Larry Lamb was left "weeping" when he read the script for the upcoming ‘Gavin and Stacey’ Christmas special.
The 71-year-old actor is set to reprise his role as Mick Shipman in the popular BBC sitcom, which will return with a one-hour festive episode on Christmas Day (25.12.19), and he has recalled how emotional it was getting to read what’s in store for his character and fellow castmates when he was handed the document just hours after the reunion was confirmed by co-writers James Corden (Smithy) and Ruth Jones (Nessa Jenkins).
Larry told BBC’s Radio 4’s ‘World at One’ on Tuesday (28.05.19): "I literally got the script just before I came on and I read the first scene and I was weeping."
The former ‘EastEnders’ star went on to heap praise on James and Ruth for their incredible writing, which captured the essence of the programme.
He said: "It’s always in the writing though isn’t it?
"That’s the thing, it’s in the writing. What do you capture when you get it down?
"People ask me this question over and over again, ‘Is any of it or was any of it ad-libbed?’ It was never ad-libbed. James and Ruth captured the feeling, they captured the moment."
He also shared how the whole cast was like a tight family unit, which made the series work like "magic".
He continued: "They got it right, and then they spent a lot of time figuring out the people to play those parts and matched us all up.
"We all sat around in a hotel every night together like a family and the whole thing became that unit – off stage, as well as on stage – and the magic was captured on paper first and then we picked up and got it."
‘Late Late Show’ host James and television writer Ruth said it was their intrigue to found out where the characters, including Gavin (Matthew Horne) and Stacey (Joanna Page) – whose relationship is the focus of the sitcom – would be today, almost 10 years on from the final episode, that made them take "the plunge" and write the hour-long episode.
In a joint statement, they said: "Over the last 10 years we’ve talked a lot about Gavin & Stacey – where they might be today and what their lives might look like. And so in secret we took the plunge and wrote this one hour special.
"We’ve loved revisiting Barry and Essex again and bringing the characters back together has been a joy. We’re so excited to get the chance to work with our fabulous cast and crew once more and to give fans of the show a festive treat this Christmas.
"Thank you BBC for helping to make this happen."
James, Ruth, Matthew, Joanna and Larry will be joined by returning cast members Rob Brydon, Melanie Walters and Alison Steadman in the special.
‘Gavin and Stacey’ ran between 2007 and 2010.
Larry Lamb was ‘weeping’ reading script for Gavin and Stacey Christmas special
