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Baby Neil From 'Gavin And Stacey' Will Be 11-Years-Old For The Christmas Special

Baby Neil From 'Gavin And Stacey' Will Be 11-Years-Old For The Christmas Special

James Corden confirmed the show will be back for an Christmas Special...

Ciara Sheppard

Ciara Sheppard

If there was anything we needed on the first day back after a bank holiday weekend it's the news that Gavin and Stacey is returning for a Christmas special.

That's right, the Barry Island crew are reuniting again over nine years since the show wrapped in 2010, in news confirmed by show writers James Corden and Ruth Jones.

Sharing the news on his Twitter alongside a photo of the script, James wrote: "Ruth Jones and I have been keeping this secret for a while... We're excited to share it with you. See you on Christmas Day ⁦@BBCOne⁩ #GavinandStacey."

In a statement on the show's return, Ruth and James 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."

They added: "We're so excited to get the chance to work with our fabulous cast and crew once more and to give fans of the show a festive treat this Christmas. Thank you BBC for helping to make this happen."

So what have the show's cast been up to since? Well we know James Corden, of course, went on to become one of Britain's biggest exports - now living it up in the States presenting The Late Late Show.

But what of his on-screen son, Baby Neil? Well, the little one - real name Lewis Merchant - would now be 11-years-old. A true 'mind blown' moment if ever there was one.

Though it's not confirmed whether he'll be returning for the Christmas special, his mum Emily, said that Lewis still enjoys telling people about his famous past.

"He was actually the baby in the Christmas special, so he was the first baby used as baby Neil," Emily told LADBible in 2018.

"He does like to tell people that he was the famous baby Neil - especially at Christmas as well.

"I think as he and his friends are getting older they're allowed to watch that sort of stuff now, so a lot of his friends have seen it, and they're like 'Oh yeah, there you are'.

"It's on every Christmas so it's really nice for everyone to see it as well because it's one of those things that's like Only Fools and Horses, The Royle Family and other Christmas specials that we all love.

BBC

"Gavin and Stacey is going to be one of those that's always on TV at Christmas."

Despite the fact that Dave says he's already given Baby Neil a Cardiff City top, Smithy gives him West Ham gear - which Emily and Lewis amazingly still own."It's the actual one," she explained. "It was a gift after the show was filmed."

But when it comes to Lewis, it's a case of neither Cardiff nor West Ham, but Swansea City FC.

"He loves football. He's a massive Swansea fan and even used to be in the academy. He's a brilliant winger," added his mum.

In fact, he's been a Swansea supporter even since his early days, including when he was moonlighting as Baby Neil.

Emily continued: "On the day that the show was filmed it actually happened that underneath his costume he's wearing a Swansea City babygrow.

"That was a coincidence - it just happened to be what he was wearing that day."

And the question on everyone's lips - England or Wales?

"He supports Wales," Emily revealed, happily.

It's not yet confirmed when exactly the Christmas special will be hitting our screen, but a good guess would be around Christmas time... We can't wait.

Featured Image Credit: BBC

Topics: Entertainment News, BBC, TV & Film, gavin and stacey