James Corden has discussed the reason why he decided to quit the Late Late Show after nearly eight years.
The British host appeared on Drew Barrymore’s titular talk show when he was asked why he decided to walk away while he was at the “top of his game”.
Barrymore asked: “When do you know to walk away?”
To which the 44-year-old replied: “Look it’s not easy in any way to walk away from something that is so… I mean I’ll never work in a better environment than the one I work in now.
“Nothing about leaving the show was to do with not enjoying it. I love it, but the truth is it became a very easy decision because I always knew it was an adventure and I never ever considered it to be the final destination.”
Corden then shared the moment he knew things needed to change, referencing an exchange with his son Max, 11, which reminded him of the important things in life.
The presenter said: “I was filming 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, well it’s Sunday”.
“And I said, ‘I know buddy but this schedule’s just all over the place. We 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.
“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 is like, even remotely wants to be around us and I cannot waste another one’.
“So, really the choice was to go, ‘Well if I really want to do this other work, that cannot be at the expense of our children, our family,’ and that is really all it comes down to.”
The Gavin and Stacey star also shared that he will be “a mess” on his last Late Late Show and insisted that his move back to the UK “feels absolutely right”.
He continued: “I will be a mess on that last show. I will cry my eyes out but I will know at my core that the best thing for me and the best thing for us as a family is to put down some roots in London, and it feels absolutely right in every single way.”
Corden, who has two other children Carey, eight, and Charlotte, five with Julia, announced last year the next season of his talk show would be the last with him at the helm.
CBS bosses told Deadline at the time that Corden was offered a variety of deals, including a two-year extension, a three-year extension, and even a rolling one-year deal before he made his decision.
The TV star’s comments come after he also admitted that he’s on TV a bit “too much” simply because he said “yes” to nearly every opportunity.
Appearing on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, he said: “If I’m being honest, I probably said yes to too many things that came my way.
“I said yes to, essentially, almost everything because I love acting. I love working with directors and being a member of a cast.
“I like being a member of a cast more than I like hosting a show on my own.”
