RUTH Jones is set to reprise her iconic role as Nessa Jenkins just days after the Gavin and Stacey final.
The actress will again take on the fan-favourite character’s strong Welsh accent and signature phrases for a fresh broadcasting segment, much to the delight of fans.
Ruth’s character got her happy ending on the BBC One drama’s final ever episode, marrying James Corden‘s character Smithy in a show which saw more than 12 million Brits tune in on Christmas Day.
The last-ever episode of the treasured series spelled the end of Ruth and James’s programme forever – 17 years after it was first created.
Yet the Bridgend-born actress and comedian, 58, will take on the role of Neil the baby‘s mum one more time.
Nessa will soon be the voice of the Shipping Forecast, aired on BBC Radio 4, to celebrate the programme’s centenary on New Year’s Day.
Talking of her new gig, Ruth said: “Nessa has got quite a colourful history and one of her jobs was on the high seas.
“The Shipping Forecast was always very important and useful to her.”
During the show’s plotline, Nessa was revealed to have had a variety of jobs.
As well as working on the high seas, the character had a variety of roles – which saw her working on the arcades at Barry Island to plush London department store Harrods.
She also took on jobs as varied as a bouncer, a driver for Gladys Knight and the Pips, and a news producer.
Not to mention a nanny for former This Morning hosts, Richard Madeley, 68, and Judy Finnigan, 78.
Ruth will now be joined by the likes of former Coronation Street star Julie Hesmondhalgh, Stephen Fry, Line Of Duty’s Adrian Dunbar, and sailor Dame Ellen MacArthur in her new BBC Radio 4 role.
Radio 4 controller Mohit Bakaya then said: “The Shipping Forecast is one of our national treasures.
“So I’m delighted that we are cracking a bottle against the hull to launch 100 years of the Shipping Forecast on the BBC with a special schedule of programming on New Year’s Day.”
Meanwhile, Ruth’s co-star Mat Horne, who plays protagonist Gavin Shipman, has revealed his next gig after the final.
He will be DJ-ing at Propaganda’s “alternative and indie party” in London on New Year’s Eve.
With the news that the show is set to make an exciting return to screens, let's take a look at some of the comedy programme's biggest and best moments...
The one-off Gavin and Stacey final episode, which aired at 9pm on Christmas Day, was confirmed as the last instalment of the drama.
The show first screened in May 2007, after three series and three Christmas specials.
Yet The Sun was first to report how BBC bosses “live in hope” of a spin-off.
Insiders have told The Sun how TV execs are keen to coax more Gavin and Stacey-related material from co-writers James and Ruth.
A source said: “It would be madness to close the door on such a hit.”
The spin-off could come in the form of a sitcom following warring couple Dawn and Pete, insiders said.
A TV source said: “James and Ruth are adamant this is the last of Gavin & Stacey. But, when a programme achieves such results, execs will always hope for more.
“At the end of the day, ratings talk and it would be madness to close the door on such a hit forever when fans loved it so much.
“Bosses have had casual discussions about whether options like a Pete and Dawn spin-off could work.
“They were always more separate to the main group and a new universe could be developed which didn’t involve any of the core cast, so James and Ruth’s involvement could be a little different.”
