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Daily Record
Daily Record
Entertainment
Nicola Croal

Inside James Corden's rise to fame - British sitcoms, LA chat show host and 'rude' backlash

James Corden was left in tears after Adele surprised the Late Late Show host by teaming up with him to film a final episode of the iconic carpool karaoke as the CBS show is due to air for the last time this week.

The British Comedian who has been running the much loved chat show for the past eight years put his own famous spin on the programme by introducing Carpool Karaoke - a unique segment of the programme where Corden drives around with a musical guest and sings their songs.

However, the Late Late Show is now coming to an end after eight years as Corden plans to return to the UK after living in LA since 2015 and announced the final episode will air on April 27.

Corden, 44 who is originally from Buckinghamshire, has built a very successful career for himself from appearing in British comedy sketch shows and co-writing his own sitcoms to becoming a much loved figure in American households as he successfully hosted the Late Late Show.

Here we take a closer look at Corden's rise to fame in the UK and how he broke America..

Early beginnings

Corden's career in the entertainment industry first began in the early 2000's (Getty Images)

James Corden first got his foot in the door in the entertainment industry as a young man in the late 1990's to early 2000's.

He got his first stage acting break as a 17-year-old in the musical Martin Guerre before he quit the show and landed a TV role in a Channel 4 British comedy series, Boyz Unlimited where he played Gareth Jones.

He then went on to star as a regular in the ITV drama Fat Friends where he became friends with co-star Ruth Jones which led to the duo's breakthrough creation of hit British sitcom 'Gavin and Stacey'.

Gavin and Stacey

James Corden and Ruth Jones co-wrote the popular British sitcom 'Gavin and Stacey' (BBC)

Perhaps one of Corden's best known pieces of work is his creation of the iconic British sitcom 'Gavin and Stacey' which he co-wrote with actress Ruth Jones in 2007.

The show features Matthew Horne and Joanna Page as the leading roles of Gavin and Stacey while they pursue their relationship across Essex and Wales.

Corden stars in the comedy series as the nation's well loved 'Smithy', who is Gavin's best mate in the hit TV show while Jones plays 'Nessa' who shares an on and off complicated relationship with Smithy on screen.

The 3 season long sitcom was such a hit in the UK that it won several awards including the Best New British Television Comedy at the 2007 British Comedy Awards and BAFTA's Audience Award for Programme of the Year.

Corden was also recognised for his role as Smithy and secured the Best Comedy Performance at the 2008 BAFTA awards.

Film appearances and awards

As well as starring in a number of television shows over the years as both a presenter and actor, 'A League of their Own' host has also been cast in multiple films.

Some of his biggest titles include Gulliver's Travels (2010) Into the Woods (2014) and Peter Rabbit (2018) and its sequel in 2021.

The BAFTA award winning actor has been nominated for 22 primetime Emmy awards and has won nine in total.

As well as securing many of his own trophies, he's also hosted a number of award shows in the past including the Brits, the Tony Awards and the Grammys.

Late Late Show

James Cordon's final episode of the Late Late Show will air this week after eight years (CBS via Getty Images)

James took his career to the next step and cracked America after he took over from Craig Ferguson as the Late Late Show in 2015. He kicked off his first episode as host of the show in March 2015 with celebrity guests Tom Hanks and Mila Kunis appearing alongside him.

The CBS American chat show which was originally launched in 1995 by Tom Snyder is finally coming to an end with its final episode airing on April 27 after a successful 28 year run. The final episode will include multiple guests stars including long-term pal of Corden's, Harry Styles, Tom Cruise and Elf Star Will Ferrell who was one of Corden's first ever guests on the show back in March 2015.

Speaking of the end of the Late Late Show, Corden said the programme had 'changed his life' and said there would be 'lots of tears' towards the last episode. However, he added that he never saw the show as his 'final destination' and does not want it to 'over stay it's welcome'.

Iconic Carpool Karaoke

Corden's carpool karaoke sketch with Adele in 2016 has more than 280m views (The Late Late Show with James Corden)

The British Comedian brought his own unique twist to the chat show as he introduced Carpool Karaoke where he would invite popular musicians onto the show and film himself driving around with them while singing their songs. Some of the biggest names in music appeared in the car along with Corden including the likes of Sir Paul McCartney, Adele and Stevie Wonder.

Corden's first ever carpool karaoke sketch which was inspired by Gavin and Stacey was filmed for Comic Relief in 2011 with the late Wham star George Michael.

The comedian paid tribute to the singer who died on Christmas Day, on an episode of his Late Late show as he spoke of how he 'owes' the success of his carpool karaoke to Michael as he initially struggled to get celebrities to take part in the sketch.

Corden recalled: " When we started the show here we tried to get people to do Carpool Karaoke and not many artists wanted to do it. We would send them this clip of George and we sent it to Mariah Carey.

"Her words were: ‘If it’s good enough for George, then it’s good enough for me I’ll do it’.”

Adele's popular 2016 Carpool Karaoke remains the most watched of all time during Corden's Late Late Show at more than 260m views on YouTube. The British singer reunited with Corden after she surprised him with one final episode of Carpool Karaoke after going to his home and waking him up in his home by playing such large cymbals above his head.

The 'Make You Feel My Love' singer drove Corden to work as they completed their last emotional Carpool karaoke sketch together and reminisced on their time as close friends while both living in Los Angeles as Corden prepares to move home to the UK.

'Rude' behaviour and restaurant backlash

The TV presenter has been under fire for a number of years over his behaviour on the set of his CBS show as well as on other shows.

Not only was he called the "most difficult and obnoxious presenter" to work with by a director of A League of Their Own, but he was also branded a "tiny cretin of a man" by the owner of Balthazaar restaurant.

The comments from the restaurant owner are but a few of the claims made about James' behaviour over the years.

Keith McNally, claimed in a social media post that he had been "extremely nasty" to his staff on two separate occasions.

Addressing the incident during the latest episode of his talk show, The Late Late Show, Corden said it was never his intention to upset the restaurant workers, but said he was reacting to the fact his wife Julia Carey was given "food which she was allergic to" and that her order had "come wrong to the table" three times.

The 44-year-old added that in the immediate aftermath, he had been "walking around thinking that I haven't done anything wrong".

"I didn't shout or scream, I didn't get up out of my seat, I didn't call anyone names or use derogatory language," he said on the CBS show. But the truth is I have made a rude, rude comment. And it was wrong. It was an unnecessary comment, it was ungracious to the server."

The Gavin and Stacey star explained that after seeing the post, he "immediately" contacted him and they "had a good talk".

Future plans

English actor James Corden (L) and his wife Julia Carey arrive for the 2021 Met Gala at the Metropolitan Museum of Art on September 13, 2021 in New York. - This year's Met Gala has a distinctively youthful imprint, hosted by singer Billie Eilish, actor Timothee Chalamet, poet Amanda Gorman and tennis star Naomi Osaka, none of them older than 25. The 2021 theme is "In America: A Lexicon of Fashion." (Photo by ANGELA WEISS / AFP) (Photo by ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty Images) (AFP via Getty Images)

The comedian has announced he has plans to move back to the UK after spending the past eight years in Los Angeles. Corden moved from London to the US with his wife Julia Carey whom he married in 2012 and the couple are going to move back to the UK with their three children Max, 11, Carey, 8 and Charlotte, 5.

James told the Times that he decided to quit the Late Late show after he realised he was running out of precious time to spend with his kids before they all grew up as work commitments kept getting in the way of their time as a family.

He explained: "We had to cancel last year's summer holiday [because of work clashes] and when I told Max, he looked so sad, and I had this sudden revelation of the maths.

'We've only got six more summers with the kids, before they start wanting to go off with their mates, six if we're lucky. I knew I just couldn't do that again. So that's why I quit."

The star also spoke of how 'terrifying' it is to give up his career in America but he feels it's time to move back to the UK as 'people at home are getting older' and he wants his kids 'to know them and be around them'.

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