【??? ??】'Gavin and Stacey' Christmas special: Love and laughter are in the air

Oh! Spoilers are ??? ??occurring in this post. Read on at your peril.

Gavin and Stacey came home for Christmas this year. And we're so very glad they did.

It's been a while — 10 years, in fact — since the Shipmans and Wests graced our screens, but it was well worth the wait.

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Not all Christmas specials are made equal, but Gavin and Stacey's 2019 Christmas special is one of my favourite episodes to date. It is, in equal measure, belly-achingly hilarious and heart-meltingly soppy.

From her very first "oh ma Christ," queen of the one liners, Pam Shipman (played by the inimitable Alison Steadman) is on top comedy form, culminating in a truly excellent moment that sees Pam and Mick smoking a spliff and dancing around the living room to 10cc's "Dreadlock Holiday." Of course, she misplaces the Christmas pudding (it'll happen when you're stoned) and declares that she can "see them in my mind's aisle." After much ado about suddenly-missing Christmas puddings, the family ends up enjoying a feast of Calippos, yoghurts, and choc ices for pudding.

It wouldn't be a festive family gathering without someone taking exception to the host's towels, and Pam's comedic power shines here too. Pam isn't happy about using Gwen's towels — a wedding gift from 1982 — and attempts to bring her own. "Tried one of her flannels last night, could have cracked it with a toffee hammer," Pam declares to Mick on Christmas day.

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There's some true comedy gold in this episode: Dawn and Pete signing "Time After Time" to each other before enjoying a truly cringe snog; Bryn and Nessa serenading the pub with a performance of The Pogues' classic "Fairytale of New York"; Bryn extolling the virtues of the M4 motorway.

What of Doris, the nosy (and surprisingly horny) next-door-neighbour? Sadly, Doris has departed this mortal coil, and there's a beautiful moment in The Dolphin where they all pour one out for dear old Doris.

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Some things are better left unsaid in this episode. As for that fishing trip, there's a heart-racing moment where Bryn almost spills the beans and tells the entire family what happened on that fateful trip with Jason. Amid the high drama of it all, I realised that, deep down inside, I didn't really want to know what had happened. Thankfully, the big reveal didn't happen.

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And what of our core duo? Gavin and Stacey, meanwhile, are trying to spice things up in their sex-starved marriage. They've been busy in the 10 years since they've been off our screens — they're parents to three kids. While trying to rekindle their sex lives, they end up reawakening the romance they thought they'd left long behind.

But romance isn't just in the air for our titular couple. It wouldn't be a Shipman-West gathering without a, uhhhh, Nessa and Smithy reunion. The episode might start out with Smithy telling Gav about his plans to propose to his girlfriend of 11 months, the episode ends with a proposal we weren't expecting. Will there be wedding bells?

The answer to that, dear reader, will likely be learned in a Christmas special 10 years from now.

The Gavin and Stacey Christmas special airs at 8:30 p.m. on BBC One on Dec. 25 2019.

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