Baby Neil Will Be 11 Years Old In New Gavin And Stacey Special

BBC/ @EmilyTeeny/Twitter

Earlier this morning (May 28), the world was made a brighter place when it was announced Gavin and Stacey would be returning – albeit only for a Christmas special.

James Corden made the exciting announcement on social media that the show will be back in the form of a Christmas special episode, immediately getting fans talking about what we can expect.

The actor-turned-TV host seemingly couldn’t wait to share the news with his millions of followers, admitting he and Ruth Jones had been ‘keeping this secret for a while’.

The tweet obviously went viral in a matter of minutes, amassing hundreds of thousands of likes with many making clear just how excited they are for the return of the hit British sitcom.

Among cries of, ‘oh, what’s occuring?’ and fond memories of excessive takeaway orders, viewers have been left wondering what each of the characters will be up to these days.

Will Gavin (Mathew Horne) still be married to Stacey (Joanna Page)? What did they name their baby after we last saw Stacey heavily pregnant at the end of series three? Will Nessa (Jones) and Smithy (Corden) still be living together in Barry Island? And how is baby Neil?

BBC

Or, more to the point, how old is baby Neil? In case you’re wondering who on earth this baby is and why I’m writing an entire article based solely on him, let me refresh your memory.

Baby Neil was Nessa and Smithy’s son, born at the end of season two and the catalyst for Nessa and Dave’s breakup when Smithy realised he wanted to raise his son with Neil’s mother.

But let me stop with all the baby chat because, as it turns out, Neil will now be 11 years old – a fact which is making me feel old as hell.

Young boy Neil (as he must now be referred to) was played by Lewis Merchant, however it’s yet to be confirmed whether the actor – or his character – will be returning to our screens for the Christmas special.

Corden and Jones will return to their roles as Smithy and Nessa, with Horne, Page, Rob Brydon, Larry Lamb, Melanie Walters and Alison Steadman all reprising their roles too.

I don’t know about you lot but that’s really got me in the Christmas spirit. Now if you’ll just excuse me while I go play Mariah on repeat all day…

The one hour special will air over the Christmas period on BBC One.

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Lucy Connolly

A Broadcast Journalism Masters graduate who went on to achieve an NCTJ level 3 Diploma in Journalism, Lucy has done stints at ITV, BBC Inside Out and Key 103. While working as a journalist for UNILAD, Lucy has reported on breaking news stories while also writing features about mental health, cervical screening awareness, and Little Mix (who she is unapologetically obsessed with).