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James Corden emotionally tells Drew Barrymore how his son triggered him quitting The Late Late Show

The British comedian is due to step down as host of the late night chat show in mid 2023.

James Corden hosting The Late Late Show
James Corden is leaving The Late Late Show to spend more time with his family. (CBS/Getty)

James Corden has revealed he is quitting The Late Late Show because his son missed spending time with him.

The 44-year-old Gavin And Stacey star - who is father to son Max, 11, and daughters Carey, eight and five-year-old Charlotte - has revealed he is stepping down as host of the late night US chat show this year, after eight years at the helm.

Corden told The Drew Barrymore show: "I was filming on a Sunday and I came downstairs, it was about six a.m. and my son, who was ten at the time, was sat on the stairs and he said, 'Are you working today?'

Read more: James Corden branded a 'phony' by NY restaurant owner over 'fraudulent' apology

"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."

His voice quivered as he added: "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."

Corden and his wife Julia Carey - who he married in 2012 - relocated their family to the US when he took over as host of The Late Late Show in 2015.

Watch: James Corden narrowly missed out playing lead role in Oscar-tipped ‘The Whale

The show airs weekly for 12 months of the year although Corden takes a regular hiatus to be replaced with guest hosts, and annually brings the show to London while he is visiting friends and family.

Corden recently apologised after it emerged several of the jokes he had used on the show were originally written by other comedians.

He said sorry to Ricky Gervais after The Office creator called him out for retelling his joke about Twitter from one of his stand up shows.

James Corden has hosted The Late Late Show since 2015.
James Corden has hosted The Late Late Show since 2015. (CBS/Getty)

Corden was also accused of using one of Great British Bake Off host Noel Fielding's jokes without credit.

Read more: James Corden was accused of stealing Noel Fielding's mugger joke in 2017

And in 2022 Corden came under fire from the owner of New York restaurant Balthazar, who accused him of being rude to staff — something the star apologised for on The Late Late Show a week later.