Ruth Jones has recently revealed that along with James Corden, the pair almost scrapped the much anticipated Gavin and Stacey reunion was almost scrapped as they struggled to write the one-off episode.
Speaking at an event on Monday, the actress who plays Nessa claims that she first came up with the idea two years ago but she struggled to come up with ideas in February alongside The Late Late Show host, James Corden.
The fan favourite, Ruth, said: “When we actually reached the point when we were able to announce it, it was such a huge relief because it had been such a big journey to get to that point.
“It wasn’t easy that week because bearing in mind we hadn’t written it for years and years. We’d had ideas for characters, lines of dialogue, going back and forth, but we hadn’t sat down and written a script.”
(Image: BBC/GS TV Productions Ltd/Tom Jackson)
53-year-old Ruth continued: “We weren’t match fit anymore, where before we’d written series after series, three series’ in a row.
“And you know James and I hadn’t spent that much time together.
“We’d seen each other and spoken together, but we hadn’t sat down and written for a long time.
“So there was a lot at stake.”
(Image: BBC)
Ruth also went on to say that halfway through the week, the comedy duo hadn’t managed to get halfway through the first part of the reunion.
Shockingly, she continued: “One night we thought, let’s just give up, because it just didn’t seem to be… I don’t know, there was something missing and I couldn’t pinpoint it.
“We had dinner with our partners, and we got talking, something sparked something off, that led one thing to another and, I don’t know how it happened, but out of the blue we just got this idea and I think that was the heart of this Christmas special.”
The Welsh actress originally wrote a fake storyline for the Christmas Day episode in order to prevent fans from having the special ruined.
Jones’ went on to say that the fake storyline has since emerged online.
She was joined at the “Evening with” event by co-star Rob Brydon, who portrays the nations favourite, Uncle Bryn.
(Image: BBC/GS TV Productions Ltd/Tom Jackson)
Both actors informed the audience that they would be tuning in to the Christmas Special with their relatives but Rob claimed he still watched old episodes on the TV.
54-year-old Brydon said: “Often with things you’ve done you don’t want to watch too much because all you see is what you do wrong.
“But with Gavin and Stacey it’s such an ensemble and it’s so good that, yeah, when we’re flicking around at home and it comes across we often stay with it and watch it.”
Gavin and Stacey airs on BBC at 8:30pm
