The Gavin and Stacey character removed from original finale script revealed-Josie Copson-Entertainment – Metro

There sadly wasn’t room for everyone in the Gavin and Stacey finale (Picture: Tom Jackson/PA Wire)

Ruth Jones and James Corden made it their mission to get most of the gang back together for the Gavin and Stacey finale.

The core cast including Mathew Horne, Joanna Page, Larry Lamb and Alison Steadman all cleared their schedules for the BBC sitcom.

The 90-minute special also saw the return of characters we haven’t seen since 2010, such as Budgie (Russell Tovey), and Rudi (Sheridan Smith), while supporting characters Dawn (Julia Davis) and Pete (Adrian Scarborough) took on a bigger part of the storyline.

However, there wasn’t room for everyone and one member of the clan who didn’t make it was Dick Powell.

He’d previously appeared in two episodes, but was mentioned many times by the Wests, usually in reference to dodgy items that they’d purchased off him. The door-to-door salesperson stocked everything from sat navs to meat, and is the one person in Barry Island to speak only Welsh according to Uncle Bryn (Rob Brydon).

Unfortunately, there wasn’t room for the character despite best efforts from creators Ruth and James. Ruth even revealed that in an earlier version of the script, they managed to involve Dick, but they weren’t able to retain him.

Gwynfor Roberts played Dick Powell in two episodes of Gavin and Stacey (Picture: BBC)

‘I think in the original script we had Dick Powell. There just wasn’t room for him, God bless him,’ she shared during an early screening of the Gavin and Stacey finale, attended by Metro.

This means actor Gwynfor Roberts, who also worked on Welsh soap Pobol y Cwm, didn’t get to reprise his contribution.

Talking about getting everyone else agreeing to take part, Ruth said: ‘It was lovely to bring them back.’

Gwynfor Roberts (R) when he isn’t playing Dick (Picture: RNLI)

Included in the returners was Neil the baby, played by Oscar Hartland. The 17-year-old joined the show as an actual baby, and then reauditioned for the part in 2019.

In the finale, Ruth, 58, and James, 46, who play his parents, used Oscar’s other talents to their advantage. On top of acting, the teenager is a musician and has appeared on The Voice.

After witnessing Oscar’s audition, Ruth and James decided to give him the chance to sing on the series. Ruth admitted she was ‘a mess’ as he performed The Beatles song Blackbird at the ill-fated wedding of Smithy (James) and Sonia (Laura Aikman).

‘He does it so brilliantly, and we were so proud of him and we love him. What a journey – from baby to that,’ James proudly stated.

Oscar was back as Neil the baby, but he isn’t a baby anymore (Picture: BBC)

Viewers were a little shocked to see Sonia back after she abruptly left Christmas day in the 2019 episode. This provided Nessa (Ruth) the opportunity to confess her love for Smithy and propose.

The opening of the finale tricks fans into believing that he accepted her offer, but Sonia turns out to be the bride. In order to protect the surprise, the cast went to extreme lengths to keep things concealed.

James recalled how Laura, 39, would stay in different hotels to the rest of the cast, and would go into places in the ‘dead of the night’. Even her parents are unaware of her role.

Praising her acting ability, he said: ‘It’s an incredible performance. It is an almost impossible task, and in the hands of anybody else, it would be a cartoon. And I hope that she gets celebrated for what is, I think, a pitch perfect performance.’

It was an emotional final day after 17 years of creating the show (Picture: BBC/Toffee International Ltd./Tom Jackson/PA Wire)

The finale has now officially brought to an end one of the UK’s most beloved sitcoms. After spending 17 years on this crazy ride, the last day on set, which is also the last thing viewers see – Smithy and Nessa’s wedding reception in a pub – was emotional.

As cut was called on the last take, the director Chris Gernon, arranged for the sound department to play the theme tune, Run by Stephen Fretwell.

‘That got us all going as you can imagine,’ Ruth recalled.

James added: ‘It was probably the most emotional film set I’ve ever been on, and it was kind of wonderful. So many of our crew have been with us from the start, and so it was a wonderful way to close it all out. On a Monday in Barry.’

Gavin and Stacey: The Finale is available to watch on BBC iPlayer.

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