Note this review inevitably contains some spoilers for the episode which has just aired on BBC One, though we’ve tried to keep them to a minimum
Well, that was an utter delight. Gavin & Stacey has ended its remarkable 17-year journey from modest BBC Three sitcom to primetime BBC One Christmas Day blockbuster in perfect style, full of heart and humour.
We pick up five years after the last festive cliffhanger in which Nessa (Ruth Jones) went down on one knee to impulsively propose to Smithy (her co-writer James Corden), perhaps finally resolving their hitherto indifferent on-off relationship.
As a standalone, you could accuse the finale that resolves that storyline of leaning into romcom cliché. How often have we seen the boy being with the wrong girl until the scales fall from his eyes and he makes a big, dramatic gesture to put things right?
But that would be to ignore the flair of the unfailingly witty script and the immense pull of the perfectly drawn, perfectly realised cast of all-too credible characters.
There’s little wonder Gavin & Stacey became a festive hit, as the Shipmans and the West are the friends and relatives you wish you had. Full of quirks, certainly, and not immune to rubbing each other up the wrong way, but each relationship is built on love - a very British, understated love, but love nonetheless.
Well, almost all the relationships: the vitriol between Dawn (Julia Davis) and Pete (Adrian Scarborough) is enough antagonism for any comedy, and is here unleashed in all its deliciously pointed fury as its seems their tumultuous marriage has finally reached breaking point. But even their harsh insults are driven by a unquenchable passion.
These Sutcliffes notwithstanding, the show is so drenched in goodwill, they even given banter a good name. Smithy greeting bff Gavin (Mathew Horne) with a cheery ‘Gaviscon’ or signing off with lyrics from Snooker Loopy is definitely at the non-toxic end of blokey relationships, affection between men who don’t quite know how else to show it.
And if you don’t choke up just a little at the heartfelt tribute Mick (Larry Lamb) delivers at Smithy’s stag do, you might want to check your pulse. Meanwhile, the affection between Mick and Pam is palpable, even as he rolls his eyes at her over-fussy preparations for the arrival of the Barry Island mob for a pre-stag get-together.
Getting away without the children, our title characters recapture the flirtiness that made us fall for them in the first place. Stacey getting too carried away with the role-play is a mischievous treat, heightened by its contrast to the winsomeness Joanna Page otherwise brings to the role.
Speaking of which, Bryn’s always been the most appealing bundle of contradictions, and Rob Brydon’s clearly having fun playing with them here. His mild-mannered, people-pleasing veneer falls away when those same people put his carefully laid plans in jeopardy. Meanwhile he throws Caution to the Wind with a couple of dodgy drinks inside him, throwing himself into the boisterous party spirit chez Pam.
He’s the only character who doesn’t really get any closure in this neatly wrapped-up finale, though you expect he’s too settled into the ‘confirmed bachelor’ life for that to change. Even Gwen (Melanie Walters) finds her happy ever after, in an unusual place, admittedly – but after the brilliant shock, it seems to make sense.
It’s a shame we won’t be getting to spend any more time with these delightful creations, and their script packed with hilarious off-kilter one-liners. But such is the impact they’ve made, they’ll all be part of the nation’s shared cultural landscape for a very long time.
• Gavin & Stacey: The Finale is on iPlayer now.
