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A Gavin and Stacey star has revealed he has no plans to return to the final ever episode, after Ruth Jones and James Corden confirmed it’s officially in the works.
Five years after the last Christmas special, the beloved comedy series will return for one more festive episode, with Mathew Horne and Joanna Page reprising their roles as Gavin and Stacey, alongside Ruth and James as Nessa and Smithy.
However, one star won’t be returning to the final instalment, having featured in the programme for the first Christmas special in 2008.
Lewis Merchant played Nessa and Smithy’s son Baby Neil in the episode, before the likes of Ewan Kennedy and Oscar Hartland took over in later seasons.
16 years later, Lewis has no plans to return to his role though, and is remaining out of the spotlight, having just finished his GCSEs.
Speaking exclusively to Metro.co.uk, the 16-year-old said he has ‘no idea’ of his plans for the future, but isn’t keen on reprising his BBC role.
Lewis Merchant played Baby Neil in the first Christmas special (Picture: BBC)
The star appeared alongside James Corden in the 2008 episode (Picture: BBC)
Lewis has now swapped acting for football (Picture: Emily Chatfield-Lewis)
Despite being a part of an acting company, Lewis stopped acting a few years ago, explaining: ‘I was in an acting company but I don’t do that anymore, I just lost interest mainly, because I found I loved football and I preferred to do that when I was a bit younger, that was the main reason I stopped.’
He did however audition for the 2019 special to return as Neil the Baby for the reunion, a role which was given to Oscar instead after his stint as the character in the final season in 2009.
‘A few years ago I did audition for the newest Gavin and Stacey role, that’s probably the closest contact I’ve had to any cast members from back then,’ Lewis said.
Mum Emily pictured holding Baby Neil actor Lewis with the Gavin and Stacey cast (Picture: Emily Chatfield-Lewis)
Lewis doesn’t remember his time as Baby Neil (Picture: BBC)
Lewis has no plans to return to the Christmas special (Picture: BBC)
He went on: ‘I was still acting at that time and I thought it would be really cool if I did it back then and then also did it recently, I was interested in that.’
Lewis revealed he was called back with the other Baby Neil stars, including Oscar, who recently admitted he was disappointed not to be returning for the new episode.
‘I’m disappointed. I was hoping to get the call. Neil must feature in the final episode because he’s Smithy and Nessa’s son, they can’t write him out. Neil would be 15, the same age as me,’ Oscar told The Sun.
Lewis did audition to play Neil the baby in the 2019 special (Picture: Emily Chatfield-Lewis)
The teenager gave up acting, though his younger sister is still part of the same company (Picture: Emily Chatfield-Lewis)
Reflecting on those comments, Lewis later told us: ‘I think Oscar would be good at it, so I don’t know why they wouldn’t bring him back.’
When asked if he’d be keen to return this year, he said: ‘I don’t know to be honest, I think it would be a bit much for me. It’d be cool but I don’t think I’d want to do it.’
He added he ‘doesn’t mind’ if a new actor takes on the role, simply stating: ‘It is what it is.’
Lewis is open to a new actor taking on the role of Baby Neil (Picture: BBC)
He admitted he has no plans to return to acting (Picture: BBC)
‘I don’t think I’ll ever go back to be honest,’ Lewis said of acting, despite his younger sister Olivia, 14, still being a part of the same acting company he once was.
Although he can’t remember anything about his time playing Baby Neil and is ready to let the character go, Lewis’ parents have ensured he won’t forget about it anytime soon.
The teenager admitted he’s often left embarrassed when it gets brought up to strangers, saying: ‘I keep it quiet but my parents tend to get it known.’
He went on to recall how he ‘plays it off’ when his parents tell people on holiday, and added that he’s even more ’embarrassed’ when friends tell a new teacher about his claim to fame.
The Gavin and Stacey cast are returning for one last time (Picture: BBC/GS TV Productions Ltd/Tom Jackson)
Ruth Jones and James Corden confirmed the news earlier this year (Picture: BBC/BABY COW)
Casting and details for Gavin and Stacey’s return are being kept tightly under wraps, but there has been some speculation that Sheridan Smith could be reprising her role as Smithy’s sister Rudi.
Elsewhere, Alison Steadman and Larry Lamb confirmed their return as Pam and Mick, and Uncle Bryn actor Rob Brydon told Metro.co.uk that he’s hoping for ‘some of the juicy things to do’.
Meanwhile, Oscar previously told Metro.co.uk he has an idea of what he’d like for his character’s future.
‘Neil should have a dark turn. He has always been very likeable, so that would be fun.’
Gavin and Stacey is available to watch on BBC iPlayer with the final returning to BBC One on Christmas Day.
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