Mathew Horne had terrifying brush with death year before Gavin and Stacey special

Gavin and Stacey fans are set to finally see the conclusion of their favourite characters' storylines – but a very scary run-in with a train almost stopped the show in its tracks

Mathew Horne was grazed by a train back in 2018(Image: Dave Benett/Getty Images)

Mathew Horne, aka Gavin of Gavin and Stacey, had a terrifying brush with death that could've seen an early end for his character.

Fans of the BBC sitcom will finally – well, hopefully – get to find out what happened on the infamous fishing trip. The cast has been dropping teasing spoilers for weeks, but Mathew's scary run-in with a train almost meant it could've been the end of the show earlier than planned.

Back in 2018, a year before the 2019 Christmas special, Mathew was hit by a train while going to his parents' house after a trip to the pub. The actor had a lucky escape on December 20 that year, when an East Midlands Trains service grazed him.

Thankfully, he walked away from the terrifying incident without any injuries.

Mathew Horne had a terrifying brush with death in 2018(Image: Getty Images for Warner Bros.)

At the time, the duty manager of The Nelson pub, where Mathew had been, told The Sun: "It was a really, really unfortunate accident and it could have been a lot worse. We are all glad that it wasn't.

"He was obviously very shaken up but he's all right now. He's got a bit of a scratch on him but no underlying issue there whatsoever.

"Mathew is a regular customer of ours. I can say that everybody was quite spirited that night and it's a genuine mishap on his part."

A year after Mathew's run-in, Gavin and Stacey returned for its 2019 Christmas special(Image: PA)

They explained that Mathew hadn't been taken to hospital. Police were called due to the nature of the incident, but there was no harm done.

The East Midlands Ambulance Service also attended the scene, but confirmed at the time that no hospitalisations had been needed.

At the time, the British Transport Police said: "The incident was reported to police at 22:37pm and is being treated as non-suspicious. Officers attended the incident along with paramedics and a person was escorted away from the scene."

Mathew plays Gavin alongside Joanna Page as Stacey(Image: BABY COW)

Luckily for Mathew, he walked away from the scene largely unharmed. It meant he could return to Gavin and Stacey, with a Christmas special coming a year later in 2019.

Of course, that special ended on a major cliffhanger, with Nessa proposing to Smithy. At the time, there were no whispers of a follow-up episode, meaning fans were begging for more.

They finally got their prayers answered this year, when it was confirmed that one final special would air this Christmas, with many hoping that the big mysteries will finally be explained.

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