Joanna Page plans to watch Gavin and Stacey on Christmas Day

Joanna Page plans to watch the 'Gavin and Stacey' Christmas special.

The 47-year-old actress - who has Eva, 11, Kit, nine, Noah, eight, and three-year-old Boe, with husband James Thornton - will be seen as Stacey Shipman for the final time on 25 December but while she doesn't care about watching her own performance, she is excited to see what else happens in the final ever episode of the beloved comedy series.

She told Fabulous magazine: “I want to be sitting on the sofa in my PJs with my feet up, thinking: ‘Right, we’ve got through Christmas Day.

"I don’t really give a s*** that it’s me in it, as I actually feel like a viewer.

“There’s so much stuff filmed that I’m not in, so I can’t wait to see all of it.

“I just want to know what’s happening.

“I’ll have been up since 4am and hopefully three bottles of Buck’s Fizz down, so I’ll be knackered by then.

"My husband James does all the cooking and I’ll build the toys. With four kids and dogs, our house is totally insane, so I’ll be looking forward to a sit down.”

Joanna admitted she was "really surprised" when creators and co-stars Ruth Jones and James Corden called her to ask her return for one final episode, five years after the last Christmas special.

She recalled: “I had no idea if it was going to come back.

“I had tonsillitis and felt s*** when I got a phone call from James last year saying: ‘How do you feel about doing a special?’

“I was really surprised.

“But now this one is definitely the end. No more.”

The plot has been kept tightly under wraps and Joanna has been "terrified" about the possibility of accidentally letting something slip.

She said: “I had just finished another job and had stopped in a service station when a script titled 'Toffee Apple' was emailed over. That was the code name for the show.

“There were so many people around me, it was stressful in case anyone saw.

“The excitement was huge.

“I sat in my car and read as much as I could, but I had to leave before I got charged!

"I drove to another service station to read the rest. I was voice-noting Ruth the whole way through going, ‘Oh my god.’

“It’s been terrifying having to keep my mouth shut, thinking: ‘I do not want to be the one who spoils anything.’”

Joanna made sure she kept some souvenirs from the set, as well as raiding her character's wardrobe one last time.

She admitted: “I stole a painting from Stacey’s house and a glass-blown figure. I took all her costumes, too. I’ve always done that.

“I still have Stacey’s big knitted cardigan from when she is depressed in series two. Even the earrings I’m wearing today are Stacey’s.

“I haven’t taken them off since we finished filming.”