What can we expect from the final Gavin and Stacey?

James Corden revealed he and Ruth Jones have written a final episode of Gavin and Stacey

We're not gonna lie - it's well lush to hear Gavin and Stacey is coming back to our screens one last time.

Co-creators James Corden and Ruth Jones, who also star as Smithy and Nessa, took to Instagram to announce the hit show's final episode will air on Christmas Day.

BBC Wales visited Barry Island, which features regularly on the show, shortly after the announcement.

And what fans want to know is... what's occurrin'?

Where is Gavin and Stacey filmed?

Most episodes of the show - including many of the scenes that are set in England - were actually filmed in and around the town of Barry, in the Vale of Glamorgan.

Mauro Zeraschi’s dad Marco is the owner of Marco’s Café, which is just one of the many locations made famous by the show’s regular trips to Barry Island.

He runs his own shop selling drinks and sweets, and said news of the show’s return was “great for sales”.

Mauro Zeraschi’s dad Marco is the owner of Marco’s Café

“Bring it on, can’t wait," he said.

"There are Gavin and Stacey tours every weekend. You’d think it would die off eventually, but year by year it’s just as popular."

Tours around Barry also include visits to Stacey's house, on Trinity Street, and Barry Island's amusement arcade, where Nessa works.

How did the latest Gavin and Stacey episode end?

The cast will reunite for the first time since their 2019 Christmas special

The last time a fresh episode of Gavin and Stacey hit our screens was back in 2019, for a Christmas special.

Since then, we've had a pandemic and three prime ministers, so let's have a quick re-cap.

Where to are they now?

Corden and Jones left 17.1 million viewers on tenterhooks with a cliffhanger ending, when Nessa proposed to Smithy.

Five years on, they're about to reveal if he said yes.

James Corden, who plays Smithy, takes a selfie with fans during filming for the Gavin and Stacey 2019 Christmas special in Barry

Fan Brian Close, from Barry, has a hunch about what will happen in the show's last episode.

“We’ll find out about the fishing trip, there’ll be a big wedding and they’ll all end up having a curry," he said.

“They can’t leave it on another cliffhanger, otherwise they’d have to do another one, wouldn’t they?”

Kit Marler, who was in Barry Island on a Gavin and Stacey tour, said: “They left it on a bit of a cliffhanger so it will be good to find out what happens.

"A lot of people, including myself, are anxious to find out what happens.

“What do I think happens? I reckon they get together, Nessa and Smithy. A happy ending."

Favourite Gavin and Stacey scenes

Nessa and Bryn sing 'Islands in the Stream' for Red Nose Day 2009

Is it the KFC bucket scene, Smithy ordering a takeaway or Bryn and Nessa's duet?

The show has had its fair share of hilarious moments.

Ellie May, 17, who was visiting Barry Island from Lincolnshire, said: “I love it when Smithy and Nessa are eating the KFC bucket, that’s my favourite one.

“Or when Nessa and Bryn sing Islands in the Stream, I love that one.

“When Gavin jumps over the line and gets Stacey. I love them all."

Which characters will be back - and who'll be missing?

Rumours of a new episode began back in February in a report from US entertainment website Deadline.

It said the episode would involve most members of the original cast.

It's a given that the show's main characters will be back, with Mathew Horne as Essex boy Gavin and Joanna Page as his Welsh wife Stacey.

And what would the show be without Nessa, Uncle Bryn, "Pamelaaaar" and Smithy?

The last time we saw these characters was back in 2019.

But will we see the likes of Dave from Dave's Coaches, after his wedding to Nessa was called off and she proposed to Smithy?

What about Neil, the baby?

Oscar Hartland, who plays Neil, with Ruth Jones and James Corden

One character many fans hope will return is Baby Neil - Smithy and Nessa’s son.

Played by Oscar Hartland, "Neil, the baby" was born at the end of series two and appeared again as an 11-year-old in the 2019 Christmas special.

Speaking to BBC Radio Wales on Friday, Hartland did not confirm whether he would reappear in this year's finale, but said he would “love to”.

He described hearing the news as “a bit of a shock”.

“We weren’t so sure. Time got on, and the speculation went down. And we all thought, ‘OK, I doubt there’s going to be another one now’,” he said.

Hartland said his friends at school, as well as his teachers, had continually asked him if the show would return.

He said he was “very lucky” to get the role in the first place.

“It didn’t really click with me what I’d done until after we filmed,” he said.

What happened on the fishing trip?

Uncle Bryn and Jason have kept their secret since the show started in 2007

Since the show began in 2007, fans have been sharing their theories on the mystery involving Uncle Bryn and his nephew Jason.

So, after keeping viewers hooked for 17 years, will we finally find out what happened?

The show's teased out some details over the years. Here's what we know so far:

• Jason reassured his uncle that what happened is "perfectly legal in this country"

• Bryn has shared the secret with Dave from Dave's Coaches, who told him: "Seeing you standing there with a soup, it sets my mind racing, you know?"

• "It's a physical impossibility. It defies gravity," Dave told Bryn

In the last Christmas special, Bryn and Jason were finally ready to tell the whole family what happened, but they were interrupted.

Are we about to find out what went on?

Is this really the last ever episode of Gavin and Stacey?

Speaking in August, Alison Steadman and Larry Lamb - who play Gavin's parents Mick and Pam - said another full series of the show would be "too draining".

But they added they were open to another Christmas special.

"A special would be great fun and it wouldn't be too draining and exhausting," Steadman told Radio Times.

Lamb said: "A one-hour special, which is three weeks of really intense work, that will do me."

On Barry Island, after the announcement of the new Christmas special, Mauro from Marco's cafe said: “I think this will be the last one.

"They’d be silly to do any more.

“Finish on a high, you don’t want to prolong it too much.”

Additional reporting by Erin Sharrocks