Lily Allen has claimed James Corden was her ‘famous beg friend’ back when she had her own TV chat show.
The British popstar, 39, was at the height of her fame in the late 2000s, which resulted in her being given her own BBC chat show Lily Allen and Friends in 2008.
While it only ran for eight episodes, the series featured several famous guests, including David Mitchell, Robert Webb, Marc Ronson, Louis Walsh, and, of course, James Corden.
Talking on her podcast, Miss Me?, Lily received a call from a listener who asked if she’d ever had any famous ‘beg friends’ – someone who begs for your attention and friendship.
She answered: ‘James Corden was a bit of a beg friend, for me. [He] came on my chat show and was very flirtatious with me, and we sort of made friends and I introduced him to a group of my friends.’
The Smile singer then claimed that she’d been accused by James, 45 of ‘leading him on or something,’ reiterating that she ‘definitely wasn’t’.
Clips of James’ appearance on the episode have been preserved on YouTube, with the episodes from 2008 no longer available direct via the BBC.
Almost immediately after the interview begins, James recounts the time he and Lily first met at the premiere of his film The History Boys.
In the story, it’s revealed that Lily asked if she could give the Gavin and Stacey star her phone number… while James’ then-girlfriend was standing right next to him.
‘I’d say if I’ve ever had a famous beggy friend it was James Corden, back in the day. He’s not begging me anymore. I’m not begging him either. I can’t do anything for him now. He’s good,’ Lily said on her podcast.
In the 2008 chat show episode Lily and James chatted about the upcoming second season of Gavin and Stacey, which had only just started at the time, and exchanged some playful back and forth discussion.
At one point, James and Lily share a hug – James laughs as the audience cheers, with the writer and actor saying: ‘Imagine waking up to that every morning’.
Later on, James compliments the dress Lily is wearing, while Lily refers to James’ ‘dazzling eyes’ – the audience laughs and whoops before Lily says James is ‘flirting with her’.
James then pauses and turns to Lily, declaring that The Fear singer is ‘lovely’, and ‘doesn’t know how lovely she really is’ – Lily blushes and laughs as the audience cheers.
As the cheering dies down, Lily looks at James and jokes that he’s asking her to ‘Just f**k me!’ before remarking, ‘That’s how you get into a girl’s pants…’ She then teases James by asking if he’s single.
Years later, in his autobiography, the former US chat show host said he had made it his mission to get closer to Lily after being invited on, with the promise of a ‘compatibility game’ leaving him hopeful.
‘Given where I was at the time, with my ego starting to spiral out of control, a broken heart trying to nurse itself with empty one-night stands and a complete lack of understanding of my position in the world, this was right up my street. I made it my aim to make Lily mine.’
It’s not known exactly what happened to the pair’s friendship after that show, but judging from Lily’s comments it seems their friendship didn’t last as long as it could have.
Around the time of James’ interview on Lily Allen and Friends, he was asked by a tabloid reporter if the two had begun a relationship. It was a rumour he strongly denied.
He later added: ‘I guess I went out with Lily four or five times in total after that – and not once was it a proper date. It always seemed to involve other people and not just the two of us.
‘Never have I felt such a douchebag. Who was I trying to kid? I remember lying in bed and realising how badly I’d misread the signs. There was no me and Lily, it was all in my mind.’
Metro.co.uk has approached James Corden’s representatives for comment.
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