Marco Zeraschi, who runs Marco's in the south Wales resort of Barry Island – where Stacey worked - said: "Ruth got in touch with me yesterday morning, Larry (Lamb, who plays Gavin's dad Mick) phoned me on Christmas morning, James sent me a lovely message."

The BBC can breathe easy into its festive leftovers, after all the hype, cross-promotion and marketing paid off – with the finale of long-running comedy Gavin and Stacey winning the UK's top Christmas Day audience.

The Finale" proved a winner for the BBC in the U.K. Christmas Day ratings battle. The long-awaited 90-minute special, which was written and exec produced by stars James Corden and Ruth Jones, pulled in 12.