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- Gavin and Stacey
Gavin and Stacey's finale drew in millions of viewers on Christmas Day, eager to see what happened between Nessa and Smithy after being left on a cliffhanger for five years
The Gavin and Stacey finale attracted the highest Christmas Day audience since 2008.
The BBC sitcom finally came to an end on Christmas Day (December 25), five years after the last festive special in 2019. We saw Nessa and Smithy finally get hitched during the emotional farewell to the residents of Barry Island.
Now, it has been revealed that the Gavin and Stacey finale was the most watched show on Christmas Day, in a ratings battle that was dominated by the BBC. According to initial overnight figures coming in through BARB, a ratings tracker, Gavin and Stacey brought in a massive 12.3million viewers.
It meant the beloved BBC sitcom brought in the largest Christmas Day audience for over a decade. It also made it the largest non-sporting event in over 10 years.
The figures broke Gavin and Stacey's own record that it had set after the last episode, which aired in 2019. Back then, the show attracted an average of 11.6million viewers, which at the time was the highest overnight ratings on a Christmas Day show since 2008.
Fans had been gearing up for a huge and explosive final episode, as the 2019 instalment left many unanswered questions. But fans were thrilled when they watched Smithy, played by James Corden, ditch his girlfriend Sonia - who only had made an appearance in the 2019 Christmas special - at the altar to try and win back Nessa, played by Ruth Jones.
During Wednesday's dramatic show, it was revealed that Nessa's proposal - that fans were left on a cliffhanger for - was interrupted before Smithy could give an answer. The pair never spoke about the moment again, but as the show progressed, Smithy realised that Nessa had been his true love and raced to Southampton to stop her from going on a six-month boat stint.
Speaking about the episode, the BBC's Chief Content Officer, Charlotte Moore, said that the show has managed to connect across generations at such an important time. "Christmas Day on the BBC brought people together in their millions and saw Gavin And Stacey triumph," she beamed.
"Ruth Jones and James Corden created a magical finale that fans will treasure forever," she added. "Their exquisitely written comedy creation is a show all about family, love and joy and it proved to be the unmissable TV event of the year."
The BBC would go on to steamroll other channels in terms of viewing figures with all of the top ten most-watched programmes airing on Christmas Day being shown on the BBC. Wallace and Gromit's newest film - A Vengeance Most Fowl - finished in second place attracting an impressive overnight audience figure of 9.4million; with the King's Speech drawing in 5million viewers.
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