Mo Gilligan plays down links to ‘The Late Late Show’ role
James Corden is due to step down later this year
By Joe Goggins
Mo Gilligan has poured cold water on reports he could be in line to replace James Corden on The Late Late Show.
Corden, who began hosting the US late-night talk show in 2015 after taking over from Craig Ferguson, will leave the role this summer; his contract expires in August, but he will reportedly leave earlier. No replacement has been confirmed by the network, CBS, but a report in The Sun last October suggested that Gilligan was at the top of their list of potential new hosts.
Gillian has already filled Corden’s shoes by hosting the BRIT Awards, a role he returns to this coming Saturday (February 9) after making his debut last year; however, in a new interview with Rolling Stone UK, the funnyman said there was no truth to the rumours that he was being lined up for a move stateside.
“It’s really flattering and I’ve had people linking me to the Big Brother job too,” he said; thee reality show is returning to UK screens this year, having been picked up by ITV. “I’ve had friends and family asking me if it’s true! No it’s not. But it is so flattering, just to be in a position in my career where I’m being linked to it.”
Asked whether he would consider taking The Late Late Show gig, were he offered it, he said: “Whether it’s The Late Late Show, or just any show, I never want to put myself in a box and say that’s the thing I want to do. To work in another country is a blessing in itself, I only really started travelling when I was 22. To work in another country and become part of that culture is something special. I’d never say it’s the one I want to do, but to work out there would be amazing. I grew up in South London playing patball against a wall with my friends!”
“Even filming That’s My Jam in LA, I said if that’s the one thing I get to do, then I can say I had a show in Universal Studios,” Gilligan went on. “I got to go past the clock tower every morning and if that was just it, then that would be enough for me.” Elsewhere in the interview, the Londoner said that he had received messages of good luck ahead of the BRITs from both Corden and his immediate predecessor in the role, Jack Whitehall.