Our take
A reunion that had no right to work after a decade away, and it works because nothing has been modernised for the sake of it. The house is too small, dinner is late and everybody is a little too much, which is the point. It is lighter on plot than the first special but generous with the whole cast, and the closing cliffhanger, Nessa on one knee before Smithy, kept the country guessing for five years.
What happens
Ten years on, it is Wales's turn to host. The families have always taken turns, so Christmas is at Gwen's small house in Barry, and Bryn is cooking dinner for more than thirteen people and feeling the pressure. Pam would quietly rather be at home in Essex. Gavin and Stacey are now parents of three and finding it hard work, Smithy makes the trip to Barry at weekends and every other Wednesday to see his son Neil, and Nessa brings up the boy in her own unmistakable way, with the grandparents doting on all of them. On Christmas Eve Dawn finds out something about Pete that puts their marriage on the line yet again, and a night in the pub turns up more surprises than anyone bargained for. Christmas Day brings Bryn's dinner and a final scene in which Nessa gets down on one knee and asks Smithy to marry her, leaving his answer for another day.
Can the kids watch it?
Rated 12 by the BBFC for moderate sex references and drug misuse, with a song lyric slur, so best for 12 and over.