Gavin & Stacey creators James Corden and Ruth Jones are apparently taking no chances when it comes to protecting the script for the much-loved sitcom’s final outing.

James and Ruth finally gave fans the news they’ve been waiting almost five years for back in May, when they announced that Gavin & Stacey would return to our screens this Christmas for a one-off special that they’ve insisted will be its last ever episode.

And with production getting underway later this year, it seems the pair are taking security very seriously.

According to the BBC’s Director of Comedy, Jon Petrie, he hasn’t actually been allowed to see a copy of the script yet – despite being the one who commissioned the special.

Speaking at a comedy showcase this week, Jon said (via the Daily Mail): “I genuinely still haven’t seen the script, James and Ruth won’t let us look at it yet.

He added:”I think [that’s] great, they are really keeping it under wraps and don’t want people to see it outside of their very, very tight circle until they’re 100 per cent certain of it.

“I think it will be hard when they are filming it because it’s such a huge show and everyone will want to watch, everyone in all the locations where it’s shot, it will be obvious what’s being shot.”

Of course, you can’t blame James and Ruth for being overzealous, particularly as news of the special was leaked in the press weeks before they actually announced it.

Ruth has previously made no secret of her upset about this leak, admitting last month: “I wanted to give everybody a nice surprise and I think it was really mean that they leaked it.”

Meanwhile, James disclosed during a Radio 2 interview last week that the Christmas special’s script isn’t actually finished yet, telling Zoe Ball: “Ruth and I have to do one last pass and clean up of it, really.

“The cast are like, ‘when can I read it?’, [but] we don’t want to really give it to anybody if we feel like we have to make a few trims and adjustments. But I’m really excited to share it with people.”