Jack Whitehall might now be long-time friends with James Corden – but his mum has opened up about an awkward interaction she had with the actor after leaving him displeased.
Hilary Whitehall revealed that the moment occurred after she had seen him perform One Man, Two Guvnors in 2011. While backstage, she encountered singer Lulu the day after buying her son Jordan’s property.
Hilary excitedly informed Lulu of the coincidence and had a 20-minute conversation with her and Lulu’s guest, actor Rashida Jones, about the property and its many rooms. However, Corden allegedly grew frustrated with the line of conversation.
“When we bought this house from Lulu's son, literally the day after we exchanged on this property, we went to see James Corden and another guest in the dressing room after the show was Lulu,” Hilary explained on podcast The Withering Whitehalls.
“I said, ‘You don’t know me, but really bizarrely, we've just bought your son's house,' and she went, 'Oh, I can't believe he's sold it! I love that house, I’m so thrilled it's going to some people who are gonna look after it.’ Then we talked for 20 minutes about the house, the rooms, which bedrooms she liked to sleep in...”
After 20 minutes of talking about the house, Hilary said that Corden interjected by saying: “Is there any danger we can talk about the play you’ve just watched that I’ve been in for two-and-a-half hours?”
Whitehall’s father, Michael, added: “James wasn’t at all pleased. He just wanted us to say, ‘Oh darling, you were marvellous’.”
The Independent has contacted Corden for comment.
Whitehall and Corden struck up a friendship on Sky series A League of Their Own, and have remained close ever since. Corden was a guest at Whitehall’s stag do ahead of his wedding to Roxy Horner earlier this month.
The pair both left A League of Their Own to successfully crack America, with Corden hosting The Late Late Show from 2015 to 2023 and Whitehall scoring roles in Jungle Cruise, opposite Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt, and TV series The ’Burbs with Keke Palmer.
One Man, Two Guvnors opened at the National Theatre in May 2011, with Gavin & Stacey star Corden playing the lead role in both the West End and on Broadway.
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