00:00Airing on Christmas Day, the special was confirmed earlier this year after much speculation.
00:05More than 18 million viewers tuned in to the last special in 2019 and were left wanting
00:10answers after a Christmas cliffhanger.
00:13With stars including co-creators James Corden and Ruth Jones en route to Berry Island, Sky
00:18News spoke to some of Berry's businesses about the show's impact on the area.
00:23Jackie Rogers, owner of Hyper Value Gift Shop, said the sitcom had put Berry Island on the
00:28map and her business had seen a huge increase in trade.
00:31People come here to Berry Island just to see Gavin and Stacey.
00:34They're not coming for the beach and the lovely area and everything," Ms. Rogers said.
00:39And some people even say they want to come here and move here and live here because they're
00:44so attached to the show.
00:46Louis Ross, owner of Berry Betos, said the timing of the last Christmas special just
00:50before the COVID lockdown meant businesses could not immediately reap the rewards.
00:55We locked down three months after the last Christmas special aired so people didn't really
00:59get to experience the whole Gavin and Stacey buzz after it aired last time," he added.
01:05So as soon as we open back up in 2021 or whenever it was, there was this huge boom and there
01:10was this whole new fan base for Gavin and Stacey.
01:13Joe Linney from Sophia's Souvenirs said the imminent filming for the final episode was
01:18very exciting for the town and the show's dedicated fans.
01:22We get lots of tourists coming in, saying they've been researching online when they're
01:25going to be filming," she said.
01:28We get visitors from Australia, they're doing a tour of the UK and Europe and they'll make
01:32a special effort to come to Berry.
01:34America, Scotland until I worked here, I didn't realize how much hype there is.
01:39But last time the show was being filmed in 2019, not all residents were pleased.
01:44Some locals complained about road closures and being kept awake until the early hours.
01:49City Councillor Mark Hooper, who represents the area, told Sky News all filming companies
01:54do their best to be good neighbours but acknowledged some had concerns.
01:58You want to be able to park your car outside your house and if there's a filming unit there
02:02it becomes difficult," he said.
02:04You don't want to be kept up late at night.
02:06But there are professionals who are doing this, I hope they manage that appropriately
02:10and we're used to seeing these things.
02:12The Vale of Glamorgan more generally is becoming a film set for lots of things.
02:17Where I live, one of the Doctor Who episodes was filmed a few years back.
02:21With the series finally coming to an end this year, 17 years since it started, there are
02:26mixed feelings in Berry.
02:28Everybody loves Gavin and Stacey in Berry, especially the businesses, because it helps
02:33bring tourism to Berry.
02:34Mr Ross added, Long may it continue, I'd love them to do more.
02:39But this is the last one.
02:40It's going to be one last hurrah and we're all excited for it.
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