A Gavin & Stacey star has revealed the cast were in the dark about a second big plot twist in the final episode which aired on Christmas Day.
The show returned for its final episode and saw a series of shocks between the characters, including Smithy’s wedding to Sonia and Gwen’s new relationship with Dave Coaches.
Now actress Lauren Cornelius, who played Sonia’s maid of honor Anna, has revealed that the second big twist about Gwen and Dave made the show’s stars gasp during the first script reading.
The actress said The mirror: ‘Gwen and Dave: We all gasped at the table, everyone was like, ‘Oh my God.’
“That was a massive twist I would never have thought of, it took everyone by surprise, what a brilliant twist.”
Lauren has also revealed the extreme measures creators James Corden (Smithy), Ruth Jones (Nessa) and the show’s other bosses took to keep Sonia’s return from being leaked.
A Gavin & Stacey star has revealed the cast were in the dark about a second big plot twist in the final episode which aired on Christmas Day.
The show returned for its final episode and saw a series of shocks between the characters, including Smithy’s wedding to Sonia and Gwen’s new relationship with Dave Coaches.
Now actress Lauren Cornelius, who played Sonia’s maid of honor Anna, has revealed that the second big twist about Gwen and Dave made the show’s stars gasp during their first script reading (seen to Sonia).
Fans were shocked at the start of the episode when it was revealed that Sonia and Smithy were getting married after Nessa proposed at the end of the 2019 Christmas special.
And as a party who would be involved in her wedding scenes, Lauren said she wasn’t even sure what she was auditioning for when she sent a tape of herself through her agent to be on the show.
Lauren also shared how her character was given several different names to confuse things.
“First it was Katie, then Leticia and then Anna.
‘We also didn’t meet Laura Aikman (Sonia) until filming, she was secretive, she was in different hotels and wasn’t allowed to be part of anything. She didn’t exist, her name didn’t appear in anything.
After the show aired, Laura took to Instagram to share the adorable moment her parents discovered she was returning to comedy as Sonia while watching the finale.
Her appearance came as a shock to the nation, as Laura had been “in hiding” in a separate hotel during filming and had signed a confidentiality agreement preventing her from revealing that she would return.
The actress told The Mirror: “Gwen and Dave, we all gasped at the table, everyone was like, ‘Oh my God.’
While 12.5 million viewers gasped at the big reveal, no one was more shocked than her beloved parents, who had no idea she was making her big return.
Alongside the clip, he wrote: “The moment my family realizes Sonia is ruining Christmas again…”
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.”
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.
The BBC won the battle of the channels when it came to ratings, as 10 million also tuned in to see the return of Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl.
Fans were shocked at the start of the episode when it was revealed that Sonia and Smithy were getting married after Nessa proposed at the end of the 2019 Christmas special.
Her appearance came as a shock to the nation, as Laura had been “hiding” in a separate hotel during filming and had signed a confidentiality agreement preventing her from revealing her return.