Another project for Ruth Jones

Not only has she just landed the role of Hattie Jacques in a new BBC drama, but Gavin and Stacey’s Ruth Jones will also star in a new comedy show about a group of ramblers.

Her own production company, Tidy Productions, is making the three-part series The Great Outdoors for BBC Four.

The programme also stars Mark Heap – from Spaced, Green Wing and Skins – as the ‘vain, deluded, tragic-comic’ organiser of the rambling group, who feels threatened by Jones’s character.

The show, which will be shot on a handheld camera to give it a low-tech feel, has been written by Kevin Cecil and Andy Riley, who previously created the sci-fi sitcom Hyperdrive.

Executive producer Paul Schlesinger said: ‘Rambling is such a great British institution. It's a brilliant subject for a character comedy. And what's really exciting is that with Ruth Jones and Mark Heap we have two of the best comedy actors around at the centre of it.’

The Great Outdoors will air as part of BBC Four's Outdoor Season this summer.

Published: 17 May 2010