Is time up for James Corden at TV firm that makes his Late Late Show?
Mystery as star’s company is dissolved – amid rumours of a rift with his business partners
MYSTERY last night surrounded the future of James Corden’s television production company that makes his successful US chat show.
Documents show that Fulwell 73 Productions LLP, on which the global star is listed as a designated member, is to be dissolved on Tuesday.
It is the umbrella company to Fulwell 73’s three other firms, one of which is also being dissolved.
The move appears to mean Mr Corden is no longer involved in the business, which he joined in August 2017 to great fanfare.
Asked last night whether Mr Corden would own any of the company after the changes, a spokesman for Fulwell 73 declined to comment.
The firm, jointly based in the UK and the US, is behind Mr Corden’s Late Late Show, as well as the recent programme where singer Adele was interviewed by Oprah Winfrey about her divorce.
According to official documents filed to Companies House, any remaining assets will be transferred to the Crown after it
‘Declined to comment about whether any unpaid tax bills’
is dissolved. It is not known how much any assets are worth.
The company’s latest accounts, which related to 2019, show it had a turnover of £25.5million and a profit of £11.5million.
Sources close to Fulwell 73 – which was formed by Mr Corden’s long-standing friend of 18 years, Ben Winston – described the move to dissolve the firm as a ‘procedural technicality with HMRC’, which ‘relates to accounts filed and delays due to the complexities of Covid accounting’.
When a spokesman was asked whether that meant the firm had unpaid tax bills, he declined to comment.
Last night, in a statement, Fulwell 73’s five partners, including Mr Corden, said they are ‘as committed to the business as they ever have been’, and insisted that ‘Fulwell 73 is thriving’, after instructing celebrity public relations firm Freuds to deal with the media surrounding the company’s current circumstances.
There have been rumours circulating in the showbusiness industry that there has been a falling-out between some of the business partners. However, sources close to Mr Corden downplayed this suggestion, saying there had been no row.
Mr Corden and Mr Winston both moved from London to Los Angeles in January 2015 to work on The
Late Late Show which the Gavin and Stacey creator presents. Mr Winston is the executive producer.
The pair met in 2003 on the set of
British sitcom Teachers, where Mr
Winston was a runner and Mr Corden a promising actor. They are now viewed as one of the most powerful and talented partnerships in showbusiness.
It is unclear what the company shake-up means for The Late Late Show, which is aired on US network CBS. Since the pair’s arrival, it has attracted some of the world’s biggest names, with guests such as Tom Hanks, Anne Hathaway and Ed Sheeran joining Mr Corden on his sofa in the Hollywood studios.
He and Mr Winston, 40, also launched Carpool Karaoke, which has become a global online phenomenon. The likes of Michelle Obama and Adele have joined Mr Corden as he drives them around Hollywood singing songs in his car.
Adele’s appearance amassed a staggering 42 million views on YouTube.
Mr Corden, 43, has soared from being a British star to a global one.
Since he arrived in Hollywood, he has hosted the prestigious Golden Globe awards, as well as the Grammys, and has won a number of gongs for his own work in the States, including ten Primetime Emmys. Despite working with Mr Winston for many years, Mr
Corden was only given an official role at Fulwell 73 in 2017.
He said at the time: ‘In many ways, I’ve felt like an unofficial partner for many years, and now that it’s official I feel incredibly proud to have joined this incredible company.
‘In Gabe, Ben, Leo and Ben, I feel I’m working with the most vibrant, passionate, talented directors and producers I’ve ever met.’
Fulwell 73 was founded in London in 2005 by Mr Winston, brothers Ben and Gabriel Turner and Leo Pearlman. It has made some of the most-watched programmes on television.
Most recently, it was behind Adele’s two programmes on each side of the Atlantic, An Audience With Adele which was on ITV and Adele: One Night Only which was screened in the US on CBS.
Earlier this year, they also made the Friends reunion.
Fulwell 73 also has a long history in making sports documentaries, including The Class of ’92 which told of the Manchester United football team that featured the likes of David Beckham and Gary Neville. It was fastest selling sports documentary of all time.
Mr Winston was also a close friend of boyband One Direction and made a number of their music videos. In a statement, Mr Corden, Mr Winston, Mr Turner, Mr Turner and Mr Pearlman said: ‘Fulwell 73 is thriving and the five partners remain as committed to the business as they ever have been, and to suggest otherwise is as silly as it sounds.
‘After an exciting 2021 where we produced the Grammys, Friends: The Reunion, two record-breaking Adele specials, Stand up to Cancer, Among The Stars, the groundbreaking series for Disney+, Amazon Prime Video’s biggest hit of the year Cinderella, getting announced as the new producers for the Kardashians, winning a number of significant awards and celebrating the 1000th episode of The Late Late Show, the five of us cannot wait to see what 2022 holds.’
‘The five of us can’t wait to see what 2022 holds’