Gavin and Stacey star Mathew Horne secretly welcomes child ahead of Christmas special
Gavin and Stacey star Mathew Horne was pictured with his son for the first time ahead of reprising his role in the show's Christmas special.
The 45-year-old actor, who is best known for his role as Gavin Shipman in the beloved BBC sitcom, is set to return for the reunion episode later this year.
While Gavin and Stacey have their own on-screen family, Horne’s family has grown off-screen too.
Over the bank holiday weekend, the TV star and his wife Celina Bassili were seen with their child for the first time. In photos obtained by The Sun, Bassili was seen carrying their son while Horne pushed a pram.
It's believed that the Catherine Tate star kept his son’s arrival a secret, only sharing the news with a few close relatives at the time.
A source told the outlet: “Mathew is a brilliant dad and he and Celina love being parents. Celina’s brother has a son who is a similar age and they love spending time together.
“Mathew also kept the news quiet because he prefers to live his life out of the spotlight, even though he’s a household name thanks to Gavin and Stacey.
“All his Gavin and Stacey co-stars know about him being a dad, including James Corden and Joanna Page. They all have kids so you can imagine the talk on set for the Christmas special is going to centre a lot on their kids.”
Horne and Bassili, a Norwegian set designer, are thought to have welcomed their first child shortly after getting married in October 2021.
They were romantically linked in 2019, following his previous engagement to actress Evelyn Hoskins, which ended in 2018.
The Standard has contacted Mathew Horne’s rep for comment.
Fans of Gavin and Stacey are eagerly awaiting Horne’s return to the show. The one-off special was announced earlier this year by writers James and Ruth, who shared a photo of the script on social media, which triggered a flurry of excitement online.
Corden captioned the social media post: “Some news… It’s official!!! We have finished writing the last ever episode of Gavin and Stacey.
“See you on Christmas Day, BBC One. Love Ruth and James.”
