The Christmas Day episode of Gavin & Stacey has become one of the most watched scripted TV shows of the century. According to official Barb ratings figures, after seven days of catch-up viewing the finale of the much loved comedy had been seen by 19.11 million people.

Perhaps the real lesson of Gavin & Stacey’s success is to give shows time. Line of Duty grew from a show in the summer of 2012 on BBC Two to one of the most watched dramas of the 21st century. Wallace & Gromit, a claymation that started out as a student’s graduate project, attracted more than 10 million viewers on BBC One on Christmas Day.

The grand finale of Gavin and Stacey aired last night (25 December), 17 tears after the first episode landed on BBC One.

The finale of the sitcom, which aired on Christmas Day, is nearing 20 million views, the most for a scripted show since current records began.

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."

In May, when James Corden announced that the show would be returning for a final episode on Christmas Day 2024, we were more than a little gagged! And the show lived up to the hype, topping the Christmas Day overnight ratings with a whopping 12.2 million viewers!

The Gavin and Stacey finale attracted an average of 12.3 million TV viewers - the largest Christmas Day audience in more than a decade, overnight data shows. The new Wallace and Gromit film also attracted a large audience, with more than 9 million viewers tuning in to watch the latest instalment.

The Finale' has broken the UK ratings for a scripted show for the BBC after the Christmas Day special with James Corden and Ruth Jones

The British sitcom Gavin & Stacey ended its three-season, 22-whole-episodes run on the highest of notes. The series finale, titled “The Finale” and released on Christmas Day, premiered to 12.3 million same-day viewers,

A star of Gavin and Stacey has donated a signed copy of the series finale's script to raise money for charity. Robert Wilfort, who plays Stacey's brother Jason West in the popular BBC show, has given the script to a charity in his hometown of Chesham,