James Corden and Ruth Jones felt they "owed" it to the ‘Gavin and Stacey’ characters to bring back the show.
The writers – who also played Smithy and Nessa Jenkins in three seasons of the sitcom alongside Mathew Horne and Joanna Page in the title roles – recently revealed they are working on a Christmas special and the ‘Late Late Show’ host admitted they have been trading ideas for two years but only decided to go ahead with the one-off episode a few months ago when they found a story to tell, even though they had reservations about resurrecting the programme after nine years off screen.
James said: "We owed it to the characters. Let’s see what they’re doing.
"We wanted to see if there was something there, and for a while we weren’t sure. Then, once there was, my feeling was, life’s too short. Fear is the absolute reason to do it.
"This sounds ridiculously deep, but none of us are promised tomorrow. We’re here for a minute, so you have to try to do it all. I’d rather regret something than not do it."
Though plot details of the special are being kept under wraps, the 40-year-old star promised it will be a "nostalgic joy-bomb".
Asked if there will be any discussion on Brexit during the episode, he told the Sunday Times Culture magazine: "We did talk about it. But we just want the new show to be a nostalgic joy-bomb."
The ‘Ocean’s Eight’ actor admitted his friendship with Ruth is very important to him.
Explaining how they have recently talked about nothing but work, he added: "And then she sent a text. It said, ‘James… I love you.’ And I said, ‘I love you too. You are the best friend I could ask for. You’ve anchored me in so many moments of my life. I’ve loved every second of this rebirth, even the stress.’ And she put, ‘OK, now I’m crying.’ It’s a lovely thing."
James Corden ”owed’ Gavin and Stacey characters
