James Cordon ‘needs to win back the British public’ by going on a charm offensive that could include a return to the stage or even a new ITV show after negative headlines while in the US, a PR expert has said.
The 44-year-old has announced he is coming back to the UK after finishing an eight-year stint as host of The Late Late Show, with an emotional final episode set to air tonight.
The actor and presenter previously revealed he decided to quit the show that catapulted him to international fame to spend more time with his family after a heartfelt conversation with his son, Max.
In recent months the Gavin and Stacey co-creator has been beset with negative press about his off-screen antics, including a bust-up with the owner of a restaurant who publicly banned him for being rude to staff.
While he may be hoping for a quieter life with his return to the UK, it has been predicted the High Wycombe-native will waste no time attempting to regain favour among the public.
James Corden, pictured here with Mila Kunis on The Late Late Show, will host the programme for the last time on Thursday night
The actor, pictured here with his wife Julia Carey, has previously said he’s quitting to spend more time with his family
Popular culture and brand expert Nick Ede told MailOnline today that Britain will be the hardest place for Corden to win back hearts and minds, and can only do this by ‘going back to basics’.
Mr Ede said: ‘I think that James Corden coming back to the UK is going to be a difficult road for him to navigate.
‘He has proved himself to be a big star but he needs to win back the British public by going back to basics, which he is doing by eyeing up and reprising his role in One Man Two Guvnors and more acting roles.
‘His persona as a host in the USA worked wonders but his off screen antics have proved problematic and he needs to charm his way back into the public to gain real popularity not notoriety’.
But he said there is still hope for him, with Mr Ede saying he thinks ‘the public can be won over by him’.
He said: ‘He’s talented and he’s seen as a national treasure by many because of Gavin and Stacey. Going back to his roots and being humble will keep the fans happy – but he still has work to do to get there.’
This could involve a return to the stage, where he made a name for himself in The History Boys and One Man, Two Guvnors, and Corden himself previously told Variety he would ‘love’ to go back to Broadway shortly after announcing his decision to quit.
Corden who first became a household name after creating hit comedy Gavin & Stacey with Ruth Jones, could also go back to the screen.
Last year he starred in and produced black comedy series Mammals in 2022, while he also had roles in Cinderella and Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway in 2021. However, as of yet, it doesn’t seem like he is attached to any upcoming projects.
He told the Sun that he had spoken to Jones at Christmas about Gavin & Stacey and that in a ‘disappointment’ for fans, ‘we didn’t talk about it in life-growing forms’, suggesting there will be no imminent return for the series.
PR guru Mark Borkowski told MailOnline that trying bring back Gavin & Stacey could be a mistake and that instead Corden could be snapped up by ITV either for a new chat show or a new reality show.
He said: ‘Reviving classics are rarely a good idea. It’s a risk. However ITV would be able to give him an enormous platform. The big TV formats are very hard to develop, nevertheless he is a draw and with a winning format he’d be a huge asset.
‘Talk shows are a thing of the past because it’s so difficult to land A-listers. He might be able to attract the talent and that’s bad news for Jonathan Ross.
‘If he finds an authentic route to manage his public image and align to a good very good format he will be ubiquitous. Natural talents like Corden are thin on the ground.’
Corden and his wife Julia, pictured together, have three children and are set to move back to the UK
In recent months the star has seen negative headlines about his behaviour off camera.
Keith McNally, the owner of New York restaurant Balthazar, announced he had banned Corden from the premises after he was ‘extremely nasty’ to staff.
The Late Late Show host denied he had shouted at staff, but did admit on his programme that he has been ‘ungracious’.
This was followed by online rumours of alleged rude behaviour towards members of the public and off-screen talent who had worked with him, with one director calling him ‘the most difficult and obnoxious presenter’ he’d ever worked with.
Before he comes back to the UK, Corden has filmed his final episode of The Late Late Show, which will be two hours long and feature interviews with Harry Styles and Will Ferrell when it airs on CBS tonight.
Speaking yesterday to Zoe Ball on Radio 2, Corden said he’d never ‘felt like this before’.
He explained: ‘It’s a strange one, I haven’t really felt like this before. I remember when we did last episode of Gavin and Stacey, I remember sitting with Ruth Jones and crying, but that was done in blocks, we’d film it, go off and then come again.
‘But the Late Late show has been a pretty consistent, it’s been 8 years, tomorrow will be 100th show – crazy!’
Corden, pictured here on The Late Late Show, has been beset with negative headlines about his off-screen behaviour in recent months
The Gavin and Stacey co-creator said it was ‘crazy’ he had been hosting The Late Late Show for eight years
The TV personality went on to share the pivotal catalyst behind his decision to leave before admitting that he didn’t want to spend the day sobbing about the end but to instead take the time to ‘cherish’ the journey he’d been on.
He said: ‘I feel good about it, I know in my core its right thing to do for so many personal and professional reasons.
‘We’re gonna go out with a bang, there’s been a great atmosphere on set, tomorrow is gonna be great. I wanna cherish it and not spend the whole day crying, I wanna feel the pride and gratitude for it all.’
The actor had previously confirmed on the Drew Barrymore Show that a conversation with his then-10-year-old son, Max, sparked the decision to quit.
‘I was filming on a Sunday and I came downstairs, it was about six a.m. and my son, who was ten at the time, was sat on the stairs and he said, ‘Are you working today?’ and I said, ‘I am.’
‘He said, ‘I thought, well it’s Sunday,’ and I said, ‘I know buddy but this schedule’s just all over the place.
‘We just got to get it done because we only have a tiny amount of time before we have to go back and do the show,’ and his face just kind of dropped,’ Corden said.
‘I got in the car and I called my wife Jules and I said, ‘I’ve realized, best case scenario we have six more summers where Max is like, even remotely wants to be around us and I cannot waste another one,” Corden explained.
‘So, really the choice was to go, ‘Well if I really want to do this other work, that cannot be at the expensive of our children, our family,’ and that is really all it comes down to,’ Corden added.
Corden has three children, Max, 11, Carey, eight, and Charlotte, five, with his wife Julia.
James and Julia – who is co-founder of global interior design firm Charles & Co. – have been married since 2012, with the TV host describing it a ‘miracle’ that he met her.
Speaking about how he met his wife Julia, 46, he gushed: ‘I absolutely knew minute one that I couldn’t do any better than this. When I met Jules… It’s a miracle.
‘Every day she must just look at me… ‘What did I do? It’s a huge mistake!’
In his conversation with Zoe Ball on the eve of his last show, Corden said it had been a ‘glorious ride’ to host the programme.
He said: ‘It’s been extraordinary the response to the show; online, internationally. I wasn’t always certain it was gonna work.
‘I don’t look like I should host an American late night talk show, I’m from High Wycombe! It’s a road less travelled. It’s been a glorious ride.’
Fans were recently treated to a clip of James final ever Carpool Karaoke with his close pal Adele, whom James had no idea was taking part.
Corden described meeting his wife Julia, pictured together in December last year, as a ‘miracle’
The comedian, pictured here on his show, said a conversation with his son, Max, sparked his decision to quit
Sharing his joy and gratitude that the Hello singer filmed this with him, he shared: ‘We have the show with Adele’s carpool, which is a carpool that I didn’t know would happen. I watched it and it felt so lovely, I can’t believe she did that for us.
‘It’s crazy because we’ve known each other so long, we moved here [to LA] 5 days apart, our families are intertwined. I can’t believe she did it, I can’t believe she showed up for us.’
It comes after James dished the dirt on returning to his home turf this week as he prepares to step away from the US – admitting that it’s a ‘very strange’ feeling.
The actor will be spending time more time with his family, but has admitted that stepping down leaves him in unknown territory.
He admitted to The Sun: ‘Right now, there are a lot of unknowns. It just feels very strange — knowing everything is going to change but trying to hang on to the fact that change is fundamentally a good thing.’
While James also shared his hopes that he hasn’t taken his wildly successful stint on the late night chat show ‘for granted’.
Reflecting on the last nine seasons on the show, James described it as an ‘incredible run’ while sharing his pride over not just the show – but all of his career milestones.
Unsure what the future holds, he explained: ‘I think I have to spend a little bit of time letting this all go. It has been a noisy eight years, and right now I am going to try and focus on having a little bit of silence.’
The Late Late Show, which films out of Los Angeles, first premiered in 1995 with host Tom Snyder. Craig Kilborn and Craig Ferguson followed as host until James Corden came along in 2015.
The last Last Late Late Show will air Thursday April 27 at 10pm, before the final episode of The Late Late Show with James Corden airs at 12:37am ET/PT.
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