James Corden Late Late Show – live: British host waves goodbye to America in star-studded finale

Corden is returning to the UK to spend more time with his wife and children

Harry Styles and Will Ferrell smash James Corden's Late Late Show desk with sledgehammers

James Corden’s tenure on The Late Late Show has come to an end.

The British presenter hosted his final episode in the early hours of Friday morning (28 April), following an eight-year run on the CBS talk show.

First, viewers were treated to a Carpool Karaoke special starring Adele, then Corden was joined by some of his favourite guests from over the years, including Harry Styles, Will Ferrell and Tom Cruise.

Ferrell took a sledgehammer to Corden’s now-defunct desk, and several of Corden’s rival late night hosts appeared on the show to spill their industry secrets.

Corden also made a farewell speech in which he referenced growing divisions in the US.

Scroll down to catch up on all the antics...

Key Points

• The Late Late Show: Everything to know about James Corden’s last episode
• Tom Cruise ‘adamant’ about performing stunt on James Corden’s final Late Late Show episode
• James Corden tells Adele how he feels about leaving The Late Late Show in last ever Carpool Karaoke

[28 April 2023 01:26 · Tom Murray]

Corden recently spoke about being ‘unprepared’ to talk about terrorist attacks on TV

Late night talk show hosts in the US are expected to talk about the biggest stories of the day – whatever they might be.

Despite being comedians, presenters like Corden, Kimmel and Colbert will often open with a monologue about school shootings, terror attacks or Donald Trump’s latest antics.

“When talking about those moments when there’s a mass shooting or a national disaster or any of those things, what I’ve tried to do, is just be as honest as I can and in some way offer comfort and perspective,” Corden told People ahead of his last show.

“It’s really hard. It’s hard sometimes to find the words to say. I really, really won’t miss doing that.”

[28 April 2023 00:59 · Tom Murray]

Video: James Corden addresses Gavin and Stacey return rumours

[28 April 2023 00:51 · Tom Murray]

It hasn’t always been plain sailing

While Corden’s career has undoubtedly soared to extraordinary heights during his time on the talk show, it’s also hit some embarrassing lows on occasion.

There was the Weinstein jokes, the accusations of ‘gayface’ and, of course, the New York restaurant saga.

You can find a timeline of the host’s biggest controversies over the years here.

[28 April 2023 00:44 · Tom Murray]

What to expect from the series finale

My lovely colleague has put together this handy-one sheet rounding up all the information you need ahead of Corden’s final episode, including how to watch, who will be appearing and who is rumoured to take the presenter’s place.

You can read it here.

[28 April 2023 00:39 · Tom Murray]

Why is Corden leaving the show?

Corden announced he was leaving the show last year, saying he “always knew it was an adventure, and I never ever considered it to be the final destination”.

The decision, he said, came to him after a conversation with his 11-year-old son.

“I was filming [Mammals] on a Sunday and I came downstairs, it was about 6am and my son, who was 10 at the time, was sat on the stairs and he said, ‘Are you working today?’ and I said, ‘I am,’ and he said, ‘I thought, but it’s Sunday’,” Corden said at the time.

“And I said, ‘I know buddy, but this schedule’s just all over the place. We’ve 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,” he continued.

“I got in the car and I called my wife Jules and I said, ‘I’ve realised, best case scenario we have six more summers where Max even remotely wants to be around us and I cannot waste another one.’”

James Corden hosting ‘The Late Late Show’ on CBS (CBS)

[28 April 2023 00:26 · Tom Murray]

Welcome to The Independent’s live blog!

Hello! Thanks for joining us live as we prepare for James Corden’s final outing as host of The Late Late Show.

We’ll be watching along and pulling out all the key moments from the presenter’s big finale featuring a heavily-rumoured Tom Cruise stunt and an appearance from Harry Styles.

The presenter’s last Carpool Karaoke segment featuring Adele will air at 9pm ET ahead of the show itself at 12:37am ET.

It’s gonna be a late, late one!