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‘Glorious’ to return to UK to film talk show: James Corden

English host still finds it hard to believe the success of his The Late Late Show

There was perhaps no better way to kick off a week of London-filmed episodes of The Late Late Show With James Corden than a transatlantic challenge of dodgeball shot in June, with former first lady Michelle Obama leading an all-female Team USA against English actor-host James Corden's all-male Team UK.

The former featured celebrity members such as Mila Kunis and Kate Hudson, while the latter team included Harry Styles and Benedict Cumberbatch.

Corden, 40, said the segment was Mrs Obama's idea.

"She was like, 'I'd love to do something fun on the show', and we were like, 'Yes, of course. What would you like to do?'

"And then we came up with this sort of stupid idea of a dodgeball, which in itself is a ridiculous sport. Made even more crazy played with Michelle Obama and Benedict Cumberbatch."

He added: "I was terrible. Lots of us were bad, but the whole notion of it being a sport is madness."

The Late Late Show With James Corden airs Monday to Friday at 11.30pm on Blue Ant Entertainment (StarHub TV Ch 509), with the London episodes airing from Aug 20 to 23. Starting Sept 4, brand new episodes will air on the same day as the US.

Why are these UK broadcasts so special to you, having filmed the first batch in 2017?

Obviously for myself and a lot of the crew that work on the show in Los Angeles, we get to come home and that is a glorious feeling in itself.

It is particularly special to come back with this show that we all feel proud of and that has been received so well across the world.

You also have a restaurant sketch with Australian actor Chris Hemsworth. What was that like?

Chris and I were both waiters, as many performers were, before either of us got a job (in showbiz). So we thought we'd go back to a restaurant and see who still had what it takes.

What I realised is if you look like Chris Hemsworth, it does not really matter if you have what it takes, people will forgive you for anything. It is an outrage.

You must be proud of the popularity of The Late Late Show since you succeeded former host Craig Ferguson in 2015.

No one could have ever thought that it would be of this sort of scale. I find myself thinking all the time, I don't know what I have done to deserve such memories.

I don't know how lucky you can be. I think all your choices are half luck, and now that we have got this show to the place where it is today, we just want to carry on and see how long we can potentially go with it.

What is your favourite segment on the show?

I will always be grateful to Carpool Karaoke, that it landed in our brains at the right time, in the right place. None of us take it for granted.

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