James Corden is a comic genius but at home he’s just shy, reveal sisters Ange and Ruth
HE’S the actor turned superstar chat show host who has become a huge success story in the States. But when James Corden comes home to be reunited with his family, he’s no longer the centre of attention. According to his sisters Ange, 46, and Ruth, 39, their brother is rather shy compared to them. Ruth, […]
HE’S the actor turned superstar chat show host who has become a huge success story in the States.
But when James Corden comes home to be reunited with his family, he’s no longer the centre of attention.
According to his sisters Ange, 46, and Ruth, 39, their brother is rather shy compared to them.
Ruth, who works in social care, says: “James is probably the most introverted of the three of us.
“When we are all together Ange and I are cracking up and James is giving it the, ‘Oh yeah, you two . . . course you’re finding that funny’.
“Obviously when he is on stage and working he has huge amounts of confidence.
“But I would say he is the quietest out of the three of us, which is difficult for people to understand.
“Ange and I tend to be more of the stupid ones. We’re always cracking jokes.”
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Ange, an executive PA, adds: “I am the oldest but I am probably the most childish.
“When it’s me and my sister, it will get to the point where James will think we’re idiots and get on his nerves.”
The siblings grew up in Hazlemere, Bucks, with their parents Margaret, a social care worker, 69, and Malcolm, 70, a retired musician in the Royal Air Force band.
Ange says: “Laughter, humour and not taking ourselves too seriously has always been part of our upbringing.
“Even if things aren’t great, or you were struggling at school or whatever it might be, we were always able to try and find that funny.
“It wasn’t all sunshine and flowers but we always tried to have a laugh and look on the bright side.”
Look on bright side
When it came to sibling rivalry, Ruth often found herself getting into spats with James while Ange acted as the peacemaker.
It was their relationship which provided inspiration for James’ character in Gavin & Stacey, the hit BBC sitcom that propelled him to stardom in 2007.
Ruth says: “James and I have a similar relationship to Smithy and his sister Rudi — we would wind each other up, push each other’s buttons and it would normally be Ange that would come in and have to put a stop to it.
“She was the peacemaker, without question.”
James, 43, currently lives in Los Angeles with his wife Julia Carey, a TV producer, and their three children Max, ten, Carey, seven, and Charlotte, four.
Despite interviewing some of the world’s biggest stars — including Celine Dion, Kendall Jenner and Prince Harry — on CBS’s The Late Late Show, James’s sisters still see him as their down-to-earth brother.
Deep conection
Ruth says: “James has been ‘James on TV’ in our lives for longer now than he hasn’t.
“If we read everything that James is in, and all the press that he has done, I wouldn’t have a day job.
“We have a deep connection with each other — we wind each other up, we tell each other when they are not being particularly nice.
“We cheer him on whatever job he does. He does the same with us.” Ange adds: “We are siblings who desperately love each other and will stick up for each other.”
But the past few years have been filled with curve balls for the siblings. For Ruth, who has been married to Matthew, a kitchen designer, for ten years, it has been the agony of infertility.
She became pregnant shortly after her honeymoon in 2013, but sadly miscarried in the early stages. Ruth was diagnosed with polycystic ovary syndrome and visited a fertility doctor in 2017.
Cheer him on
Speaking previously, she said: “My hopes were crushed when the consultant told me bluntly I was too old at 35 and too fat. The words felt cruel.” It has since forced Ruth to draw new conclusions about her future.
She says: “Matthew and I have been trying to have a baby for nine years but I am stepping into a new phase now where I can confidently say I don’t think children will be part of our story. When you watch your siblings have children and the joy it brings, it can be really tough.”
The sisters’ podcast, Finding The Funny With Ruth & Ange, is proving a hit, with more than a quarter of a million downloads. Ange, mum to Joel, 18 and Nella, 15, recently discussed her own mental health battle on the podcast. She says: “I went to my GP and was put on medication.
Days later I was sitting in the lounge with my daughter and something happened that just made me laugh.
“It was that moment I realised I hadn’t laughed like that in a while. And that’s what the podcast is all about, finding that funny.”
Ruth adds: “It is full of joy and lightheartedness.”
