GAVIN and Stacey star Oscar Hartland has revealed exactly how he reacted when he got the call to reprise his role for the show’s finale.
Oscar, now 17, first appeared as Smithy and Nessa’s son, the affectionately named Neil the Baby, in the 2008 series two finale, when he was one of three babies cast in the role.
He returned to the show in 2019, aged 10, for the Christmas special.
When James Corden and Ruth Jones announced the programme would be returning, and concluding, with a finale last Christmas, Oscar wasn’t sure if he would be asked to come back.
But in an interview on BBC Cymru Wales, he revealed how he discovered he had been invited to reprise the role once again.
He explained that wasn’t getting too excited about returning to the show, and was trying not to get his hopes up, but the thought was in the “back of his head”.
So when his mum phoned him while he was at school, he knew instantly what it was about.
“I remember my mum picking up the phone and going ‘You’ll never guess what, you’ll never guess what’, and I had an instant feeling inside me,” he said.
“I was like, ‘Please tell me it’s what I think it is!”
And when she told him it was exactly what he was hoping it was, he couldn’t contain his excitement.
“You should have seen me!” he laughed.
“I was through the roof, I was jumping up and down with my cup of water in my hands, spilling all over the floor, but I didn’t care, I didn’t care.”
However, despite his excitement, he wasn’t able to tell any of his friends about it.
“I had to be so secretive about it,” he said.
“So I was like, I just had the biggest news of my life so far and I was in school and I couldn’t tell anyone.
“I really wanted to say but I was ‘No, I can’t, I can’t!”
“Not just a normal school day for Oscar Hartland, AKA Neil the Baby!” BBC Cymru Wales captioned their TikTok video of the interview.
Oscar had a vital role in the finale, as he performed an emotional acoustic rendition of The Beatles’ Blackbird at his dad’s wedding to Sonia.
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However, much to viewers’ delight, Smithy didn’t go ahead with marrying Sonia, and instead pledged his love for Nessa – eventually tying the knot with her in a low-key ceremony.
In the comments section on the TikTok video of the BBC interview, fans were all left saying the same thing – namely that the finale wouldn’t have been the same without Oscar’s return.
“We couldn’t have a reunion/finale without Neil the Baby,” one wrote.
“You were perfect for that part,” another added.
“Glad they asked you to come back in!”
“I love Neil the baby even more now. What a lovely guy!” a third gushed.
As someone else said: “Bless him. Such a great singer.”
