Gavin and Stacey star reveals cast were kept in dark about SECOND plot twist as she lifts lid on top secret filming
GAVIN and Stacey's epic finale show left millions of fans on the edge of their seats on Christmas Day.
But even the cast couldn't predict one of the big twists that was sprung on viewers during the show.
Viewers were already nervously waiting to find out whether Smithy (played by James Corden) would marry Nessa (Ruth Jones) or Sonia (Laura Aikman).
Then suddenly, another bombshell was dropped from nowhere.
It emerged that Stacey's mum Gwen (Melanie Walters) had been enjoying a secret fling with Dave Coaches (Steffan Rhodri) - and even the cast were stunned by this revelation.
Lauren Cornelius, who played the part of Sonia's bridesmaid Anna, has revealed the huge twist made the stars of the show gasp out loud during the first read through of the script.
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The actress told The Mirror: "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."
Gavin and Stacey: The Finale drew in more than 12.3million viewers on Christmas Day.
Viewers were desperate to see whether Smithy (played by James Corden) had accepted Nessa's proposal, which was the 2019 Christmas special cliffhanger.
But after being led to believe he had, fans were stunned to see his uptight girlfriend Sonia sitting in John Lewis when he headed there to complete his wedding gift list.
Lauren has also revealed the extreme measures James, Ruth and the other show bosses went to in order for Sonia's comeback not to leak.
The actress wasn't even sure what she was auditioning for when she sent off a tape of herself via her agent.
She was then called for a brief read-through with James and Ruth but her character was given several different names to confuse things.
"It was Katie first, then it was Leticia, and then it was Anna," Lauren also told The Mirror.
And as filming got underway, Lauren says Sonia was missing from scripts and Laura Aikman, was kept away from the rest of the cast and even hidden under umbrellas.
"We never met Laura until filming, she was secret, she was in different hotels and not allowed to be part of anything," Lauren said.
"She didn't exist, her name wasn't on anything."
Fans were thrilled to see Nessa finally get her happy ending, as the last ever episode of Gavin and Stacey saw her marrying Smithy.
The episode drew in more than 12million viewers - including James, 46, and Ruth, 58, themselves.
The pair spent Christmas Day together in order to watch the finale side by side.
James and Ruth posed for a selfie beforehand, which James posted on social media alongside the caption: "We had to be together to watch tonight."
Gavin and Stacey's Best Moments
With the news that the show is set to make an exciting return to screens, let's take a look at some of the comedy programme's biggest and best moments...
- Smithy and Rudi's American Boy rap - No one will ever forget when James Corden and Sheridan Smith rapped perfectly word for word the Kanye West and Estelle hit American Boy as they walked across the car park on the phone to Gavin.
- Pam's Vegetarian faux pas - Despite loving a cheesburger, Pam found herself caught up in a web of unexpected lies when she claimed to be Vegetarian. She is forced to keep up the secret throughout the entire show and uses hubby Mick to help her scoff meat. She is later rumbled when Stacey catches her in the act as she scoffs ham in the kitchen. Stacey says to her: “Is that ham, Pam!?… “I’ve seen you, Pam. A scotch egg here, a bit of bacon there, putting those regular sausages into the Linda McCartney box”.
- THAT fishing trip - It remains one of the biggest mysteries in Gavin and Stacey history as to just exactly what did happen on the ill-fated fishing trip. Bryn appears to be hiding a secret as to an occurance between him and his nephew Jason which has left relations fractures. Ness' on-off boyfriend, Dave, is the only other person to know the whole truth. Bryn did appear to allude to him and Jason lying together naked to keep warm as he said to Dave: “We’re going to have this out, once and for all, man to man, you may know what happened, David, but you don’t know why it happened! It was freezing cold, it was! And when you are that cold…”
- Islands in the Stream - No one can ever forget the classic Karaoke performance of Islands in the Stream. Nessa and Bryn performed the track in front of all their nearest and dearest. It saw the whole pub burst into some line-dancing as they enjoyed a boozy night out.
- The Xmas special proposal - In 2019, fans were left overjoyed when the show made a comeback but it ended on the ultimate cliffhanger. Nessa asked Smithy if she would marry him as she finally laid bare her feelings for him. Fans were gutted as the show then cut straight to the credits as they never found out just how Smithy answered. Will all be revealed in the brand new episode?
He added: "We really hope you enjoy the finale of Gavin and Stacey.
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"It has been the greatest privilege making this show over the past 17 years.
"We’ll see you on BBC One at 9pm. The years go by so fast, let’s hope the next beats the last. Happy Christmas. x."
