James Corden has revealed the heartwarming moment that inspired his new show with Ruth Jones.
The Gavin and Stacey creators are joining forces for their first TV project since Gavin and Stacey – with its plot revealed earlier this month.
James and Ruth, who brought their long-running sitcom to a close with a 2024 Christmas special, are writing a new show for Apple TV called The Choir.
Now, James has recalled his light-bulb moment about what the show’s plot should be while watching his mum singing with her choir.
‘We drove to High Wycombe and watched this thing, I burst into tears, I burst into tears because my mum looked so happy,’ he told The Sun.
‘Then I looked at all of these people, this ramshackle bunch, all singing purely for the joy of singing.
James Corden has revealed the heartwarming moment that inspired his new show with Ruth Jones (Seen in August)
The Gavin and Stacey creators are joining forces for their first TV project since Gavin and Stacey – with its plot revealed earlier this month (Seen together in 2019)
‘I turned to my wife and said “This is it, this is why we moved home”.’
The British comedy stars, who brought their long-running sitcom to a close with a 2024 Christmas special, are writing a new show for Apple TV.
Deadline reports that the new show is called The Choir and its plot centres around two previously estranged siblings, Ben (James Corden) and Lisa (Ruth Jones).
In the show, misunderstood Ben reluctantly returns to the English town where his sister and family live to ‘a life he never wanted’ after living abroad.
The series will be split into six parts and James and Ruth will also serve as executive producers.
While it was previously reported that the pair – best known for their portrayal of Nessa and Smithy in Gavin and Stacey – had signed a multimillion-pound deal, Deadline has debunked this claim.
‘Apple is not commenting on the figure and insiders steered away from it being a “multi-million pound deal,”‘ they wrote.
Prior to the announcement of The Choir, Gavin and Stacey fans had expressed hopes for a spin-off – either focusing on the characters’ early lives or what happens to Nessa and Smithy now that they are finally together.
Now, James has recalled his light-bulb moment about what the show’s plot should be as he watched his mum (centre-right) singing with her choir
However, in Gavin & Stacey: A Fond Farewell, a documentary about the Christmas special, the team stressed that it was very much over for the fictional residents of Barry Island.
Ruth said: ‘Once Smithy and Nessa got together, that really is the end. Because we can never see them actually living together.’
James agreed, adding: ‘Oh no, it would be awful. No, it just won’t work.’
But while the pair won’t be reviving their famous characters, Ruth has said she is delighted to be working with James again.
She told BBC News: ‘We have such a good laugh together and we just love being in a room and writing together.
‘I hope that that’s going to continue because Gavin & Stacey is now finished.’
Filming on The Choir is expected to begin in 2026.
The insider told The Sun: ‘In what has unquestionably been a pretty miserable year for Brits, there is finally something to cheer – a new James and Ruth co-production.
‘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.
‘Naturally there was a lot of interest around the script and a major bidding war to land this production.
‘But James already had an excellent relationship with AppleTV+.’
