Mathew Horne calls upcoming Gavin and Stacey 'best episode ever'

Mathew Horne called the upcoming Gavin and Stacey Christmas special ‘the best episode of the show we’ve ever done’ as fans prepare for the Christmas special.

Mathew was spotted leaving the London-based Global Radio studios on Monday morning after appearing on The Chris Moyles Show on Radio X and singing his praises for the Gavin and Stacey Christmas episode.

The actor, who plays Gavin in the sit-com, admitted all the old cast were ‘anxious’ about whether they would ‘work well together again and the chemistry was going to be there’ before shooting the episode but that the first day raced by.

‘I’ve seen it now and I’m so proud of it,’ the actor added.

The full Gavin and Stacey cast reunited back in June for the table read after finding out about the new episode earlier this year in February.

It was to be the first time the cast had been back together in 11 years. The last Gavin and Stacey episode came out 10 years ago.

‘It was very emosh,’ Mathew, 41, admitted when asked about the reunion.

‘We’ve all stayed in touch but we don’t see each other all the time and getting back together was like bringing families back together. And we read it and people laughed and it was amazing.’

The star admitted it was particularly emotional seeing his on-screen mum Alison Steadman again because she’d been such a mother figure to him.

Then Mathew and Chris started having a bit of a crisis about the passing of time.

‘It’s really shocking to think when I first started filming it I was 27 and I’m now 41,’ Mathew said. ‘It’s just bizarre. The passing of time.’

When Chris asked him what he first thought when he was asked to appear in the festive episode, Mathew said he ‘obviously’ agreed to the gig.

‘When I first found out, when I was first told that there was a script, obviously I said yes, I would want to do it, because ‘And Stacey’ is a slightly less catchy title.

‘I just didn’t really believe it because, although the script was written and I knew the BBC would want it, I didn’t know if they’d be able to get everybody back together because it’s a big ensemble cast and everybody’s generally quite successful and one of the main characters lives in America.

‘So I didn’t believe it and then it happened. So yeah, it was amazing and it was a really wonderful experience.

‘We all went into it with a degree of trepidation because we appreciate that there’s a huge amount of expectation on it.’

Mathew has clearly had a pretty good 2019. As well as the Gavin and Stacey excitement, he’s all loved up.

The star split from his fiance, Casualty actress Evelyn Hoskins, back in October 2018 and has since moved on with designer, Celina Basisli.

We predict he’s going to have a great Christmas.

You can catch the Gavin and Stacey Christmas special at 8.30pm, Christmas Day, on BBC One.

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