James Corden gives emotional speech to Gavin & Stacey fans as he and Ruth Jones finish filming at Pam and Mick's 'Essex' home - and reveals cast are just DAYS away from wrapping Christmas special

James Corden gave an emotional speech to Gavin & Stacey fans as he and Ruth Jones finished filming at Pam and Mick's 'Essex' home this weekend.

The actor, 46, - who plays Smithy - wrapped shooting at the location where Gavin's parents Pamela (Alison Steadman) and Mick (Larry Lamb) live which in the show is set in Billericay in Essex.

The house they film these scenes in is actually in Dinas Powys, South Wales - with James thanking the local residents for their support.

He said as he headed to greet the crowd of fans on the street: 'Today is our last day in 'Essex'. Every one in Dinas Powys has been so great to the show so thank you very, very much. It means more to us that you will ever know and we hope that you like the show.'

He quickly clarified in his speech that it was not their last day of filming ever - just the final day shooting at Pam and Mick's 'Essex' house.

James added that their last day of filming ever should be on Monday - meaning it is just days away.

Ruth added as they spoke to loyal fans: 'Thanks so much for being such dedicated fans and for being here every day and watching us even though we were there hid in the house.

We hope that you will enjoy our little episode on Christmas Day.'

Earlier this week on Tuesday the whole cast united for more filming of the Christmas special.

The likes of Nessa (Ruth Jones), Smithy (James Corden), Mathew Horne (Gavin), Joanna Page (Stacey), Mick Shipman (Larry Lamb) and Pam Shipman (Alison Steadman) were seem heading to Pam and Mick's Billericay house.

The set for their home is actually in Wales - where the rest of the filming has taken place - not in Essex as depicted in the beloved BBC show.

On screen best pals James, 46, and Mathew, also 46, walked onto set together and gave waiting fans large smiles and a 'hello'.

Ruth, 58, flashed thumbs up and looked in great spirits as she bundled up in a black coat over her costume.

Larry, 77, braved the cold weather in a pair of shorts as he stepped away from filming to speak to fans and posed for pictures with them.

Rob Brydon, who stars as Uncle Bryn was seen in his classic all brown and grey costume as he walked around the set with James Corden .

Joanna Page meanwhile clutched a hot drink as she made a dash to get out of the rain and on to set.

The actress, 47, was seen wearing a floral mini dress and a cropped denim jacket and after flashing fans a quick wave, ran inside.

Walking along the street outside the house James and Matthew seemed to be getting on like a house on fire and smiled and waved at fans as they got ready to film.

The pair seemed to have buried the hatchet and appeared as close as ever, years after James discussed their relationship on Piers Morgan's Life Stories in 2011 where he admitted they had drifted apart.

Alison, who plays Gavin's mother Pam made quite the entrance as she was seen climbing out of a car in a hot pink flower patterned blouse and white trousers alongside Adrian Scarborough who sported a beard for his upcoming scenes.

Melanie Walters, who plays Stacey's mum Gwen, looked cheery but didn't stay outside for long as she dodged for cover to escape the rain.

The actress, known for cooking up omelettes in the kitchen, wore a turquoise, green and pink flower patterned skirt, an off-white T-shirt and a light blue cardigan.

While Julia Davis as Dawn Sutcliffe threw a thumbs up to waiting fans and bundled up in a log black coat, blue hoodie and a leopard patterned dress.

Rob Brydon, who stars as Uncle Bryn was also on set alongside Robert Wilfort who plays Stacey's brother Jason - meaning viewers could eventually find out what happened on their notorious fishing trip.

The characters have had a long-standing secret about something that occurred on a trip away together.

The fishing trip is a running joke throughout the show and refers to an encounter between Bryn and Jason.

The incident is so embarrassing the pair can't discuss it and avoid eye contact when it's brought up.

The only clues that have been given are that the pair were on their knees, it was a cold night, it was legal in the UK and according to Dace Coaches, it defied the laws of gravity.

Last week the cast confirmed that they had finished filming scenes on the famous Trinity Street, which acts as the backdrop for the homes of both Stacey and Gavin, her mother Gwen and uncle Bryn.

'You haven't seen anything because we've been indoors, which shows you're true committed fans of the show and we hope that you won't be disappointed on Christmas Day, when all will be revealed,' Ruth told fans.

'This is our farewell now to Barry and to Trinity Street, so you won't be seeing us here anymore but we've had a wonderful 17 years, it's been fantastic.'

James added: 'Thank you very much to everyone, we'll see you soon.'

It comes after it was reported that bosses were forced to implement extra security measures to keep the Christmas special plot under wraps after a huge element of the script was leaked.