Did Smithy say yes to Nessa in Gavin and Stacey special?

Nessa got down on one knee and asked Smithy to marry her in the 2019 Christmas special

Warning: Contains spoilers.

The final episode of Gavin and Stacey is finally here, with millions of fans tuning in to find out whether Smithy said yes.

The hit BBC sitcom ended on an incredible cliffhanger in 2019 when Nessa, played by Ruth Jones, got down on one knee in front of Smithy, played by James Corden, and asked him to marry her.

But what happened next? Did he say yes?

After months of waiting, Gavin and Stacey fans can finally find out, and now the cast has finally opened up about what goes on in the last ever episode.

Did Smithy say yes to Nessa?

No – Smithy didn't say yes to Nessa. In fact, he didn't say anything at all…

Instead, Smithy agreed to marry Sonia – that's right, his girlfriend (now fiancée) who was last seen in the 2019 Christmas special, played by Laura Aikman.

"I called Ruth and was like, 'I wonder if we could trick everybody into thinking that, for the first six or seven minutes, that they're just going to watch a wedding that's between Nessa and Smithy'," said co-creator, James Corden.

Smithy appearing in his wedding suit played a big part in fooling the nation

This masterful twist left everyone thinking Smithy had said yes… only to pull the rug out from under us.

"What was really interesting, was after the 2019 special, all people would say to us was 'What does he say?'" said Corden.

"They would never say, 'Who did he choose?' I don't even think it was in people's peripheral."

"She stayed in different hotels, she was going into places in the dead of night," said Corden, who explained the secrecy around Aikman's involvement.

"She hasn't even told her mum and dad," added Ruth Jones. "She hasn't even told them she's in it."

Following the episode, Aikman posted footage of her family finding out about her return - at the same moment as the rest of the country - captioned "the moment my family realise Sonia is ruining Christmas again".

The family's response, like many of the more than 12m viewers across the UK, was screams of shock.

"It was an incredible performance," added Corden. "That is an almost impossible task that in the hands of anybody else would be a cartoon, and I hope that she gets celebrated for what is, I think, a pitch-perfect performance."

What happened on the fishing trip?

We'll never find out what happened between Jason and Uncle Bryn

It looks as though we'll never, ever find out what happened on the fishing trip.

"I'd like to say now and forever – the joke has always been that you don't find out what happens on the fishing trip!" said Robert Wilfort, who plays Jason.

The long-running gag involves an incident that happened between Uncle Bryn and Jason many years ago.

Unfortunately, those hoping to finally find out what happened will be disappointed.

"I'm sorry everybody," said Wilfort. "But that has always been the joke and it always will be because it's funny! It's funnier that way. I was so pleased that we didn't reveal it because, we've never known what it is."

However, there is one other person who knows what happened - Dave Coaches.

"Now that this final, final episode is out, hopefully people can stop asking me," said Steffan Rhodri, who plays Dave.

Although Dave almost blurted it out during the finale, that's as close as we're going to get.

"He will take that to his grave," added Rhodri. "That was the one chance you were going to get to hear it. And yeah, it's one of those that, it's a great running gag that they created – I love that. It's just very fitting that nothing will ever be revealed."

Who was Gwen's secret boyfriend?

After acting a bit shifty throughout the finale, Gwen revealed she has a boyfriend.

But nobody was expecting it to be Dave Coaches.

"I thought not in a million years it would be Dave Coaches," said Melanie Walters, who plays Gwen.

"I thought it would be one of Doris' cast-offs," she added.

"It works doesn't it?" said Wilfort. "They make a great couple. They do! After the initial shock, they just look great together."

"You can really see why they're attracted to each other," said Rhodri, who plays Dave.

"Well, I don't know. I can see why Dave would be attracted to Gwen. I don't know why Gwen would be attracted to Dave.

"He's not an obvious choice perhaps, but I think maybe she needs a little bit of excitement in her life. He's obviously a colourful character, so why not?"

Dave Coaches turns out to be Gwen's secret lover

"One of my favourite moments is when Dave is revealed," Rhodri added.

Obviously, the family are mortified, but Nessa, who's also there when he comes down the stairs, responds in the most Nessa-like way imaginable.

"I loved doing that scene and I thought it was just perfectly pitched that they all see him and the family, so Jason and Stacey and Bryn, are obviously outraged and they can't believe it," said Rhodri.

"Then Nessa just goes 'Alright, Dave?' and Dave just goes 'Alright, Ness?' and it's like, just a natural thing – they both moved on a long time ago, so why not, you know?"

"I don't know what people's reactions will be, but because Gwen's so straight-laced, you know, and someone who's such a mumsy character, I think, hopefully people will just be excited for Gwen that she's getting a bit of excitement in her life.

"And Dave is able to provide that," Rhodri added.

Did Smithy marry Nessa in the end?

At the end of the day, when all's said and done, of course he married her.

After ditching Sonia at the altar, Smithy runs off to find Nessa, but she's already decided to go back on the ships to help deal with her broken heart.

Nessa is at Southampton docks about to leave, so Smithy and the rest of the gang bundle into Dave's coach and ride like the wind.

"It was great – I was thrilled," said Rhodri.

"I mean, it's always been fun playing the scenes with James, you know, the relationship between Dave and Smithy, from the very first time when he meets him at the barn dance, you know, and that's always been fun.

"So, playing it now like, 'you go get her', you know, it was great fun," he added.

Dave Coaches plays a key role in the final moments of Gavin & Stacey

Thankfully, he makes it there just in time, as Nessa is boarding her ship, and Smithy gets down on one knee and proposes to her. Of course, she (eventually) says yes.

A perfect contrast to Smithy's ill-fated wedding with Sonia, the episode ends with Smithy and Nessa's reception at a local pub.

"It was lovely because it did feel like a real wedding," said Jones. "Like a real pub reception."

That final montage was filmed on the very last day of production.

"It was probably the most emotional film set I've ever been on and it was kind of wonderful," said Corden.

"So many of our crew have been with us from the very start. It's a wonderful way to close it all out on a Monday in Barry."

How many people watched Gavin and Stacey last night?

The finale was watched by 12.3 million people last night on BBC One.

This makes it the biggest non-sports overnight of 2024, with Wallace and Gromit second at 9.38 million.

The last Gavin and Stacey Christmas special was watched live by 11.6 million. That figure grew to 18.4 million over the following 28 days with people catching up on iPlayer.

The final episode of Gavin and Stacey is now available to watch on BBC iPlayer.