Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps set to return

Will Mellor, who played lascivious, football-obsessed car mechanic Gaz in the BBC comedy, has revealed that he has been talking to series creator Susan Nickson and that "we're hopefully going to try and get a Two Pints special going".

• The return of Gavin & Stacey is the biggest news in British comedy for a decade – and the biggest responsibility
• Sheridan Smith confirms she won't be in Gavin and Stacey Christmas reunion episode
• James Corden teases details on Gavin and Stacey comeback: "I’d rather regret something than not do it"

Mellor said the idea had been inspired by the messages he has been receiving from fans since Two Pints began a repeat run each night on UKTV channel Gold.

“Recently, since Two Pints came back [to Gold], people have been messaging me about how much they miss the show and how much it was part of their growing up... saying 'please bring it back for a special or do something'," said Mellor in an Instagram post.

"We’ll I’ve been listening, and reading your messages, and I think we’re going to get a Two Pints special off the ground.

"I spoke to Susan Nickson and we're hopefully going to try and get a Two Pints special going just to say thank you for all the support of people who love the show and got behind it. We've just got to cross the Is and dot the Ts, so watch this space."

https://www.instagram.com/p/BykSrRvBsnW/

Getting a Two Pints special off the ground could mean securing the services of some well known faces, including Sheridan Smith, who played Janet in the sitcom; Ralf Little, who was her boyfriend and later husband Johnny; Natalie Casey, Gaz's long-suffering girlfriend Donna; and their highly strung friend Louise, played by Kathryn Drysdale.

However, Little departed after series six and Smith the year before the show ended, so whether they would return remains to be seen. Either way, the twentysomething characters would now very much be thirtysomethings (and in some cases fortysomethings) so the plot would presumably catch up with what has happened in their lives over the last decade.

The first series of Two Pints of Lager aired in 2001 on BBC2 but from series two onwards it became a much-loved staple of BBC3 (formerly known as BBC Choice) where it ran until 2011, airing a total of nine series.

Set in the north west town of Runcorn, it revolved around the lives of a group of hard up friends, and was set in their flats or in their notorious local pub The Archer.

The humour was unashamedly low-brow, involving drunken nights out, sexual innuendoes and plenty of late-night kebabs – and as the clamour for a return proves, fans couldn't get enough.