Alison Steadman is sure she'll cry when Gavin and Stacey filming wraps

Alison Steadman expects plenty of tears when filming wraps for 'Gavin and Stacey'.

The 78-year-old actress is sure she will get emotional when the BBC Three sitcom - which follows two families coming together after a woman from Wales falls in love with an Essex boy - wraps again after it was confirmed its creators James Corden, 46, and Ruth Jones, 57, were bringing it back for a one-off finale this Christmas.

Alison told Women’s Weekly magazine: "It's a wonderful series. It's so nice that it's popular. I feel very privileged and very lucky to be given the chance.

"I have to say it is the only show I have ever worked on where we finish each character's final scenes like 'That's a wrap for Alison Steadman'.

"Everyone puts their heads down and cries like we are so sad it's over. It's such a good experience for everyone. I think the magic of the series if that everyone loves each other and the audience loves that."

The ‘Abigail’s Party’ star enthused about getting to play Pam Shipman - who is the wife of Mick (Larry Lamb) - and praised how “brilliantly cast” the whole show was, pointing to her on-screen son Gavin (Matthew Horne) and daughter-in-law Stacey (Joanna Page).

She said: "Pamela has been a great part to play, I was thrilled to bits when I was given the role. I just knew this was going to be good.

"On our first day on set, Joanna Page, who plays Stacey came running over to me going 'Hiya, my name is Jo and I am playing Stacey'. I looked at her and thought 'you are perfect'.

"Then I saw Matthew Horne who plays Gavin, and the two of them together were perfect. It was brilliantly cast."

Earlier this week, the BBC announced filming had begun on the episode with a reference to one of Pam’s catchphrases.

On a photo of a ‘Gavin + Stacey: The Finale’ clapboard, dated September 2nd, they wrote: "Oh. My. Christ. The final episode of Gavin Stacey started filming today."