean in it. So that was really fun, too. I saw a really mean comment, but I think it was a nice comment, that it was mean, saying how horrible I was in it.

"I just thought, that's fantastic, my job is done. I thought that was, that was great. So I really, really enjoyed it.I'd love to do some more period drama. Absolutely, I think Call The Midwife is a fantastic show, and I can't wait to see the new series."

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