Gavin & Stacey: The Finale is ripping up the record books in the UK.
According to the BBC, the concluding episode of the British sitcom epic has now been watched by 19.3 million people, which makes it the most-watched scripted show since these records began some 23 years ago. It has smashed the show’s own record from the 2019 Christmas special – which reached 18.5M viewers in 28 days – in less than half the time, having premiered just nine days ago.
The final episode on Christmas Day was watched by 12.3M viewers live, beating the previous Christmas special from five years before, and since then another 7M have come to the 90-minute finale, which tied up the oh-so-juicy loose end of James Corden‘s Smithy and Ruth Jones‘ Nessa’s relationship. Deadline had revealed the finale was in development almost a year ago today and it was confirmed last May.
Corden and Jones said: “We are completely overwhelmed by the audience response to our show and to these astonishing viewing figures. Gavin & Stacey really does belong to the audience and we are beyond thrilled that so many people enjoyed watching it this Christmas. A huge thank you to Charlotte Moore and the BBC for backing us these past 17 years.”
Moore, who runs BBC content and has also been basking in the ratings glow of The Traitors this week, described the numbers as “truly outstanding and unprecedented.”
Produced by Corden’s Fulwell 73 and Jones’ Tidy Productions, the finale took place five years after Nessa had proposed to Smithy, but it turned out Smithy was engaged to a different person, his dislikeable flame from the previous Xmas special, Sonia. Cue chaos, disenchantment, and the return of all the usual Gavin & Stacey faces including Rob Brydon, Larry Lamb, Alison Steadman and Russell Tovey. The show capped off one of the BBC’s best Christmases in years, having also won big with the new Wallace & Gromit.