Gavin and Stacey begins filming in Barry Island

Filming for the Gavin and Stacey Christmas special is starting in Barry Island, co-writer James Corden has suggested.

The finale of the BBC hit comedy has been highly-anticipated by fans, who have not seen new content from the series since 2019.

Corden, alongside writing partner Ruth Jones, confirmed last month that the script for the episode - which will be the last one - was complete.

Now, he has said he is spending the next seven weeks in south Wales, in the town forever associated with the show.

Taking to Instagram to mark the end of his run of The Constituent at the Old Vic in London, Corden said: "It's off to Barry Island now for the next seven weeks."

The comedy, set in both Essex and Wales and began in 2007.

It follows the lives of Essex boy Gavin, played by Matthew Horne, and Barry girl Stacey, played by Joanna Page, and their best friends Smithy and Nessa - played by co-creators Corden and Jones, and spanned 21 episodes.

Most of the series was filmed in and around the town of Barry, in the Vale of Glamorgan - including many of the scenes that are set in England.

It has become a cult classic, winning two Bafta TV awards in 2008 and a National Television Award in 2010, as well as a Must-See Moment Bafta in 2020, which was voted for by the public, for the moment when Nessa proposed to Smithy.

The show also picked up an impact award at the National Television Awards in 2020 for the last Christmas special.