The minds behind beloved sitcom Gavin and Stacey are teaming up once again to create a brand new show for Apple TV+.
Ruth Jones and James Corden are set to write a new series, set in the UK, after signing a deal worth an estimated £8,000,000.
The show, which had interest from major broadcasters —including Gavin and Stacey’s home, the BBC — will begin filming next year for a 2027 launch.
‘In what has unquestionably been a pretty miserable year for Brits, there is finally something to cheer — a new James and Ruth co-production,’ an insider told The Sun.
‘As you might expect, it is uplifting, gentle and very funny. They wanted to bring something full of heart and warmth back to screens; water cooler moments for all the family.’
James and Ruth have been a highly sought-after team after Nessa and Smithy’s farewell became the UK’s most-watched scripted show since records began in 2002.
Fans were anticipating a potential spin-off or prequel series, possibly based around Nessa’s various adventures hinted at in the original show.
However, this appears to be a clean slate with a whole new group of characters waiting to be cast.
‘James and Ruth had been tapped up by Netflix for the Gavin and Stacey finale but turned down the money to stay loyal to BBC. This time, with a new format and new characters, they wanted to let an international audience enjoy their work.’
Ruth, 58, is not leaving the BBC completely as she has signed on to the upcoming adaptation of Pride and Prejudice spin-off novel, The Other Bennet Sister.
She will play the Bennet matriarch alongside Richard E Grant as Mr Bennet in the show, which follows introverted sister Mary.
Meanwhile, James, 47, is currently performing in the Broadway comedy, Art, alongside Bobby Cannavale and Neil Patrick Harris.
It seems the cast are not done with Gavin and Stacey yet, as Larry Lamb has reportedly told BBC bosses to ‘put it in cinemas’.
More than 19 million people watched the final outing for Gavin Shipman (Mathew Horne) and Stacey West (Joanna Page) on Christmas Day.
Larry, who played Gavin’s dad, Mick Shipman, told BBC Director-General Tim Davie to ‘take the show, reorganise all the contracts and put it in the cinema’.
‘You’d have 35m people going to see it,’ he told The Times. ‘You’d make all the money over again.’
‘Well, he’s the boss of the BBC,’ the 77-year-old star continued. ‘You don’t give the game away, do you? From the look on his face, it was either: “That’s not a bad idea,” or “I wish these people would stop trying to do my job for me. They can barely do their own.”’
He teased to Radio Times: ‘I don’t think the BBC will ever kill the goose that laid the golden egg.’
However, fans shouldn’t get too excited about potentially seeing Mick on the telly again as Larry has ‘retired’ from acting.
The EastEnders legend revealed to the Daily Mail previously that he would consider small roles just to ‘keep my face in’ but is stepping firmly out of the spotlight.
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