Rob Brydon was "moved to tears" by "emotional" final Gavin and Stacey episode

"It was a couple of months before the cast saw the script. I only saw it, we were on holiday, we were away, about a month ago," he explained.

"I read it. Oh, it's so good," he added, later insisting that it was "fantastic" when Evans joked he might only be saying that because he had too.

"Do you know what? I was moved to tears, because it's emotional," he continued.

There had long been rumours that the show was set to return for one last episode before that news was confirmed in May this year, although at various points some stars – including Mathew Horne – had claimed it was unlikely.

But it turns out the cast had always known this was the plan, according to Brydon.

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"We knew it was going to happen, but we were told we had to keep it a secret. So you have to lie to people!" he admitted.

"It's a horrible feeling, because you don't want to lie to somebody right in the face."

Of course, Brydon is one of many familiar faces set to reprise his role from the beloved sitcom, with Horne, Joanna Page, James Corden, Ruth Jones, Alison Steadman and Larry Lamb also all returning.

And there have even been reports that Sheridan Smith could be back in her role as Smithy's (Corden) younger sister Rudi for the first time since 2010, although there's not yet been official confirmation of this.

Corden confirmed in July that the script for the Christmas special was now completed – saying he feels "very emotional" about bidding farewell to the hit sitcom – and filming is expected to take place in September or October.

Of course, the much-anticipated episode has a major cliffhanger to resolve, after 2019's record-breaking Christmas special ended with Nessa (Jones) proposing to on-again/off-again flame Smithy (Corden) in a bombshell twist.

Soon enough, fans will finally learn his response in a special that will say goodbye to all of the show's beloved characters – with Corden emphasising that the show is "never" coming back after this.

Gavin & Stacey returns to BBC One and iPlayer on Christmas Day.

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