Brydon would love it if Gavin and Stacey returned

Gavin and Stacey is returning... or is it?

On Tuesday, US TV and film website Deadline reported that the hit sitcom is set to return to the screens for a one-off special in December.

However, there has been no official confirmation by BBC Studios over the comedy set in Barry and Essex.

The show's Rob Brydon - who plays Uncle Bryn - said he'd "love it if it were true" but "as far as I'm aware it's another rumour".

Speaking to BBC Radio 4's Today Programme, Brydon said: "I get asked about this on every interview I ever do, but as far as I'm aware it's another rumour."

Co-creator Ruth Jones has also played down the speculation, saying it was "sadly a rumour".

Speaking to Irish station RTE Radio 1, she added: "All I can say is, if there was something to say on that front, James [Corden] and I would happily announce it, we would."

Other cast members are in the dark.

Asked about the report on BBC One's Morning Live, Steffan Rhodri, who plays Dave, said he had "no knowledge to impart".

The show follows the lives of Essex boy Gavin, played by Matthew Horne, and Barry girl Stacey, played by Joanna Page.

Their best friends Smithy and Nessa - played by the show's writers James Corden and Ruth Jones - also strike up an unlikely relationship.

Despite apparently disliking one another, the pair have a son together, Neil "the Baby" Noel Edmond Smith.

Deadline reported that the majority of the main cast are expected to return for the special, including Rob Brydon, who plays Stacey's eccentric Uncle Bryn, and Alison Steadman and Larry Lamb, who play Gavin's parents Pamela and Mick.

The show is currently in pre-production, with filming due to begin in a few months' time, Deadline reported, adding that it was being produced by Steve Coogan's Baby Cow, Jones' Tidy Productions and Fulwell 73, which is co-owned by Corden.

The 2019 Christmas special, which ended with Nessa declaring her love for Smithy, was the UK's most-watched scripted TV programme of the 2010s, with 17.1 million viewers.