Ruth Jones says she always knew Smithy and Nessa would end up together

Eleanor Storey, Press Association

Ruth Jones and James Corden knew their Gavin And Stacey characters would end up together from the first episode, the Welsh actress has said.

Jones and Corden rose to fame as the co-writers of the BBC comedy in which they also played Vanessa “Nessa” Jenkins and Neil “Smithy” Smith, the best friends of the title characters, for three series and three Christmas specials between 2007 and 2024.

Jones said she felt there was “unfinished business” between their characters until the last Christmas special, Gavin And Stacey: The Finale, in 2024.

In the episode, Smithy finally decides to marry Nessa after leaving another bride at the altar.

Speaking at the Hay Festival on Thursday, Jones said: “I think that we always knew, from the very first scene in Leicester Square where Smithy and Nessa met and instantly hated each other, except they also shared a love of pizza.

“I think we always knew that they would have to get together, that that had to be the actual ending of the show, but we didn’t have time.

“We obviously finished series three with Smithy coming down to Barry and starting to talk like a Barry resident… and obviously Gavin and Stacey were expecting their first child, so we sort of tied that up.

“We kind of suggested that Smithy and Nessa, at that point, had come to some kind of an agreement – a workable relationship – but I think there was always this unfinished business.

“When we got together in 2019 to do the Christmas special, I think originally we’d intended to marry them then, but it was just too much of a story to tell.

“Such a long time had passed, it was 10 years almost since we’d finished it.”

Christmas Day

The show’s final episode, which aired on Christmas Day 2024, saw Smithy marry Nessa – which enjoyed huge overnight ratings of 12.3 million.

Jones and Cordon went on to co-write a book about the series titled When Gavin Met Stacey And Everything In Between: A Story Of Love And Friendship.

Jones has also written novels including Never Greener (2018), Love Untold (2022) and By Your Side (2025).