Gavin and Stacey fans were thrilled on Christmas Day as they watched the final ever instalment of the beloved BBC sitcom. Although viewers saw Smithy (James Corden) marry Nessa (Ruth Jones) at the end of the episode, the pair were not together at the start.
In a shocking twist, it was Sonia (Laura Aikman) who was preparing to marry Smithy instead with the finale focusing on the build-up to the big day. As Sonia became a Bridezilla, it was clear she wasn’t the right person to marry Smithy.
Coming to the same realisation himself, while standing at the aisle, Smithy ditched his bride-to-be and rushed off to catch Nessa with everyone else in tow. Sonia’s appearance in the last episode took fans by surprise as she’d only appeared in a single episode previously in 2019.
Speaking about keeping her cameo a secret from fans of the show, actress Laura detailed the great lengths the cast and crew would go to keep her hidden while filming.
Appearing on Thursday’s This Morning, the actress told ITV’s Craig Doyle and Sian Welby: “One night, we filmed the hen do in the hotel where the cast were staying. There was one night I was allowed to be in the same hotel as everyone else, but I wasn’t allowed to leave my hotel room!”
However, Nessa star and series co-writer Ruth Jones didn’t want Laura to feel left out and did something sweet to involve her in the celebrations.
Laura added: “Ruth had a little party for all of us in her room so we could all be together one time, which was really sweet.”
As Craig interrupted to highlight how awful Sonia was on her hen night in the festive special, Laura quickly agreed. She replied: “She’s awful! Oh, I hate her. I hate her! When they were doing the wedding, I was just like, ‘run, just run, go!'”
The actress managed to keep her appearance in Gavin and Stacey so under wraps her own parents didn’t know until the episode aired on Christmas Day. Filming their reaction, Laura touched on the hilarious moment.
She told the This Morning hosts: “My mum absolutely lost her mind when she saw that it was me!”
However, Laura confessed the only person she told was actress Sarah Hadland, before her Strictly Come Dancing appearance, as they both had work news they weren’t able to share with anyone else.
Gavin and Stacey is available to watch on BBC iPlayer.
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