James Corden reveals the Gavin and Stacey Christmas Special will be a ...

James Corden has revealed the upcoming Gavin and Stacey Christmas Special will be a 'nostalgic joy-bomb'.

The beloved sitcom, which concluded nine years ago, is set to make a return for a one-off holiday episode this year.

James, 40, who created the hit show with Ruth Jones, 52, told the Sunday Times the pair 'owed it to the characters' to make another episode.

He said: 'We owed it to the ­characters. Let's see what they're doing. We wanted to see if there was something there. 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, you have to try to do it all.'

Asked whether Brexit could be a topic of debate in the Shipman and West households, James said: 'We did talk about it. But we just want the new show to be a nostalgic joy-bomb'.

The father-of-three went on to confirm he will 'never' reveal what went down between Jason and Uncle Bryn on the show's mysterious fishing trip.

Gavin and Stacey, which ran for three seasons between 2007 and 2009, stars James and Ruth as Smithy and Nessa. 

They appear alongside Mathew Horne and Joanna Page, who feature as the show's titular characters Gavin and Stacey Shipman.

Filming for the special is set to get under way over the summer. 

It comes after Mathew revealed he will play a 'tired dad' with an 'almost grown-up child' in the comeback episode. 

Asked about the new storyline, he said: 'There's very, very little I can give away - suffice to say he's a little bit tired... and he's a dad with an almost grown up child. 

'I think the audience will be pleasantly surprised and warmed by what they see ... I have every confidence people are going to really like it.'

He added: 'The script is really beautiful, it's really funny and it's really heartwarming. I think there'll be laughter and tears. Ruth [Jones] and James [Corden - the show's creators] have done an incredible job particularly considering they live in different countries. 

'There's one scene in particular between me and Joanna [Page who plays Stacey] which is absolutely beautiful. I was talking to Jo yesterday and we can't wait to get going on it.'   

After Gavin and Stacey, James and Mathew went on to be panned by critics for their own sitcom Horne and Corden and movie Lesbian Vampire Killers in 2009, the two then went on to not 'speak for a few months'. 

Talking about 'healing their rift', he said: 'It's a relief for me and James that we didn't need to do anything.'

He added: 'There's also some sections [in the script] where it says 'Smithy and Gavlar riff on this' and that so that's going to be quite exciting for me and James to have some fun.'

Talking about his character, Gavin, he said: 'I'm very excited to get going on the costume, is he one of these guys who can't let go of his mod youth? Or has he gone all 'Jacomo'?!'

Mathew added that he has been 'overwhelmed' by the reaction to the Christmas special.

He said: 'My phone was on fire … we are all really surprised and shocked in a good way by the reaction.'

Larry Lamb, who plays his on-screen father Mick Shipman, revealed on This Morning that the script left him 'in tears'.

While Mathew added: 'We are all very emotional, it will be incredibly emotional coming back together, because although we've all stayed in touch because we are all great friends.