Laura Aikman got marriage offers after Gavin and Stacey alter ego dumped at altar in finale episode
Some men joked that they are happy to marry actress Laura Aikman - who tied the knot to actor Matt Kennard in 2019 - after they felt sorry for her Gavin and Stacey character Sonia being dumped at the altar in the sitcom' finale episode on Christmas Day 2024.
Laura Aikman received marriage offers from men after they watched her Gavin and Stacey character be dumped at the altar by James Corden's alter ego in the finale episode.
Neil "Smithy" Smith jilted his insufferable fiancee Sonia at their wedding because he realised he was making the biggest mistake of his life, not being with his true love Vanessa "Nessa" Jenkins (Ruth Jones).
Whilst a big chunk of the average 12.3 million viewers were pleased about Smithy ditching Sonia, some men felt bad and jokingly offered to tie the knot with Laura, 39, after the Christmas Day 2024 special aired.
The star - who has been married to former Coronation Street star Matt Kennard, 43, since 2019 - exclusively told BANG Showbiz at the ZYN Rolling Stone UK Awards 2025: "A few men sort of shouted at me, 'I'd marry you, love’ in the pub."
Sonia was introduced as Smithy's girlfriend in the 2019 Christmas Day special of the BBC sitcom, and some viewers hated the character because of her controlling and manipulative nature.
But Laura was relieved that Gavin and Stacey's fans did not give her slack because of Sonia's character traits.
She said: "People were quite nice about it."
Sonia's bombshell appearance in Gavin and Stacey: The Finale shocked the nation, and Laura was "hidden away" in a separate hotel during filming, and she even signed an NDA preventing her from revealing she was returning.
If fans found out Sonia would be making a comeback, Laura thinks they may not have been nice towards her.
She said: "If people had known that I was going to be in it earlier, [their reaction] might have been worse. But by the time the episode’s over, they know that I’m gone."
Laura even wonders if she will be booed by the residents of Barry Island - the seaside resort where the Wales-based scenes of Gavin and Stacey were shot - if she returned to the town.
Asked if she has been to Barry Island since Gavin and Stacey wrapped, Laura said: "I haven't been since. I very much enjoyed it at the time."
Quizzed if she is worried about how the locals would react if they saw her in the town, she added: "Like boo me? Maybe. I’ll have to go and see."
