James Corden

When comedy becomes theatre

Tim Minchin, James Corden and other comedians have gatecrashed the world of theatre. Now theatre is getting its own back.

Reviewing this programme's a bit of a problem because it's been in the newspapers all week, so it's hard to try and think about something new.

For those who might have been living in a cave since the year began, on this year's edition of the two-hour long panel game hosted by Jimmy Carr (cue jokes about him tax dodging), one team, consisting of Jack Whitehall and James Corden, supposedly got into trouble after drinking some wine on the set, getting tipsy, writing a random phone number on the screen which lead to people phoning some random member of the public, and making some rude jokes about the Queen which I'm not going to repeat. If you want to know what they are, watch the programme on 4oD and see it in context.

Concerning the phone number, it should be obvious that if you write just about any sequence of numbers down it will be someone's actual phone number and some idiots will ring it up. That was a bit stupid, and Channel 4 could have made an effort to do something about it. You know, like blur it out.

To be honest, though, I've no objection to the jokes about the Queen. Everyone knows that the Disgusted of Tunbridge Wells and Daily Mail brigades would get up on their high horses because, frankly, they enjoy draining the passion out of anything that isn't a repeat of Last of the Summer Wine - while at the same time complaining that they're too many repeats on TV. Since the "outrage" that the Mail has failed to stir up in the same way as it did with "Sachsgate", people have been fighting back in their own way, generally annoying the rag.

But I suppose the main reason why I personally didn't mind the jokes about the Queen is that over the past few years I've become sick of all the royal events on the box. First there was William and Kate getting married, then the Diamond Jubilee, now there's going to be a baby, and you just know the TV channels are going to give months and months of tedious analysis about the whole thing.

I've just got this nightmare vision in my head of Nicholas Witchell and his camera-crew trying to bribe a midwife so that they could get the BBC live exclusive access to the birth from the Duchess of Cambridge's private maternity unit, in which he will try to talk for about 18 hours straight with experts, while a camera will film Kate's most private parts constantly as they wait for the baby's head to come out the royal CENSORED.

Other than that however, The Big Fat Quiz of the Year was mostly enjoyable, except for some tedious reality TV guests - and the lacklustre Jonathan Ross. Shame Whitehall and Corden didn't try to get him drunk.

Have television panel shows had their day?

Jack Whitehall and James Corden's jokes about the Queen and Susan Boyle on Big Fat Quiz of the Year led to complaints to Ofcom and outrage in the press. Have TV panel shows had their day or are they just in need of a radical rethink?

James Corden to host 2013 Brit Awards

Gavin & Stacey actor turned Broadway star James Corden returns to present the Brit Awards 2013 after controversially cutting short Adele's acceptance speech short.

Series six of the comedy sports quiz that wasn't on air during the Olympics, but became a nice footnote in the Team GB story. When Mo Farah triumphed, people asked how he came up with his "Mobot" celebration. The answer was that he'd had it created for him: when he'd appeared on A League of Their Own, fellow guest Clare Balding had invented it and host James Corden had named it. Farah is back on the show tonight alongside gymnast Louis Smith and team captains Andrew Flintoff and Jamie Redknapp.

A League of Their Own's greatest hits

As the sixth series kicks off, watch some classic moments from James Corden's comedy sports panel show.

James Corden turns to stand-up

James Corden is trying his hand at stand-up. The Gavin & Stacey star is performing a 15-minute set at the Glee Club in Cardiff tonight, tying out new material.

Never knowingly underexposed, James Corden returns to host the sport quiz that you don't necessarily need to know a huge amount about sport to watch. Corden will have his work cut out to hog the limelight on this first show of the series, probably being confined to the long shadows cast by his Olympian guests. Chief among these will be the beaming Mo Farah, while gymnast Louis Smith ups the medal count still further. Among the regular celebs, Claudia Winkleman is onside, while Jack Whitehall continues to successfully balance the amiable and the mildly obnoxious.

Will Gavin & Stacey sink or swim across the pond?

Gavin & Stacey stars James Corden and Ruth Jones stand to make £5 million when the comedy is remade in the US. While a few have been a hit over the pond, most have been surprising - not to mention embarrassing - flops.