GAVIN and Stacey fans were quick to spot “missing” character from the show‘s final episode.
12.3 million people across the nation on Christmas Day tuned in for the final chapter of the beloved BBC One comedy.
And loyal followers were rewarded with the perfect ending as James Corden’s Smithy realised he was meant to be with Nessa.
But some eagle-eyed fans were quick to spot an absent face missing from Smithy’s stag do.
His friends gathered to celebrate his last night of being single, including Budgie (Russell Tovey), Dirtbox (Andrew Knott), Chinese Alan (Dominic Gaskell) and Fingers (Samuel Anderson).
However, Smithy’s builder mate Deano (played by Ghosts star Mathew Baynton) was no where to be seen.
Deano was known as the friend who didn’t go bowling because he was “scared of the shoes”, as well as requesting a half and half cup of tea and coffee at Pam and Mick’s and also learning Welsh before the boys’ night out in Cardiff.
Taking to X, formerly known as Twitter, one fan wrote: “It was perfect, but Deano turning up in a Millwall shirt on the stag would been the icing on the cake”.
Another added: “Only question… where on earth was Deano”.
While a third penned: “A sprinkle of Deano and it would have been 11/10”.
A fourth said: “No Deano at Smithy’s stag doesn’t feel right”.
This comes after viewers noticed another character missing from the final episode of the beloved sitcom.
Some will remember Barry’s own Del Boy, Dick Powell, who has popped up throughout the series, flogging random wares.
He’s sold everything from Black Market sat navs to meat he’s stolen from the slaughterhouse.
Dick is also the only resident on the Island who speaks only Welsh.
Despite appearing in two episodes and being mentioned many times throughout the show, the dodgy salesman was not in the finale.
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Co-creator Ruth Jones revealed they managed to include Dick in the final script – but it didn’t make the final cut.
“I think in the original script we had Dick Powell. There just wasn’t room for him, God bless him,” she said at the press event.
In an emotional scene on a cargo ship, Smithy dropped to one knee and told his true love, who had proposed in a 2019 festive cliffhanger: “Five years ago on Christmas Day, you asked me a question and I didn’t answer you.
“And I thought about it every day. And I’m sorry I left you hanging.
“I know it’s been messy and not perfect. But that’s because we’re messy and not perfect. But I love you, Nessa. I always have. Will you marry me?”
The saga closed with a moving montage of the gang celebrating at the couple’s low-key pub wedding.
Writer Ruth Jones, who plays Nessa, said simply: “I hope we did you proud.” She added: “I’m not going to lie, I’m feeling a bit drained!”
Meanwhile, James said: “Tears all around. It was probably the most emotional film set I’ve ever been on and it was kind of wonderful.”
The one-off episode, which aired at 9pm on Christmas Day, has been confirmed as the final instalment of Gavin & Stacey, which first screened in May 2007, after three series and three Christmas specials.
However, the creators have revealed they will be releasing a book dishing on the making of the beloved sitcom.
It will be named When Gavin Met Stacey and Everything in Between: A Story of Love and Friendship and is set to hit bookshelves on October 16 next year.
It will share how the pair turned the show into a cultural phenomenon, including the “rejection, obstacles and challenges” along the way.
“We’re so excited to be sharing the story behind the story of Gavin & Stacey,” James and Ruth said.
“The show has played a huge part in our 25-year friendship and we hope this book will give readers a fresh insight into how it all came about.”
Publisher Transworld’s Bill Scott-Kerr added: “We are so excited to be publishing this joyous book. Seeing the creative chemistry between Ruth and James up close is an inspiration in itself and a real insight into the fission which made Gavin & Stacey the cultural phenomenon that it is.
“It’s also inspiring to see how a friendship can translate into something which feels so wonderfully universal and profoundly true.”
Gavin & Stacey: The Finale is available to watch on BBC iPlayer.
