Gavin & Stacey's Ruth Jones to make comeback as Nessa just days after BBC finale

The nation was left in tears as the final ever episode of Gavin & Stacey drew to a close on Christmas Day with what has been hailed as "the perfect ending" as Nessa and Smithy finally tied the knot.

But while co-creators Ruth Jones and James Corden say there definitely won't be another episode of the hit BBC comedy, it's not the last we will see of Nessa, played by Ruth, quite yet.

For the Welsh star is reprising her role as Stacey's best mate and Smithy's new wife - and it's happening imminently.

The actress will step back into Nessa’s trademark black bob wig and leather skirt to read Radio 4’s Shipping Forecast as the programme celebrates its centenary on the BBC on New Year’s Day, reports the Daily Mail.

Ruth said: ‘Nessa has got quite a colourful history and one of her jobs was on the high seas. The Shipping Forecast was always very important and useful to her."

During the final episode of Gavin & Stacey, Smithy played by James, stopped Nessa from going back to work on the ships by racing to Southampton Dock.

He proposed to Nessa and the final scene featured a heartwarming montage of their wedding and the couple finally getting their happily ever after.

The episode attracted the highest Christmas ratings since 2008 with an average audience of 12.3 million tuning in. It is the first time a Gavin & Stacey character will return, despite the writers vowing not to write another episode of the hit comedy.

There is however a new documentary about the programme, titled Gavin and Stacey: A Fond Farewell, which will broadcast on New Year’s Day at 7pm.

The creative duo also have a book about the show due out next Autumn called When Gavin Met Stacey and Everything in Between: A Story Of Love And Friendship. Despite ruling out a return to the series, James has said he wants to work with Ruth again.

He said: "We don’t know if we have another idea in us but I can honestly say that if we didn’t attempt to try and even explore the idea of writing together then I’d be so disappointed."

This year marked the Shipping Forecast's centenary, after first being heard on January 1, 1924 as a weather bulletin called Weather Shipping. It moved to the BBC a year later. Actors Julie Hesmondhalgh, Stephen Fry and Line Of Duty’s Adrian Dunbar, and sailor Dame Ellen MacArthur are also among those marking the first broadcast of the Met Office’s forecast on the BBC in October 1925. The famous faces will drop in throughout the day to share historic shipping forecasts along with their personal memories.

Radio 4 controller Mohit Bakaya said: "The Shipping Forecast is one of our national treasures. So I’m delighted that we are cracking a bottle against the hull to launch 100 years of the Shipping Forecast on the BBC with a special schedule of programming on New Year’s Day."

Gavin & Stacey: A Fond Farewell is on BBC One on New Year’s Day at 7pm and the final episode is available on BBC iPlayer