James Corden explains why he’s bringing Gavin & Stacey back now

James Corden has explained why Gavin & Stacey is finally coming back in 2019.

The BBC confirmed in May that Gavin & Stacey would return in 2019 for a one-off special.

Airing this Christmas, the episode comes almost a decade after the last regular instalment back in 2010.

James Corden, who is writing the new episode together with co-creator and co-star Ruth Jones, has explained why they decided to bring the show back now.

“We owed it to the ­characters. Let’s see what they’re doing,” James said. “We wanted to see if there was something there. Once there was, my feeling was, life’s too short.

“Fear is the absolute reason to do it. This sounds ­ridiculously deep but none of us are promised tomorrow. We’re here for a minute, you have to try to do it all.”

In an interview with Culture magazine, James said the show would avoid topical issues such as Brexit.

He said: “We did talk about it. But we just want the new show to be a nostalgic joy-bomb.”

First announcing the special last month, James and Ruth said: “Over the last ten years we’ve talked a lot about Gavin and Stacey – where they might be today and what their lives might look like.

“And so in secret we took the plunge and wrote this one hour special. We’ve loved revisiting Barry and Essex again and bringing the characters back together has been a joy.”

Gavin & Stacey originally broadcast over three series (plus a Christmas special) from 2007 to 2010 on the BBC.

The sitcom follows Gavin (Mathew Horne), an ordinary boy from Essex in England and Stacey (Joanna Page), an ordinary girl from Barry in Wales.

Gavin and Stacey will air on BBC One on Christmas Day.