James Corden

This is the one with James Corden's face plastered on the bare bottom of One Direction's Niall. Which is a sentence you probably thought you'd never read. Watch the ratings go through the roof of the net as this loosely reffed bout of sporting mayhem also welcomes Niall's pop buddies Louis and Harry into the game - Jack Whitehall is honing the Stylinson gags as we speak - with Sara Cox and Spandau Ballet's Tony Hadley also getting in on the action.

The flashy sports quiz show has pulled off a serious coup this week: One Direction are in the studio. Well, three of the perky quintet at any rate. Niall and Louis enjoyed themselves immensely. Harry Styles seemed less impressed by the Freddie Flintoff-led ribbing.

The much-publicised scene of Niall getting a "tattoo" of James Corden's face on his bottom shows the level of changing-room humour we're dealing with - but Corden keeps it sweet with the genuine affection he displays for the show. The highlight of the night sees Spandau Ballet leading man Tony Hadley take part in a penalty shootout against Harry in goal. Did the young starlet ever consider this ageing pop star could be a vision of his future?

I can't imagine there's usually much crossover between this sporty panel show and the One Direction fanbase. But don't be surprised to see a massive spike in Sky's viewing figures with Harry, Niall and Louis joining Jamie Redknapp's team tonight.

The result is one of the most fun hours of TV in ages, with enough unexpected outbreaks of bromance to fuel an entire library of feverish homo-erotic 1D fan fiction. The tattoo on Niall's bum - applied live in the studio by an exultant James Corden - is only the start of things.

One of the funniest aspects of the show is how genuinely delighted Jamie Redknapp is to be part of a boyband for the night, although there'll be endless rewinding of the banter between Harry and Freddie Flintoff to try to work out whether Harry is pleased to be there or not.

Sport does, occasionally, manage to get a look-in too, and in a basketball-themed night there's a group of young men who are even more amazing than One Direction themselves. If you've previously seen the acrobatic slam-dunkers known as the Face Team on A Question of Sport, you'll know they're truly astounding.

But it's the return of Pop Star Penalties which provides a historic encounter between Spandau Ballet's Tony Hadley and Harry Styles in goal. It's a round they might have rechristened, One Day, Lad, This'll Be You.

A boon for those feeling starved of James Corden on our screens, as he and the gang return with a new series of the sports challenge show, with Red and Blue teams pitted against one another in the usual series of challenges. These include everything from a game of one-on-one football in zorb suits to a matchmaking game involving improbable celebrities including Steven Gerrard and Kim Cattrall, culminating in a speed quiz/assault course combo. Guests include Jamie Redknapp, Freddie Flintoff, Jimmy Carr and Jack Whitehall.

James Corden returns to referee the seventh season of the knockabout sports quiz that, thanks to its success, has pulled in a bigger budget - and they're gonna use it.

So if the prospect of comedy rally driving, bouncing around in plastic balls and a military assault course involving Jack Whitehall, Jimmy Carr and team skippers Andrew Flintoff and Jamie Redknapp sounds like your idea of fun, then this is the show for you.

Think Top Gear meets Total Wipeout.

A seventh series of the quiz that makes A Question of Sport look like Pathé newsreel of over-60s crown green bowling. These days the quiz questions are few and far between: with money almost visibly dripping from the screen, it's all about big stunts and big-name comics.

Tonight, the regulars - Jack Whitehall, Jimmy Carr, Jamie Redknapp, Andrew Flintoff and host James Corden - go rally-driving with near-fatal consequences, play football against Edgar Davids while stuck in giant plastic bouncy balls, and complete a hellish military assault course. In between are some very funny pre-arranged zingers - mostly delivered by Whitehall, so if you're not one of those people who's violently allergic to him, you're in business.

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