James Corden is a little bit nervous about his chat show debut tonight on CBS.


The 36-year-old Brit, who we know and love for Gavin & Stacey, The Wrong Mans and History Boys, is taking on established US format The Late Late Show. After weeks of rehearsals, his first episode – starring Mila Kunis and Tom Hanks – premieres tonight, but the actor isn’t feeling all that confident.

“I’ll be back in no time. This show will be cancelled in a heartbeat, believe me,” he told RadioTimes.com.

“It’s a bit more terrifying than exciting. I feel very, very anxious about it. I really do. I hope I can pull it off, you know. We will see. I’m not holding out a huge amount of hope.”

Speaking to RadioTimes.com shortly before his move stateside, Corden said “the nature of living in California is something that feels so alien” but that he hopes his family – wife Julia and children Max and Carey – “enjoy the adventure that it is.”

“If it doesn’t work – which is very likely – then I don’t think we’ll have lost anything because it’s not what I do, or what I’ve ever done. Hopefully we’ll just have a real nice time living in the sunshine for a bit.”

Not that leaving Britain behind has been easy: “I’ll miss British sensibilities from time to time. I’ll miss Match of the Day, good football analysis – because from what I’ve seen on American TV it’s not the case!”

Corden has been in the US since January prepping for his much-anticipated debut. Reports suggest it hasn’t been an entirely smooth ride. Audience members in rehearsals didn’t understand British slang terms like “knackered”, “dodgy” and “bladdered” (all worth learning, if you ask us).

Nevertheless, he’s already managed to snag an exclusive story. During the recording of his first show, Mila Kunis admitted that she’d secretly married Ashton Kutcher.


The Late Late Show with James Corden, starring guests Mila Kunis and Tom Hanks, premieres tonight on CBS in America