‘Gavin and Stacey’ will be returning for a Christmas special this year.

Gavin and Stacey will be returning for a Christmas special this year

Gavin and Stacey will be returning for a Christmas special this year

The BBC Three comedy was last seen in 2019 for a festive one-off, and writers James Corden, 45, and Ruth Jones, 57, have now announced the programme will be back on the box once more for the last episode dubbed ‘Gavin and Stacey: The Finale’.

Taking to Instagram, he wrote: “It's official! We have finished writing the last ever episode of ‘Gavin and Stacey’.

“See you on Christmas Day, BBC One. Love Ruth and James (sic).”

While unconfirmed at the moment, it is nearly certain that the cast - including Mathew Horne, Joanna Page, Larry Lamb, Alison Steadman and Rob Brydon - will be reprising their roles in what will be the final outing as their cherished characters.

Previously, it had been heavily rumoured the show would be returning for another festive one-off, and that the BBC and Netflix were caught in a fierce bidding battle for the episode, though Ruth dismissed the story as nothing but hearsay.

She told RTE Radio 1: “All I can say is, if there was something to say on that front, James and I would happily announce it, we would.

“Apparently there’s a bidding war going on between the BBC and Netflix and I love it because it says, ‘a source says’, who is this source?”

The actress theorised the story had come to fruition after she had been spotted with James in the UK after he finished his stint as the host for ‘The Late Late Show’.

She said: “Then the next thing is, ‘Oh my god they must be writing more ‘Gavin and Stacey’, which is lovely.

“It’s lovely that people are so desperate for it because imagine if it was the opposite and were like, ‘Oh, god, you’re not bringing that back again.’”

Despite denying the rumours at the time, Ruth teased she would “never say never” to penning a new ‘Gavin and Stacey’ episode.

During an appearance on BBC Radio 2’s ‘Zoe Ball Breakfast Show’, she said: “James and I think those characters exist, that they really exist, and that Nessa is still working down the slots in Barry Island at the moment, we like to think their lives are carrying on down there.”