The Choir: Sing While You Work

Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust

Bristol Royal Mail

Manchester Airport

Severn Trent Water

In Series 1 each choir consisted of 30 singers.[3] Manchester airport choir were eliminated at the semi final stage. The three remaining groups performed for the final at the National Eisteddfod of Wales in Llangollen. Severn Trent Water choir won the final.[5]

Ralph Allwood, Manvinder Rattan, Ruby Turner [6]

P & O Ferries - the choir was drawn from P&O staff in Dover and Calais, with singing in both English and French.[13]
Birmingham City Council - played against the background of major budget cuts in the council. The choir's first major performance is in Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery in front of colleagues, friends and the judges.[14]
Sainsbury's - using staff from a store in Walthamstow, the Waltham Point distribution centre, and the Store Support Centre in London.[4]
Cheshire Fire Service
Citi Bank, London

The quarter final was held at the Royal Academy of Music, where each choir had to perform a piece of classical music. Sainsbury's choir, singing Ave Maria, were eliminated at this stage.[15]

The semi final was held at El Shaddai Church in Golders Green, each choir performed a gospel song. Birmingham City Council Choir were next to fall from the competition. They sang 'Down to the River to Pray'.

The grand final was filmed during the last week of September in Ely Cathedral,[13] to be broadcast on 22 December 2013. P&O Ferries were crowned winners in front of an audience of 1200 people.

Paul Mealor (royal composer), Sarah Fox (singer), Ken Burton (conductor) [4]

The first programme of the initial series, following the fortunes of the Lewisham NHS trust choir, was warmly received. The Telegraph described it as "an emotive piece of television, in the best possible way" and a "pleasurable programme",[25] its only criticism being the "slightly heavy-handed attempt to shoehorn in a bit of hospital-based class warfare".[25] The Guardian reviewer described Malone as "slightly annoying" but admitted the programme melted any cynicism and left him "blubbing like one of those babies on the neonatal ward".[26]

A controversy over editing emerged during the first season when a member of the Lewisham NHS trust choir, Eddie Chaloner, complained that he had been presented in a "misleading" and "mendacious" way.[27] Mark Lawson of The Guardian commented: "There's no doubt producer-director Pete Cooksley has imposed a storyline on the documentary."[27] However, he concluded that SIng While You Work "is a fascinating debate about the role of the heart in different arts. It is enjoyable general viewing but could be a useful teaching aid in medical schools."[27]

In 2013 Sameer Rahim of The Telegraph described the programmes as "patronising" and "drawn out and manipulative – a knock-off version of a great original",[28] giving it two out of five stars. Ellen Jones of The Independent commented that the show emphasised team spirit so was "a bit light on the kind of 'characters' who entertain in other reality talent shows.[29] Of the P&O choir she said "Individually, none of the choir members would make it to the stage in a Wetherspoon's karaoke competition, yet, together, they can transform a cheesy disco number into something almost sacred".[29] Of the Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service choir she highlighted their rendition of Bruce Springsteen's The Rising as "the most moving moment in the whole series".[30]