Saying goodbye tó Gavin & Stacey felt like grief

Actress Joanna's daily tears as show prepares for Xmas finale

- JANINE YAQOOB

JOANNA Page confessed saying goodbye to Gavin & Stacey felt like bidding farewell to a loved one as she cried every day on set.

Filming the last-ever episode of the much-loved sitcom took its toll on the 47-year-old, leaving her shattered.

Anticipation is building for the finale, hitting our screens on Christmas Day.

Joanna, who plays Stacey, opened up about reuniting with the cast and the emotional scenes that came with it.

She said: "Saying goodbye to Gavin & Stacey felt like a grief.

"When I came home from filming, I was absolutely bloody exhausted! You're saying goodbye to each location and person. I was crying from the second day.

"All of us knew, "This is it', and that's why being back together felt so lovely and meant so much. It was like a big family reunion, and because I knew it was the last one, I wasn't nervous because I wasn't thinking, 'Oh God, I've got to be good.

"I just wanted to be with everybody, have fun and say goodbye to my family, even though I'll see them again!" Co-creators James Corden and Ruth Jones, who play Smithy and Nessa, confirmed in May the show would return for one last episode.

Filming began in September at some of the show's iconic locations in Wales and Essex.