Details emerge for Apple TV+ James Corden and Ruth Jones dramedy

Ruth Jones and James Corden are working on a project together for a multipart comedy drama with Apple TV+.

Broadcast understands The Gavin & Stacey creators are making eight-part comedy drama The Choir for the streamer.

The pair will star as siblings Ben and Lisa, who haven’t seen each other for several years. Ben has been living abroad while Lisa has remained in their small English town where nothing ever happens. But when events take an unfortunate turn, Ben is forced to return to a life he never wanted, a town he never liked and a family from which he’s estranged.

The struggling local choir may prove the healing solution to the rift with his big sister as it meets every week to sing its heart out.

Jones and Corden will also serve as executive producers.

The Sun first reported that Jones and Corden had landed a series with Apple TV+, with the streamer winning against interest from the BBC, Netflix and Amazon Prime Video.

Casting is yet to go underway for the all-British ensemble, with the series expected to film next year for a 2027 launch on Apple TV+.

Details of the production company making the series are as-yet under wraps although sources have suggested Corden’s outfit Fulwell 73 and Jones’ label Tidy Productions are likely to be behind it.

The Gavin & Stacey finale was co-produced by Fulwell 73 and Tidy Productions, with BBC Studios label Baby Cow. Broadcast understands Baby Cow is not involved with the Apple TV+ project.

Fulwell Entertainment declined to comment.

A show insider had told The Sun that Netflix had been interested in making the Gavin & Stacey finale but Jones and Corden rejected the offer to “stay loyal” to the BBC.

“This time, with a new format and new characters, they wanted to let an international audience enjoy their work,” they said. “As you might expect, it is uplifting, gentle and very funny.”

The 90-minute Gavin & Stacey finale aired on BBC1 on Christmas Day 2024 – 17 years after the series launched on BBC3 – to an overnights audience of 12.3m (65%) before climbing to a consolidated 28-day viewership of 20.9m.

Earlier this year, Corden accepted the inaugural Hall of Fame for Gavin & Stacey at this year’s Broadcast Awards and praised the BBC for backing the comedy when it first commissioned it as well as extolling the virtues of the British TV industry.