Gavin And Stacey star Laura Aikman admits she didn’t even tell her parents about shock Sonia return and shares the hilarious moment they found out – as extreme measures taken to keep her comeback secret are revealed

Gavin and Stacey star Laura Aikman was ‘hiding’ in a separate hotel and didn’t even tell her parents that her character Sonia was making a shock return to the BBC show.

Fans were on the edge of their seats when Smithy’s girlfriend was revealed to be his future wife, instead of Nessa.

And it looks like she really took the NDA seriously, as Lauren’s family found out she was returning to the sitcom while watching the long-awaited finale on Christmas Day.

Taking to Instagram on Thursday, the actress shared a clip of the moment the big surprise was revealed to her unsuspecting parents.

She wrote: “The moment my family realizes Sonia is ruining Christmas again…” alongside the hilarious video.

Her mother’s mouth dropped open as she sat up and pointed at the screen, before screaming: ‘Oh my God! That?! You never told us!’

Unable to contain her laughter, Laura argued: ‘We never told anyone!’ while the rest of his family continued screaming in surprise in the background.

Laura added in the caption: “I take an NDA very seriously #gavinandstaceythefinale #gavinandstacey.”

Gavin and Stacey director Christine Gernon also took to Instagram after the finale aired to reveal the extent of the extreme measures taken for her secret return.

Sharing a snap of Laura alongside Alison Steadman, who plays Pam in the BBC show, the director joked: ‘@lauraikman spent the entire filming of g&s hiding.

‘Staying in a different hotel, she is not allowed to come to closing parties or screenings so that no one knows that Sonia had returned. What a great revelation. And she is incredible both as an actor and as a person.”

The Christmas special and finale came five years after the show’s last Christmas installment in 2019.

While most fans were excited to see beloved characters like Smithy, Nessa, Gavin, Stacey, Uncle Bryn, and Pam return, Sonia’s face was one of the faces that viewers weren’t as excited to see.

In the previous episode, filmed half a decade ago, fans were left on the edge of their seats waiting to see what Smithy, played by James Corden, would say to Nessa (Ruth Jones) after she got down on one knee.

Fans were left devastated after Sonia was introduced as Smithy’s future girlfriend and took to social media to share their thoughts.

Viewers wrote: “I heard the whole UK gasp.” while others said: ‘Just started watching #GavinAndStacey… WTF. Smith is going to marry SONIA?!’

Many were upset by Sonia’s return and didn’t hold back on X, writing: ‘The whole UK when Smithy walks into the office and sees Sonia’ and ‘we have to deal with Gavin and Stacey’s insufferable Sonia AGAIN? ‘.

Another fan commented: ‘GET OUT OF HERE SONIA COMMEEE ONNNNN’ and one person revealed it almost ruined their Christmas, writing: ‘earlier I choked on my left during Christmas dinner when I saw it was sonia and not nessa, smithy was getting married ‘.

And one chimed in with Stacey, played by Joanna Page, and wrote: ‘You’re right, Stacey. Sonia is just not right for Smithy.’

And others agreed and posted on X: ‘No… no… this is all wrong. “Smithy and Sonia are not meant to be together.”

Gavin and Stacey: The Finale attracted a whopping 12.5 million viewers to become the most watched show on Christmas Day.

Viewers had been waiting for five years to find out the fate of the BBC sitcom’s beloved characters and to see if Smithy had accepted Nessa’s proposal.

The final episode was hailed as “perfect” by viewers, who cried when the long-running show finally aired its last episode after 17 years.

As fans tuned into the episode to see if Smithy had accepted Nessa’s proposal from the 2019 Christmas Special, a five-year time jump revealed that he was indeed ready to get married, but not everything was as it seemed.

It was revealed that Smithy had become engaged to his girlfriend Sonia, who failed to impress the Shipman/West clan when she met them in the last festive episode.

Fans were also treated to the surprise returns of Sheridan Smith as Smithy’s sister Rudi and Pam Ferris as their mother Cath.

However, when Smithy’s big day arrived, he realized that Nessa was his one true love and called off the wedding.

The whole family piled into Dave’s carriage and raced to Southampton, where Nessa was preparing to set sail, and in a scene 17 years in the making, he declared his love for her and asked her to reconsider leaving.

While an ever-stoic Nessa insisted that she would not propose to Smithy again, he returned her offer from five years earlier and finally got down on one knee and asked her to marry him.

The episode then shows Smithy and Nessa finally exchanging their vows in an intimate ceremony in Barry, and the series ends with an emotional montage of the family celebrating the occasion at The Dolphin pub, before posing for a family photo together.

It was an ending that brought an end to the long-awaited story that began in 2007, and fans took to social media to praise the “perfect” ending.

On Twitter they wrote: ‘What an ending, my heart feels full’;

NESSA AND SMITHY FINALLY!!!! The nation rejoices’; ‘The last 15 minutes were pure CINEMA. perfect ending’;

‘Right up there with one of the best television endings of all time. Credit goes to James and Ruth for making us care so much about these characters for 17 YEARS! Take a bow.’;

‘It might be the best ending to a comedy show ever. What a brilliant send-off for all the characters. Ruth and James never lost their touch. Fun, emotional and full of wit. Amazing’;

“The ending of Gavin and Stacey was what I needed, the closure I feel is HUGE”;

‘@JKCorden that was perfect. For you and Ruth, you have created a story that I have grown up with. The perfect ending. Thank you Merry Christmas’;

‘So beautiful. So perfect. So special. The end’; ‘That was truly perfection. From top to bottom, very neat.’