'IT WAS STRESSFUL'
How Gavin and Stacey’s cliffhanger ending was kept secret from diehard fans camped outside filming until 2am
GAVIN and Stacey's cliffhanger ending was "stressful" to keep secret as diehard fans camped outside until 2am, reveals new star Laura Aikman.
Laura - who plays Smithy's snobby girlfriend Sonia - has told how the crew went to extraordinary lengths to make sure Nessa's proposal to Smithy wouldn't leak before airing on Christmas Day.
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In an interview with the , she said the special moment had to be hidden from 400 fans who had stayed out into the early hours to catch a glimpse of their favourite stars.
But of course Nessa pops the question in the street after Smithy waves goodbye to Sonia, making it extra tricky to keep under wraps.
Laura revealed: "There were fans waiting down at the bottom of the street, even at about two o’clock in the morning. We were filming really late, and they were all still there.
"I think someone parked a truck across the top of the street while they were filming that bit [the proposal].
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"And obviously I had to drive down the road so they couldn’t completely barricade the bottom of the street, but because it’s a hill, you couldn’t see what was going on at the top of it. But that day was the most stressful for them, I think."
As well as using a truck to block the proposal out of sight, there were fewer crew working that night to keep it all under wraps.
The cast weren't even allowed to have a printed version of the script on set in case fans found pages in the rubbish.
Laura explained: "Every day when you’re filming they print out an A5 version of the script pages that you’re filming that day, and everyone in the crew has that. And they didn’t print any out that day, just in case things would get left lying around in the street."
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The Gavin and Stacey Christmas Special was praised as a huge hit as the first episode in nearly a decade aired last night.
It led to fans calling for a full rebooted series of the hit BBC programme.
In an exclusive interview with The Sun, the Welsh actress said: “It is so complicated for me and James to get together to write.
“I do say never say never, as while we did make it work that was after three years of trying to find time when we could sit down and write it.
“Obviously with the way it ends, there is room for more.
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It’s a shame we didn’t have more time when we were writing so we could have written more, then have it all ready to go.
"But it was such a challenge to get that special filmed.”
Last night’s episode, the first since New Year’s Day in 2010, saw the lead stars Gavin and Stacey, played by Mathew Horne and Joanna Page, ten years on.
Smithy had a new girlfriend, Sonia, but the episode ended with Nessa revealing her love for her former flame, with whom she had son Neil.
Gavin and Stacey full trailer for the much anticipated Christmas Special