Gavin & Stacey creators Ruth Jones and James Corden got together to watch the Christmas Day special as 12 million others tuned in across the country.
The pair posted a photo in front of a Christmas tree together as a tidy maximum 12.3 million watched Ruth’s character Nessa propose to James’s character Smithy.
Late Late Show host James, 41, flew in from his home in Los Angeles for the occasion.
He said: “We had to be together to watch it go out. Gavin & Stacey is a show about friendship and family. Tonight’s show has been a labour of love from start to finish.”
Some complained after Rob Brydon as Uncle Bryn used the word “faggot” singing Fairytale of New York. But Ruth, 53, said: “[The] characters are kind and big-hearted. No one’s intentionally hurtful, but not necessarily politically correct.”
Ruth has said there are no plans for a new series but “there’s room for it to move on”. With a 49.2% audience share and viewer average of 11.6 million it was the most-watched show on Christmas Day since 2008 when 14.3million tuned in for Wallace and Gromit: A Matter of Loaf and Death. The BBC had the top seven most-viewed shows. Charlotte Moore of the Beeb said: “We delivered something for everyone.”
*Viewers complained after the F-word was used in BBC1’s A Christmas Carol.
