Sir Paul McCartney's gift that made 'pivotal' Gavin & Stacey scene

It was a pivotal moment in the Gavin & Stacey Christmas special, but needed a frantic email to Sir Paul McCartney to make it happen.

Oscar Hartland, 16, who played Neil the Baby, left the cast "bawling their eyes out" as he performed Blackbird by The Beatles.

It took place during the wedding ceremony of his on-screen dad Smithy, played by James Corden, with Hartland admitting he practiced for hours for the "make or break" moment.

But it almost didn't happen, with Corden requesting permission from McCartney after realising the show's budget did not cover permission to use it.

The Christmas Day finale episode became one of the most watched scripted TV shows of the century.

According to official Barb ratings figures, after seven days of catch-up viewing the finale of the much loved comedy had been seen by 19.11 million people.

That beat the last Gavin & Stacey special in 2019 which at the same stage had an audience of 17.92m, rising to 18.49m after a month.

The 90 minute 2024 special resolved the cliff hanger from five years before, when Nessa (Ruth Jones) asked Smithy (Corden) to marry her.

In the book, Jones said she was an "absolute mess" when she watched Hartland sing Blackbird during filming.

"His voice was so pure, and the guitar playing was just so gorgeous," she said.

"I almost couldn't listen to it, it was just too much. I'm delighted with that scene, I think it tells a really gorgeous story."

For the 2019 Christmas special, Hartland auditioned for the role of Neil the baby and revealed to Jones and the director that he was one of the original three babies used for the part.

"Ten years later, he came back in and auditioned for the role in the 2019 special, did his audition brilliantly, and then, at the end of it, mentioned to you [Jones] and Chris the director, 'Oh, you know, I'm one of the original babies that you had'," said Corden.

"We're so proud of him."

Hartland, who is a singer as well as an actor, heads off on his debut tour on 23 October and said he's excited but nervous.

"We've been working really hard, me and the boys, getting some really solid tunes sorted," he said.

"It's going to be a really nice opportunity to play them to the people and give them the tunes we really want to get out there."