Fleeshman, Lancashire for BBC choir drama

Former Coronation Street stars Richard Fleeshman and Sarah Lancashire are starring in a new BBC One drama series centering around two rival choirs.

The show, penned by Cutting It and True Dare Kiss writer Debbie Horsfield, has a working title of The Choir Project and will run for six one-hour episodes early next year.

Set in a north England town, the drama follows the chaos caused when glamorous soprano Layla, played by Sarah Alexander, joins an unremarkable local choir. Determined to help the group hit the big time, she inspires a cull of the weakest members, with the implications not only affecting the choir but also the marriage of conductor Michael (Neil Pearson) and his wife Esther (Lancashire).

When Esther finds herself excluded from the group, she gathers together her fellow rejects to create a new choir, helped by her gifted son Kyle (Fleeshman), and the rivalry soon hots up.

Kate Harwood, BBC Head of Series and Serials, said: "A passion for music lies at the heart of Debbie Horsfield's warm and uplifting drama. As the characters' individual stories unfold it's the power of music that holds them together - we're delighted to be bringing such an original and feel-good drama to BBC audiences, and hope to have them singing along!"