Alison Steadman breaks silence on Gavin and Stacey return after rumoured Christmas comeback
ALISON Steadman has broken her silence on Gavin and Stacey’s rumoured Christmas comeback.
The Liverpool-born actress, who played Pam Shipman in the beloved sitcom, admitted she “would absolutely love” to do the reunion.
Hit BBC sitcom, Gavin and Stacey, was co-created and written by James Corden and Ruth Jones. The pair also starred as Smith and Nessa, the respective best friends of the titular couple Gavin (Matthew Horne) and Stacey (Joanna Page).
Alison, 77, played Gavin’s mum Pam - or “Pamelaaa” as she was known by Smithy - alongside EastEnders legend Larry Lamb who played his dad Mick.
Melanie Walters and Rob Brydon also starred as Stacey’s mum, Gwen, and her uncle, Bryn.
The series ran from 2007 to 2010, with its first Christmas special airing on BBC One in 2008.
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However, it returned almost a decade later for another epic Christmas special in 2019. Viewers were thrilled to see their fan-favourite characters return to the small screen, but the episode finished on a major cliffhanger with Nessa proposing to Smithy, but ended before he could give his answer.
Now they are desperate for James and Ruth to continue the story.
Fans seemed to get their wish earlier this year when a 2024 Christmas special was announced by and widely reported by other outlets.
However, rumours swirled that production had stalled because of a bidding war between the BBC and streaming service Netflix over the special episode.
Since then, it’s been unclear to fans if a reunion episode is actually in the works. Luckily, several members of the cast, including Alison, have spoken out about the future of Gavin and Stacey.
Gavin and Stacey’s Alison Steadman finally addressed rumours about the show’s return
During a recent interview with , Alison Shipman shared that she would love to do more episodes of Gavin and Stacey.
However, she admitted that she’s not been contacted by James or Ruth, so as far as she’s aware, there won’t be a Christmas special this year.
“If we did another series or episode, I would absolutely love it,” Alison admitted.
“We had a right laugh from start to finish. My children recently watched the first Christmas special which they loved.”
However, in another interview with the , Joanna admitted she’d prefer for their on-screen reunion to happen sooner rather than later.
“All I can say is, if they were going to do another one, I hope it’s soon because we’re all getting so old. I don’t particularly want to see Stacey get that much older.”
She added: “And if there is a comeback, I’ll find out at the same time as the public because I don’t get told anything.”
Ruth Jones also had an update for fans
Ultimately, co-creators Ruth Jones, 57, and James Corden, 45, have the final word on whether Gavin and Stacey returns to screens.
After the new Christmas special was rumoured to be in production, Ruth spoke to RTE Radio 1 to set the record straight.
She said: “Apparently there’s a bidding war going on between the BBC and Netflix and I love it because it says ‘a source says’, who is this source?”
But her next comment broke fans’ hearts. “It’s sadly a rumour,” Ruth admitted.
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“All I can say is, if there was something to say on that front, James and I would happily announce it, we would,” she concluded.
So it seems there’s no Gavin and Stacey Christmas special confirmed at this moment in time, but that’s not to say there won’t even be one - Ruth’s comments certainly don’t rule it out for good.