A Newport MP has joined fans who are delighted at the return of Gavin and Stacey.

Ruth Jones has welcomed her actor namesake's reappearance on television this Christmas.

The BBC has confirmed that the final episode of the popular sitcom will air on Christmas Day with actor Ruth Jones playing Nessa and James Corden playing Smithy.

The Welsh Labour MP for Newport West has fond memories of the show, which was last aired in December 2019 - the year she fought and won two elections; a bye-election in April and the general election in December.

The Guardian reports that a quarter of the UK’s population has watched the comedy, making it the most popular scripted programme of the last 10 years.

In the last episode, we saw Nessa take her romance with Smithy to another level by proposing after a Christmas party, although Smithy's answer was left as a cliffhanger.

Ruth Jones, MP, said: "We’ve recorded a big spike in search traffic for my name today.

"I think we can attribute at least part of that to the fantastic actor, my namesake, Ruth Jones and the Gavin and Stacey announcement.

"The show has given my family plenty of laughs over the years and helped me through the various ups and downs of politics.

"I can only hope that, come Christmas Day, we are watching with the comfort of a strong and stable Labour Government."