Rob Brydon has spoken out about James Cordon's personality after the Late Late Show star has been accused of being 'arrogant' and 'rude' in recent years

Rob Brydon has broken his silence on the negative reports surrounding his Gavin and Stacey co-star, James Cordon.

The Welsh actor, 59, is working with the Late Late Show star, 45, again as he reprises his role as beloved Uncle Bryn in the BBC sitcom this Christmas.

James, who found stratospheric fame in Los Angeles with his Carpool Karaoke show with Hollywood's A-listers, has found himself at the centre of numerous reports about his alleged off-screen behaviour in recent years.

However, Rob says this version of his pal is 'not the man he knows', claiming the former Fat Friends star "gets a lot of stick". Lifting the lid on their friendship, he said: “The James Corden I know is not the person I sometimes see people reported on. He gets a lot of stick.”

The comic continued: “I’m hugely fond of him. I’d never heard of him when we met on a show in 2002, but I vividly remember saying to myself, ‘Oh I’ve got to pull my socks up here; this kid is really good'", reports The Times.

In 2022, Balthazar restaurant owner Keith McNally, described James as “a tiny cretin of a man” for allegedly insulting the waiting staff at the New York eatery, twice.

James was accused of "yelling like crazy" at staff at Balthazar over his wife's wrongly-cooked dish. However, the Gavin and Stacey creator has brushed off the incident, saying it happens in establishments all over the globe all the time.

Speaking to a reporter at the New York Times, he said: "I haven't done anything wrong, on any level. So why would I ever cancel this [the interview]? I was there. I get it. I feel so Zen about the whole thing. Because I think it's so silly." He continued to complain: "I just think it's beneath all of us. It's beneath you. It's certainly beneath your publication."

Writing in an Instagram post, McNally declared he had “86’d” the comedian from his restaurantand James was no longer welcome there. However, the actor later admitted that he made “a rude, rude comment”, adding that “it was never my intention” to upset the staff, and McNally lifted the ban.

Later that year, during an appearance on The Big Narstie Show, James was criticised again, this time by Spice Girls star Mel B, who branded the actor the “biggest d***head celebrity” she’s ever met.

Then, in March 2024, Sharon Osbourne, while featuring on ITV’s Celebrity Big Brother, complained about James name-dropping, telling her fellow housemates: “I tell you who does that: James Corden – he does that all the time. I go to him, ‘I really like your shoes,’ and he goes, ‘Yes, Stella McCartney,’” she explained, adding: “I’m like, ‘I didn’t ask you who made them.’ He constantly, constantly throws out names.”

The seasoned star, who started his career as an actor and writer in the UK, moved to the US in 2015 when he bagged the plum gig presenting The Late Late Show up until last year.

Giving her take on the dad-of-three's arrival in America, Sharon mused: “When he got to America, he played the LA game really well". Meanwhile, her former X Factor co-star Louis Walsh said James: “kissed all the right people”.