James Corden confirms Gavin & Stacey future with definitive six-word comment

James Corden appeared to confirm Gavin & Stacey's future on Tuesday's BBC Breakfast.

During the latest episode, the BBC One show caught up with the cast in a pre-recorded segment.

Asked how it feels to be filming the finale, actor James, 46, who plays Smithy and co-wrote the series with Ruth Jones, had a poignant response.

He said: "On one level, it's amazing and it's so joyous. Every day has just been so great and then you've got this overwhelming feeling that hits you, well, hits me, every couple of hours where you start going: 'Oh God, we're not going to be doing this again!'"

James added in a six-word response: "It can't carry on after this", teasing: "We can't see a way how it could, you'll have to wait and see!"

Elsewhere during the chat, James said: "I can tell you it isn't set at Christmas. So we felt we've done two Christmas Day specials... we've done a Christmas in Essex and a Christmas in Barry. The story is set after where the last one left off.

"In the timeline of history, it is set after that moment, there's no time jumping, we're not going back in time."

The stars have spoken candidly about the upcoming Christmas special set to be the last episode we ever see that's part of the series.

Without giving too much away, Ruth Jones confirmed in an interview shown on Lorraine on December 20, just days before it is set to air on December 25, that "people will understand why it is the last episode" when they watch it, hinting that something big must happen in the finale.

When asked: "Is it the last one?", Ruth replied: "Well, yeah. It has to be. When you see it you'll understand why."

Gavin and Stacey first aired on BBC Three in 2007 and spanned 20 episodes over the course of three series. The original cast all return for the finale, including Uncle Bryn and Jason, making it the final chance for some burning questions to finally be answered.

Gavin & Stacey airs on Christmas Day at 9pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.

BBC Breakfast continues each day at 6am on both BBC One and BBC iPlayer.