Gavin and Stacey returning for another Christmas special to air this year

‘Gavin and Stacey’ is set to return for another Christmas special.

The beloved BBC sitcom last aired a festive special in 2019, following a nine-year break, and it ended with a cliffhanger as Nessa (Ruth Jones) proposed to Smithy (James Corden), but the credits started to roll before viewers could find out his answer.

James and Ruth – who co-created and co-write the show – are expected to shoot a new episode over the summer.

According to Deadline, the episode is in development, with a view to airing over the festive period this year.

Mathew Horne and Joanna Page starred as the titular characters, alongside the likes of Ruth, James, Rob Brydon, Alison Steadman, Larry Lamb and Julia Davis.

It’s expected that most of the main cast will be back for the upcoming special episode.

In September, Mat admitted he had “absolutely no idea” if there was going to be anymore ‘Gavin and Stacey’ episodes.

In an interview with the Metro newspaper’s ’60 Seconds With…’ feature, he said: “I’m not sick of being asked. I just don’t have the answers.

“That’s the problem, because the questions inevitably centre around, ‘Is there going to be any more?’ And I absolutely have no idea.”

Alison – who played Gavin’s mother Pam – previously claimed a full series would be “too draining”, but she would be up for another special to continue the story.

Speaking to the Radio Times magazine, the 77-year-old actress said: “The Christmas special cliffhanger ending was brilliant. I was really touched and moved by it.

“A special would be great fun and it wouldn’t be too draining and exhausting.”

What’s more, Ruth, 57, recently refused to rule out bringing ‘Gavin and Stacey’ back.

The 56-year-old writer-and-actress said: “I think we both think that there are pros and cons.

“If I go back to before we did the Christmas special that was 10 years that passed before we did the 2019 special, and I think then we thought we would never bring it back again and we did. I don’t know.”