The family of Gavin & Stacey star Laura Aikman only found out she was returning to the sitcom while they watched the finale on Christmas Day.

The 39-year-old actress shared a video on her Instagram showing her family screaming in shock as her character Sonia appeared in the episode.

Sonia, the ex-girlfriend of James Corden’s character Neil “Smithy” Smith, appears in the final Christmas special in a crucial plot twist.

One member of Aikman’s family can be heard shouting “press pause” while another tells her “you never told me”.

“We never told anyone,” Aikman replies.

Sharing the video on Instagram she wrote “the moment my family realise Sonia is ruining Christmas again” and captioned it: “I take an NDA very seriously.”

She also shared a photo of a cast board of all the Gavin & Stacey characters, with a space missing where her picture would have been.

Aikman joined Gavin & Stacey as Sonia in the last Christmas Day episode in 2019, when Smithy brought his girlfriend to meet his family and friends.

But she did not get on with the group and left before Smithy could propose to her as he had planned.

Vanessa “Nessa” Jenkins, played by Ruth Jones, later got down on one knee and confessed her love for Smithy, but before he could respond to her proposal the episode ended on a cliffhanger.

Fans have waited five years to find out his answer, with the 2024 Christmas Day episode opening with the family of Stacey Shipman, played by Joanna Page, and her husband Gavin, portrayed by Mathew Horne, preparing for a wedding.

The BBC said the episode secured the highest overnight Christmas Day ratings since 2008.

The 90-minute episode drew an average audience of 12.3 million, according to overnight figures, surpassing the show’s 2019 Christmas special by more than half-a-million viewers.

Donald Trump has suggested the US could take control of Canada, Greenland and the Panama Canal in a series of Christmas Day social media posts.

The president-elect wished a merry Christmas to all on his Truth Social platform, “including to the wonderful soldiers of China, who are lovingly, but illegally, operating the Panama Canal”.

In the lengthy posts, Mr Trump referred to the American lives lost during the canal’s construction and said the US “puts in billions of dollars in ‘repair’ money, but will have absolutely nothing to say about ‘anything’.”

He also mocked Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as “governor” and again suggested the country could be turned into a US state – following similar comments made in recent weeks.

“If Canada was to become our 51st state, their taxes would be cut by more than 60%, their businesses would immediately double in size, and they would be militarily protected like no other country anywhere in the world,” he wrote.

In another post, Mr Trump, 78, said he had encouraged former ice hockey star Wayne Gretzky to run for prime minister but he “had no interest”.

He also addressed “the people of Greenland, which is needed by the United States for national security purposes and, who want the US to be there, and we will!”

It comes after Mr Trump renewed the call he made during his first term in office for the US to buy Greenland from Denmark.

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The world’s largest island, which sits between the Atlantic and Arctic oceans, is 80% covered by an ice sheet and is home to a large US military base. Greenland gained autonomy from Denmark in 1979.

The island’s Prime Minister Mute Egede has insisted Greenland is not for sale.

Mr Trump has also previously threatened to retake control of the Panama Canal, accusing Panama of charging excessive rates to use the crucial trade passage and warning of potential Chinese influence.

Panama’s President Jose Raul Mulino previously said his country’s independence was non-negotiable and that China had no influence on the canal’s administration.

The canal is a critical waterway for world trade, connecting the Atlantic and Pacific oceans and allows ships to avoid lengthy and hazardous journeys around the southernmost tip of South America by cutting through the middle of the Americas.

After the ambitious project was opened in 1914, the canal and surrounding territory were controlled by the US until an agreement with Panama in 1977 paved the way for it to return to full Panamanian control in 1999.

China does not control the canal but a subsidiary of Hong Kong-based CK Hutchison Holdings has long managed two ports at the canal’s Caribbean and Pacific entrances.

Two women have died following reports of a stabbing in Milton Keynes on Christmas Day, police have said.

A dog injured in the incident in Bletchley also died after being taken to the vets.

A man and a teenage boy suffered serious injuries.

A 49-year-old man from Milton Keynes has been arrested on suspicion of murder and attempted murder and remains in custody.

Officers were called to a block of apartments in Santa Cruz Avenue just after 6.30pm on Christmas Day following reports of a stabbing.

The two women, aged 38 and 24, died at the scene, Thames Valley Police said. Their next of kin have been informed.

The injured man and teenage boy were taken to hospital and are both in a stable condition.

Police said the parties are known to each other.

Senior investigating officer Detective Chief Inspector Stuart Brangwin said: “Firstly I would like to extend my deepest condolences to the families of the women who have tragically died in this shocking incident.

“We have launched a double murder investigation, which may be concerning to the wider public; however, we have made an arrest and are not looking for anyone else in connection with this incident and the parties are known to each other.”