James Corden on The Late, Late show: US audience reacts to British star's debuts

Before the show aired, few Americans appeared to be aware of Corden

(YouTube)

James Corden's worries over the reaction from critics and audience members to his hosting The Late Late Show may have been a tad pre-emptive, as most of the feedback from the first night has been surprisingly positive.

Before the show aired, few Americans appeared to be aware of Corden, or know why they should care who he was.

But at least one group of audience members, who travelled from Orange County to be in the show, said that Corden had "nailed it", using one of his own phrases.

Brian Lowry, a TV columnist for Variety, said that CBS deserved credit for taking "a flyer" on a "promising if unorthodox choice".

However he suggested that the handling of the initial guests, Tom Hanks and Mila Kunis, left a "lot to be desired", and wasn’t a fan of having more than one guest on at a time.

American audiences are less used to the multiple guest format as they are in Britain, where hosts such as Graham Norton and Alan Carr can cram three or four guests onto their sofas at one time.

In an interview with the Hollywood Reporter, Corden said: "What I wanted to bring to the show is unpredictability, so you’re never really sure what’s going to happen."

The Week praised the British presenter for getting his show got off to "a pretty impressive start" with Tom Hanks and Mila Kunis.

Corden took to Twitter to thank people who had sent messages of praise and support after the show, writing that he had been "blown away" by the reaction.

Corden got something of an exclusive out of Kunis for the debut show by - almost - confirming that she and partner Ashton Kutcher had got married after Tom Hanks pointed out a ring on her left hand.