Gavin And Stacey finale scores highest Christmas Day ratings since 2008

The series, written by James Corden and Ruth Jones, originally aired between 2007 and 2010, and returned in 2019 for a special episode that at the time held the record for the highest overnight Christmas ratings since 2008. Credit: PA

The Gavin And Stacey finale secured the highest Christmas Day ratings since 2008, the BBC has confirmed.

The emotional farewell to the popular sitcom, set in Barry in south Wales and Billericay in Essex, drew an average audience of 12.3 million, according to overnight figures.

It surpassed the show's 2019 Christmas special - which had an overnight audience of 11.6 million - by more than half a million viewers.

Additionally, it was the top viewed programme in the BBC's schedule, with the new Wallace and Gromit film, Vengeance Most Fowl, in second place with an average overnight audience of 9.4 million, while the King's speech attracted an average of 5.0 million viewers.

Joanna Page (second left), who plays Stacey, and Ruth Jones, who plays Nessa, spent time thanking fans during filming in Barry this summer. Credit: PA

The series, written by James Corden and Ruth Jones, originally aired between 2007 and 2010, and returned in 2019 for a special episode that at the time held the record for the highest overnight Christmas ratings since 2008.

Although the show is set across both Wales and England, the majority of the filming locations were in Barry, in south Wales, along with some other towns and villages close by.

The finale ended with a thank you message before the closing credits, saying: "With thanks to the people of Barry and South Wales."

The town of Barry has now become synonymous with the hit show, with fans flocking from far and wide to see the iconic series landmarks in person.

Local businesses have capitalised on the show's success by selling Gavin And Stacey-themed gifts and merchandise, as well as running tours of the filming locations.

Trinity Street in Barry has drawn large crowds over the years as fans would come to watch the filming of the sitcom. Credit: PA

The comedy followed the two titular characters Gavin and Stacey, played by Mathew Horne and Joanna Page, as they pursued a long distance relationship across Essex and south Wales.

Fans had been eagerly anticipating the final instalment of the show for five years after the 2019 festive edition ended on a dramatic cliffhanger as Vanessa "Nessa" Jenkins (Ruth Jones) got down on one knee to confess her love for Neil "Smithy" Smith (James Corden).

The 2019 special episode at the time held the record for the highest overnight Christmas ratings since 2008.

The programme notched up another 5.5 million viewers in the following week, taking the audience to 17.1 million people, according to consolidated figures reported on January 2 2020.

It became the biggest scripted show of the decade, the most popular Christmas Day programme of the decade, and the ninth biggest transmission of the decade, the BBC said at the time.

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