Gavin And Stacey Storms Christmas Ratings
The 2019 Gavin and Stacey Christmas special was the UK’s most-watched scripted TV programme of the 2010s, new audience figures show.
In total, 17.1 million viewers tuned in to the comeback episode live or on catch-up during the subsequent week, according to the consolidated ratings.
Only sporting events and the 2010 X Factor final were watched by more people during the past decade.
The one off return was the most-watched sitcom since Only Fools and Horses in 2002.
Del Boy and Rodney’s penultimate Christmas Day special was watched by 17.4 million people, according to ratings body Barb.
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The BBC said there had been 4.4 million requests for the programme on iPlayer, including 1.4 million from viewers aged 16-34 – a record first week for any episode.
The comeback episode’s success – and its cliffhanger ending – have left the door wide open for another visit to Barry Island in the future.
Oscar Hartland, 10, who played Neil the Baby both during the original run and in the new Christmas special, said James Corden had told him the show could return.
“I did ask James in the process of filming but he said, ‘It’s just [whether it’s] what the people want’. Me, I would love it to happen. It really depends what other people think about it and if they like it or not.”
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The Future
Actor Larry Lamb has urged fans to push co-writer Ruth Jones if they want to see more.
Whilst Ruth Jones herself told The Sun newspaper that it was “complicated” to get together to write with James Corden, who now hosts a late-night talk show on US TV network CBS.
“I do say never say never, as while we did make it work that was after three years of trying to find time when we could sit down and write it,” she said. “Obviously with the way it ends, there is room for more.”