Mathew Horne struggles to hold back tears as he reveals Gavin and Stacey crew member's death
The actor, who played Gavin Shipman in the BBC
comedy
, was being interviewed on stage about his time on the smash hit.
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Mathew Horne has opened up about the death of a Gavin and Stacey crew member
Credit: PA
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The actor recalled memories of his friend
Credit: PA
However, after revealing how the cast were all still chatting to each other on a special Whatsapp group which they had set up, he became emotional.
And then he told fans at his 'In Conversation With...' show in Taunton, Somerset, how 'a lovely guy' who worked on the sitcom with them had suddenly died.
Mat said: 'Sorry. I got distracted. Earlier on... we had a driver on the finale called Rob and he was in his early 40s... and I found out via the Whatsapp group earlier that he has passed away and I got slightly distracted there.
'It's really really sad. I got distracted by losing Rob.
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"He was a really lovely guy and he's left a four year old behind and that is really really really sad.'
Mat told the audience how all the cast and crew had become ''like a family'' working together on the show over 17 years and how his TV mum Alison Steadman who plays Pamela had become 'a surrogate mum'.
He added: "In 2019 before the Christmas special - part one of the finale if you like - aired, I lost my mother and Alison really stepped up and she became my surrogate mother off screen as well.
"Whenever she texts me even now she signs it 'Mum'. And that is cool. That is so beautiful. And she says 'How are you, my little
prince
?' It means the world to me."
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The final episode of the long-running series aired on Christmas Day last year, with 19.1 million viewers tuning in for the last instalment.
The tear-jerker of a special ended with Smithy and Nessa finally tying the knot - after a five-year cliffhanger following Nessa's shock proposal at the end of the last Christmas special.
Gavin and Stacey Reunion: James Corden and Mathew Horne Reunite for Final Episode
The happy ending looked unlikely as the feature-length episode kicked off, with viewers quickly learning Smithy had said no in favour of sticking with his stuffy girlfriend Sonia.
But fans got what they craved when Smithy, aided by Gavin and Stacey's nearest and dearest, fled his and fiancée Sonia's wedding to drive to Southampton Port to intercept Nessa before she took to the seas having turned her back on Barry Island.
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Driven by former love rival Dave Coaches, the group made it just in time for Smithy to pour his heart out to Nessa on the deck of a boat.
At first she told him plainly that she wouldn't ask him to marry her again, forcing him to swallow his
pride
and propose.
Gavin and Stacey's Best Moments
With the news that the show is set to make an exciting return to screens, let's take a look at some of the comedy programme's biggest and best moments...
Smithy and Rudi's American Boy rap
- No one will ever forget when James Corden and Sheridan Smith rapped perfectly word for word the Kanye West and Estelle hit American Boy as they walked across the car park on the phone to Gavin.
Pam's Vegetarian faux pas
- Despite loving a cheesburger, Pam found herself caught up in a web of unexpected lies when she claimed to be Vegetarian. She is forced to keep up the secret throughout the entire show and uses hubby Mick to help her scoff meat. She is later rumbled when Stacey catches her in the act as she scoffs ham in the kitchen. Stacey says to her: 'Is that ham, Pam!?… 'I've seen you, Pam. A scotch egg here, a bit of bacon there, putting those regular sausages into the Linda McCartney box'.
THAT fishing trip
- It remains one of the biggest mysteries in Gavin and Stacey history as to just exactly what did happen on the ill-fated fishing trip. Bryn appears to be hiding a secret as to an occurance between him and his nephew Jason which has left relations fractures. Ness' on-off boyfriend, Dave, is the only other person to know the whole truth. Bryn did appear to allude to him and Jason lying together naked to keep warm as he said to Dave: 'We're going to have this out, once and for all, man to man, you may know what happened, David, but you don't know why it happened! It was freezing cold, it was! And when you are that cold…'
Islands in the Stream
- No one can ever forget the classic Karaoke performance of Islands in the Stream. Nessa and Bryn performed the track in front of all their nearest and dearest. It saw the whole pub burst into some line-dancing as they enjoyed a boozy night out.
The Xmas special proposal
- In 2019, fans were left overjoyed when the show made a comeback but it ended on the ultimate cliffhanger. Nessa asked Smithy if she would marry him as she finally laid bare her feelings for him. Fans were gutted as the show then cut straight to the credits as they never found out just how Smithy answered. Will all be revealed in the brand new episode?
Nessa eventually accepted, paving the way for a registry office wedding in front of the show's most popular faces.
The sitcom was created by James Corden and
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The show aired three series as well as three Christmas specials over a 17 year period.
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The final episode of the sitcom aired on Christmas Day last year
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