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.”
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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.”
The first trailer has been released for the massively anticipated Grand Theft Auto VI.
It was put out a day earlier than expected after a leaked version went viral on social media on Monday.
Rockstar Games posted on X: “Our trailer has leaked so please watch the real thing on YouTube.”
The clip racked up 37 million views in just six hours such is the clamour for the game.
The top comment, liked 343,000 times, says: “We’ve waited 10 years for this moment and it’s finally here.”
GTAV is the best-selling title of all time behind Minecraft – with some 185 million units sold – but it’s been a decade since it came out.
The trailer for the sequel shows a clone of Miami, the setting for the 2002 game, and features classic elements: fast cars, gangs, shoot-outs – and even an alligator in a convenience store.
It’s also the debut of GTA’s first female protagonist, Lucia, alongside an unnamed male partner, with the couple apparently on the run as chaos engulfs the city.
The teaser will whet the appetite of gamers but they’ll have to wait at least another year – the credits confirming “coming 2025”.
Pic: Rockstar Games
Pic: Rockstar Games
Pic: Rockstar Games
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Last year, 90 minutes of early gameplay leaked online after a hacker gained access to Rockstar’s Slack channel.
In one of the industry’s most high-profile breaches, dozens of videos showing various robberies, shoot-outs, and open-world driving were posted online.
Rockstar said it was “extremely disappointed” but insisted it wouldn’t affect the game’s development.
Jason Schreier, Bloomberg’s gaming journalist, previously told Sky News that GTAV’s popular multiplayer mode was one reason why there hadn’t been “quite the same urgency” to get the sequel out.
Earlier versions were released with much shorter gaps in between: GTA III in 2001, Vice City in 2002, San Andreas in 2004, and GTA IV in 2008.
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Singer Billie Eilish has accused a US entertainment magazine of outing her and questioned why it “matters”.
In a cover interview for Variety published on 13 November, the Bad Guy singer suggested she was attracted to women.
She told the outlet: “I’ve never really felt like I could relate to girls very well.
“I love them so much. I love them as people. I’m attracted to them as people. I’m attracted to them for real.”
In a Variety red carpet interview on Saturday, the star was asked about her sexuality, and added: “I didn’t realise people didn’t know.
“Why can’t we just exist? I’ve been doing this for a long time and I just didn’t talk about it.”
In an Instagram post on Sunday, the 21-year-old singer appeared to express her frustration.
She said: “Thanks Variety for my award and for also outing me on a red carpet at 11am instead of talking about anything else that matters I like boys and girls leave me alone about it please literally who cares.”
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She also said she didn’t believe in the concept of “coming out”.
At the Variety ceremony, Eilish accepted the award for Film Song of the Year alongside her brother and collaborator Finneas for What Was I Made For from Barbie.
The singer and her brother Finneas
Variety’s publishers have been contacted by Sky News for comment.
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