BBC Gavin and Stacey stars share real reason iconic character was cut from record-breaking finale
Christmas Day’s Gavin and Stacey finale saw 12.3 million viewers tune in to find out what had become of their favourite Barry Island and Billericay residents.
The show brought its 17 year’s worth of episodes to a satisfying end with the final instalment, however, some fans were left scratching their heads as to why one notable character was absent.
All the main cast reprised their roles, including Joanna Page as Stacey Shipman, Matthew Horne as Gavin Shipman, Ruth Jones as Nessa Jenkins, James Corden as Smithy, Larry Lamb as Mick Shipman, Alison Steadman as Pam Shipman, Rob Brydon as Bryn West and Melanie Walters as Gwen West.
Alongside the central characters, some of the minor cast even returned to their roles for brief appearances, such as Sheridan Smith as Rudi.
However, there was no sighting or mention of Dic Powell, played by Gwynfor Roberts.
Dic featured by name in a few of the show’s hilarious plots, with the Barry Island local referenced as being the one to sell dodgy items and food to the Wests, and being the only resident who could speak Welsh, according to Bryn.
He appeared on-screen for the first time in the show’s third series, attending the barbecue in the penultimate episode.
Despite this, Dic didn’t make the cut to appear in the show’s last offering, and creator Ruth Jones addressed the reason.
The 58-year-old explained: “In the original script, I think we had Dic Powell at one point, didn’t we?”
She went on to tell Metro: “There just wasn’t room for him. God bless him… it was lovely to bring everyone back.”
While some fans had hoped to see Dic one last time, the episode was well-received, with many branding it the “perfect” ending.
Prior to this year’s Christmas special, viewers were left on a huge cliffhanger following 2019’s festive episode, the latest to have aired.
Fan favourite Nessa proposed to Smithy, and viewers were left wondering for five years how he had responded.
They finally got their answer on Christmas Day when, intertwined with a number of moving scenes, one in particular had viewers “in tears” as Smithy was forced to make a huge decision, and relied on Mick for reassurance.
It had been revealed in the episode that Smithy had rejected Nessa’s proposal five years prior, and was now engaged to girlfriend Sonia (Laura Aikman).
Smithy’s pals on both the West and the Shipman side knew Sonia wasn’t right for him, but they had kept quiet.
However, as Smithy and Sonia stood at the alter, Gavin finally confessed to his best friend that he didn’t think he should go through with the marriage.
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Eventually, the other guests confessed they agreed, standing up when asked if they felt the same way. However, not wanting to add to the drama, Mick remained seated.
As Sonia pressed for the vows to continue, Smithy demonstrated how much Mick’s guidance meant to him as he paused and turned to his best friend’s dad, awaiting his opinion.
Eventually Mick also stood, sealing Smithy’s decision to end the ceremony and instead track down Nessa to declare his love for her.
The series concluded with Nessa agreeing to marry Smithy before scenes depicted their big day and all the characters celebrating before the credits rolled.