Jason Winer, one of the masterminds behind the hit US sitcom Modern Family has signed up to direct Russell Brand in the remake of Arthur.

Comic Peter Baynham – who’s gone from Pot Noodle ads to co-writing the Bruno film – has previously been announced as the movie’s writer.

However the plot will be the same as the Dudley Moore/Liza Minelli original, in which the alcoholic son of millionaire will inherit a fortune if he agrees to marry a heiress – but instead falls for a waitress.

Winer recently won a Directors Guild award for the critically acclaimed Modern Family, which attracts around 10 million viewers a week to the ABC network. It is shown on Sky One in the UK.