James Corden on leaving his talk show, flying with Tom Cruise and whether he’ll do more Gavin & Stacey
British star James Corden has told how he felt “compelled” to come back to the UK after eight years hosting his hit US chat show – but says it was “very difficult” to walk away.
In his first interview since returning home, the actor and presenter also spoke about the phone call he received from Tom Cruise to calm his nerves ahead of a Top Gun stunt, and gave his thoughts on whether Gavin & Stacey should come back to TV screens after a “perfect” cliffhanger.
Corden was speaking at a Royal Television Society event, looking back at how he went from being a relatively unknown British star in the US, to a world-famous presenter who has now interviewed everyone from Paul McCartney and Justin Bieber to Michelle Obama and Prince Harry.
He said he would always be “immensely proud” of presenting The Late Late Show.
Corden said: “What a thing to have done. It is a source of overwhelming feeling and just thinking, I genuinely don’t know what I’ve done to deserve such memories, to deserve such things, and it’s really hard to walk away from, it’s a very difficult thing to leave, but I felt compelled to come home.”
In the weeks since he has been back, Corden said people have questioned why he would choose to be here rather than LA.
“Sometimes you want to shake people and go, I wish you could see it from a distance,” he said.
He added: “I wish you could see this island from a distance. It’s unbelievable. It’s amazing, the architecture and the people and the creativity and the things that we make, the size of the country versus its output is extraordinary.
“And I just felt compelled to come home and, you know, to just try and see if there might be one more thing that I can do, safe in the knowledge that there might not be.”
Read more from Sky News:
Sophie Turner sues Joe Jonas
Emma Thompson on Hollywood strikes
Strictly star shaves head after cancer diagnosis
Corden told the audience that despite being “terrified” when he started on The Late Late Show, his aim was always to create a series that embraced the internet – something he did with segments such as Carpool Karaoke and Spill Your Guts, which often went viral.
Over the years, the show featured the likes of Kim Kardashian, Adele, One Direction, Stevie Wonder and Sir Elton John.
Asked by session host Boyd Hilton, the entertainment director of Heat magazine, about his time flying with Cruise, who is famous for doing his own stunts, ahead of the release of the Top Gun sequel, Corden said: “A few days before I had a genuine… I just ended up going like, look, he’s an actor, he’s not a pilot.
“Respectfully. It’s just the two of us in an aeroplane, if something happens… then we die. And worse than that, worse than my own death, is my children growing up and people going, you know who they are? Their dad killed Tom Cruise.
“And then Tom calls and goes, you know, ‘James. Your life is more valuable than mine.’
“He actually did make some salient points. What he said to me was, ‘I would never do this if I wasn’t flying every day. I am flying every single day… You don’t have to worry, you have to just trust me. And I wouldn’t do this going in cold.’
“And then you’re like, I guess we’re going to do it.”
Finally, Corden was also asked the question everyone wants an answer to: will we ever see more of Gavin & Stacey?
Nessa proposed to Smithy in the 2019 Christmas special of Gavin and Stacey
The 2019 Christmas special left viewers on a cliffhanger as Nessa, played by Ruth Jones, proposed to Corden’s Smithy – just before the credits rolled.
“I genuinely don’t know if we’ll ever do another one,” Corden said. “I think Ruth and I would love to make something together again… I really don’t know with Gavin & Stacey. I think we feel so proud of that last special…
“I think, in a way, those characters, they live on, they carry on, they’re still out there somewhere living and breathing.
“Their lives carry on and we just sort of get together and open this portal and find out.
“Some people say to me, ‘I want to know what happens’. And I go, so do I!
“I don’t know… Maybe there’s something really perfect about it ending there.
“Can we truly fulfil people’s ambitions for it? I know it’s such an annoying answer, I’m aware of that, but I don’t know.”
Entertainment
New Universal theme park set to open in UK – with promise of ‘billions’ of pounds for the economy
A deal for a new Universal theme park in Bedfordshire has been confirmed, which Rachel Reeves says will bring “billions” to the economy and create thousands of jobs.
It will be the first Universal-branded theme park and resort in Europe and is set to open in 2031, when it is expected to become the UK’s most popular visitor attraction.
The government said it will bring an estimated £50bn into the British economy and will create about 28,000 jobs – nearly 20,000 during the construction phase, and 8,000 more in hospitality and the creative industries when it opens.
A 500-room hotel and a retail and entertainment complex is planned alongside the theme park, which will be built on a former brickworks.
Universal, which is owned by Sky News’ US parent company Comcast, expects the 476-acre site just south of Bedford to generate nearly £50bn for the economy by 2055, with 8.5m visitors in its first year.
The plan remains subject to a formal planning decision process from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.
Universal has committed to working with local colleges and universities to train students for hospitality jobs.
There are Universal theme parks in Florida (pictured), California, Japan, Beijing and Singapore. Pic: AP
Among some of the famous Universal films are Wicked, Minions, Oppenheimer, Bridget Jones, Fast and the Furious, and Jurassic World.
There are five Universal theme parks already: Orlando in Florida, Hollywood, Japan, Beijing, and Singapore.
The new Universal theme park will be just south of Bedford
Speaking to Wilfred Frost on Sky News Breakfast, Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy said the deal was “huge”.
“This is not just about numbers on the spreadsheet,” she said.
“This is about good jobs. It’s about growth. It’s about raising people’s living standards and putting money in people’s pockets. And it’s a massive vote of confidence in the United Kingdom.”
Welcoming the timing of the announcement, Ms Nandy added: “This deal comes off the back of one of the most tumultuous few weeks in global markets that I think anyone can remember within living memory.”
She said the fact that the government had been able to show it kept a “cool head” and “we don’t take knee-jerk decisions in response to global events” was one of the reasons it was able to announce the deal.
Read more:
Trump tariffs could disrupt medicine supplies to UK
Is it time to change tactics with Trump?
The proposals to transform the site, a former brickworks, remain subject to a formal planning decision process
The government has said about 80% of employees at the theme park are expected to come from local areas, and it will support the “Oxford-Cambridge corridor” revived by the chancellor in January after the Conservatives scrapped plans for an Abingdon-Milton Keynes train link in 2021.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Chancellor responds to tariffs: ‘We’ve got your backs’
It will also commit to a “major investment” in infrastructure around the Universal site to ensure it is well-connected and easily accessible.
The announcement comes days after the government approved an expansion of nearby Luton Airport.
Mike Cavanagh, President of Comcast Corporation, said: “We could not be more excited to take this very important step in our plan to create and deliver an incredible Universal theme park and resort in the heart of the United Kingdom, which complements our growing US-based parks business by expanding our global footprint to Europe.
“We appreciate the leadership and support of Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Chancellor Rachel Reeves, Minister for Investment Poppy Gustafsson, Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy and their teams, as we work together to create and deliver a fantastic new landmark destination.”
Entertainment
BAFTA Games Awards: Astro Bot tops leaderboard – with psychological horror close behind
Astro Bot was the big winner at this year’s BAFTA Games Awards, taking home five prizes, including the coveted best game.
The 3D platformer, which was launched to critical acclaim in September to mark PlayStation’s 30th anniversary, was nominated for eight gongs, while Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II, led with 11 nods.
But in the end, the critics – some of whom had dubbed Astro Bot a “perfect game” – were right as it dominated the awards at London’s Queen Elizabeth Hall, hosted by comedian Phil Wang for the second year running.
Astro Bot. Pic: Team Asobi
Nicolas Doucet with his five awards for Astro Bot. Pic: PA
BAFTAs for audio achievement, game design, animation, and best family game completed the set for developers Team Asobi, who designed multiple galaxies and dozens of levels for the titular Astro to journey through, retrieving spaceship parts and rescuing lost robots.
“We’re a team based in Japan, but we have over 12 nationalities. We really mix it up and get ideas from everyone,” Nicolas Doucet, president of Team Asobi, told Sky News.
“We do a lot of jokes in the game, but the joke has a different meaning depending on where you are in the world. So it’s really, really nice to go around and ask everyone ‘is that joke fine in your country?’ And then together we come to a kind of universal playfulness.”
Among the gongs for Astro Bot was the best game award. Pic: BAFTA
It’s a very different atmosphere than that generated by British psychological horror Still Wakes The Deep, which won three awards for best new intellectual property and best supporting and leading roles.
Compared to John Carpenter’s 1980 sci-fi horror The Thing but on a Scottish oil rig, the game sees players take on the role of an electrician trapped on a damaged facility while being pursued by monsters.
Still Wakes The Deep. Pic: Sumo Digital Limited
Developer The Chinese Room has been praised for using home-grown talent to voice the characters, including comedian and actress Karen Dunbar, who picked up best performer in a supporting role for voicing Finlay.
“I’ve been nominated for quite a few BAFTAs in my time in Scotland, and I’ve never won one,” said Dunbar.
“It was such a great category, so many great performances. When they shouted my name, I think I started clapping for someone else!”
Read more: See full list of winners
Still Wakes The Deep star Karen Dunbar won best performer in a supporting role. Pic: BAFTA
Meanwhile, best multiplayer game went to Helldivers II – a satirical, sci-fi shooter that sees players fight bugs, aliens and robots with the gumption and gullibility of the characters in Paul Verhoeven’s Starship Troopers.
It has gained a cult following since launching in February 2024 with so much initial interest it created server problems.
“Games for me are about connecting people and forging those bonds of friendship and the multiplayer award is exactly what it stands for,” said Johan Pilestedt, chief executive of Arrowhead Game Studios.
Helldivers II. Pic: Arrowhead/Sony
From outer space to a fictional Yorkshire town called Barnsworth. Thank Goodness You’re Here! – a cartoonish, comedy platformer – won Best British Game. Like Still Wakes The Deep, it has won praise for the authenticity of its actors and setting.
“I think it’s been a real privilege to be able to represent Barnsley on the silver screen,” said Will Todd, who is from the town and one of two game designers behind the project.
Thank Goodness You’re Here! Pic: Coal Supper/Panic Inc
Co-creator James Carbutt added: “Me and Will wrote everything in our tone of voice, quite literally. The further along development we got, the more we lent into it. I think the voices from different parts of the UK and different voices in gaming are super important, and hopefully we’re one of them.”
By the time the BAFTAs wrapped up, Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II was only handed one of the 11 BAFTAs it was nominated for, technical achievement.
Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II. Pic: Ninja Theory
But developers Ninja Theory are already adding this year’s win to a tally of five BAFTAs they were awarded for the first game in the series, which created a protagonist with psychosis by drawing on clinical neuroscience and the experiences of people living with the condition.
-
Sports2 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports1 year agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports1 year agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Sports2 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports4 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Environment2 years agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Environment2 years agoGame-changing Lectric XPedition launched as affordable electric cargo bike
-
Business3 years agoBank of England’s extraordinary response to government policy is almost unthinkable | Ed Conway