Ruth Jones and Rob Brydon have reportedly been filming a new BBC festive comedy special called Ray & Gaynor in the Scottish Highlands.
The actress, 54, and actor, 56, are best known for their roles as Nessa Jenkins and Bryn West in Gavin & Stacey.
And now Ruth and Rob are said to be trying their hand at new characters, playing old friends Ray and Gaynor, for a new one-off festive comedy for BBC.
Exciting! Ruth Jones and Rob Brydon have reportedly been filming a new BBC festive comedy special called Ray & Gaynor in the Scottish Highlands (pictured in 2019)
It comes after Ruth previously revealed that there are ‘no plans’ for Gavin & Stacey to return anytime soon after the 2019 Christmas special broke records with a staggering 17.1million viewers.
Ruth and Rob’s Ray & Gaynor is said to be made by Tidy Productions, which the actress runs with her screenwriter and producer husband David Peet, while Sandy Johnson will direct the one-off special.
A source told the Mirror: ‘It’s a festive half-hour comedy for this year starring Ruth and Rob, who are old friends, in the title roles as Ray and Gaynor.
Iconic: The actress, 54, and actor, 56, are best known for their roles as Nessa Jenkins and Bryn West in Gavin & Stacey (pictured in show still)
Fun: And now Ruth and Rob are said to be trying their hand at new characters, playing old friends Ray and Gaynor, for a new one-off festive comedy for BBC (pictured in 2020)
‘Everyone is delighted to have a little bit of Gavin & Stacey on the BBC this Christmas. Even if it doesn’t have Gavin. Or Stacey.’
Ray & Gaynor is said to have already started filming in the Scottish Highlands and will also shoot scenes in south Wales.
MailOnline has contacted both Ruth and Rob’s representatives, as well as BBC, for comment.
Only recently, BBC bosses confirmed that Gavin and Stacey will return ‘one day’ in the future.
While outlining the 2020 Christmas television schedule last year, the channel’s Chief Content Officer, Charlotte Moore, discussed the future of the BBC1 sitcom.
She explained: ‘That wasn’t something that was going to happen this year,’ and followed that up with: ‘One day.’
However, the sitcom’s co-creator Ruth previously revealed that there are ‘no plans’ for the series to return anytime soon, largely thanks to the current pandemic.
The actress admitted she and co-creator James Corden have to be ‘in the same room’ to write their episodes, which has been impossible during the Covid crisis.
Noooo! It comes after Ruth previously revealed that there are ‘no plans’ for Gavin & Stacey to return anytime soon after the 2019 Christmas special broke records with a staggering 17.1million viewers (pictured with co-star James Corden in 2019 show still)
The long-awaited 2019 Christmas Special ended on a heart-stopping cliffhanger, with Nessa [Jones] proposing for Smithy [Corden] after confessing her love for him.
Ruth previously told Lorraine Kelly: ‘It’s lovely that people ask me. People always say ”I’m really sorry to ask…”
‘I wish I could say yes but as has always been the case, James and I love to write together in the same room and that’s just not possible at the moment because he’s in America and I’m in the UK. There aren’t any plans at the moment, but who knows?’
Fans were left speechless on Christmas Day 2019 when the long-awaited special ended on a shocking cliffhanger, a decade after the beloved show had last aired on screen.
She said: ‘I wish I could say yes but as has always been the case, James and I love to write together in the same room and that’s just not possible at the moment because he’s in America and I’m in the UK. There aren’t any plans at the moment, but who knows?’
The festive special become the most-watched scripted show of the decade after viewing figures soared to 17.1 million.
The series was penned by Ruth and James, who also starred as on-off lovers Nessa and Smithy alongside Mathew Horne as Gavin and Joanna Page as Stacey.
In April, Rob – who plays Bryn West in the show – hinted at one more Gavin & Stacey special.
Speaking during his podcast, Brydon &, the actor told guest Sheridan Smith: ‘I think they might do one more special because they left it hanging, didn’t they, with the proposal?
‘So it would seem strange if they didn’t. But they should crack on if they are going to do it.’
More to come? The series was penned by Ruth and James, who also starred as on-screen on-off lovers Nessa and Smithy, alongside Mathew Horne as Gavin and Joanna Page as Stacey (pictured together in show still)