James Cordon and Ruth Jones have allegedly signed a huge seven-figure TV deal for a Gavin and Stacey reboot.
The duo, who stepped back into their roles as Smithy and Nessa in the iconic BBC comedy stepped for the finale last Christmas, are reportedly working on new material.
James, 47 and Ruth, 58, have agreed to a deal that will air the show on AppleTV+, rather than the BBC.
A source confirmed that 10 episodes will be filmed with an all British cast, including Corden and Jones.
Shooting will kick off next year, and episodes are expected to air in 2027.
But fans should be aware – the new show won’t feature the characters they adore on the original Gavin and Stacey.
Gavin and Stacey are played by Mathew Horne and Joanna Page. Gavin’s parents Pam and Mick are played by Alison Steadman and Larry Lamb, and Uncle Bryn and Stacey’s widowed mother Gwen West are played by Rob Brydon and Melanie Walters.
According to an insider: “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+,” they said.
The insider said that casting has not started yet, but the show will focus on a new format, different to Gavin and Stacey.
In the Christmas finale last year, Gavin and Stacey wrapped up with will-they-won’t-they friends Smithy and Nessa finally tying the knot.
It marked a sweet ending for the sitcom, which began in 2007 and last aired in 2019 on a cliffhanger episode when Nessa proposed to Smithy.
In a documentary on the episode, James explained why Gavin and Stacey couldn’t continue.
He said: “Probably from the first Christmas special that we did, when Dave proposes and Smithy says, ‘Don't marry him", from that minute on it felt like they had to end together.
“And that's what he says in this last scene, "I know it's messy and not perfect, but that's because we're messy and not perfect".”
Last month it was revealed that a member of crew had suddenly passed away.
The sad news was revealed on stage by Mathew Horne at his ‘In Conversation With...’ show in Taunton, Somerset.
Mathew was explaining how he still stays in touch with the group on WhatsApp, when he suddenly became emotional.
Mathew was talking about how the cast were all still chatting to each other on a WhatsApp group, when he became emotional.
The actor said: “Sorry. I got distracted. Earlier on... we had a driver on the finale called Rob and he was in his early 40s... and I found out via the WhatsApp group earlier that he has passed away and I got slightly distracted there.
“It’s really really sad. I got distracted by losing Rob. He was a really lovely guy and he’s left a four year old behind and that is really really really sad.”
It was later revealed that the driver was a Barry Island favourite who had been experiencing chest pains just weeks before he died.
