Gavin and Stacey aired its finale on Christmas Day, and had fans in tears at the perfect ending.
The finale secured the highest Christmas Day ratings since 2008, BBC ’s viewership figures revealed. The emotional farewell to the popular sitcom, which saw characters Smithy and Nessa finally get their happy ending, drew an average audience of 12.3 million, according to overnight figures.
However, while fans couldn’t fault the emotional rollercoaster of the episode, which finally resolved the cliffhanger we were left with after the 2019 special, they did point out some flaws across the 90-minute show. Eagle-eyed viewers noticed inconsistencies ranging from minor continuity errors to huge issues such as Smithy’s real name.
The name game
One glaring issue sparked debate among fans, after James Corden’s beloved character, Smithy, revealed his full name at his wedding to Sonia - who he then left at the altar. Just before he said his vows, he shared his real name - Neil Noel Edmund Smith Confused fans quickly took to Reddit, sharing how that name was supposed to belong to his son rather than him.
“I noticed that Smithy's full name at his wedding was revealed to be Neil Noel Edmund Smith. But that's supposed to be Neil, the Baby's name (named after Noel from Hear'Say and Smithy's grandad Edmund). Not criticising Ruth & James for what is an incredibly minor nitpick, more a realisation that I probably watch the show too much,” one person wrote.
A second agreed: “Yeah, I noticed this and remembered that Noel comes from Noel from Hearsay, as Nessa’s friend. Ruth once said in an interview on Brydon’s podcast about contradictions (I think it was about whether Nessa could drive) that they just sometimes forget what they’ve put in or where it’s come from so, prob an oversight and maybe they just wanted to get in one last joke about Noel Edmonds.”
“That is a pretty big oversight to be fair - well spotted,” a third praised, while another reasoned: “I noticed that too. My head explanation was that he changed his name to match Neil The Baby because I'd rather not just have a dumb plothole.”
Missing in action
Neil the Baby was central to another issue soon after the name drama. After Smithy left his wedding, he and all his loved ones piled into a coach to go and catch Nessa (played by Ruth Jones) before she left to work on a cargo ship. Despite the fact that his dad was racing after his mum to make a declaration of love, fans noticed that Neil the Baby didn’t join his family on the hilarious coach trip.
In a post James made on Instagram showing some behind-the-scenes moments from the Christmas special, fans begged to know why Smithy’s son - played by Oscar Hartland - wasn’t in the scene. One person demanded: “Oh .. why wasn't Neil the baby on Dave's coaches to go and get Nessa? Why did you leave him behind?”
“I thought this!” said another, with a third echoing: “Exactly… I wondered as well.” Another fan revealed they’d made up their own headcanon to explain Neil the Baby’s absence, writing: “I think he likely would have stayed behind to help out his Nana Cath and to be bought drinks by Rudi.”
Glass half full?
While Smithy’s name and Neil the Baby’s whereabouts could potentially be explained away, another issue was a clear filming mistake. At Smithy’s stag do, Mick Shipman - played by Larry Lamb - gave an emotional speech saying that Smithy completed his family after he and Pam couldn’t have any more kids after Gavin.
Eagle-eyed fans at home, however, were distracted by a glaring continuity error. As Mick held his pint aloft, it went from completely full to half full, and then back to full again - despite him not drinking it or ordering another in the midst of his speech.
“Who else noticed Mick’s pint,” one fan wrote on TikTok with laughing emojis, alongside a clip of the blink-and-you’ll-miss-it moment.
“My daughter spotted it straight away,” said another in response, while a third lamented: “Continuity errors are so irritating because you can't unsee them.”
* Follow Mirror Celebs on Snapchat , Instagram , Twitter , Facebook , YouTube and Threads .