Joanna Page, who plays Stacey West in Gavin and Stacey, has worked with James Corden since the BBC series first launched in 2007, before the writer and actor rocketed to fame in the US while fronting The Late Late Show, from 2015 until 2023.
However, the Love Actually actress has insisted in a new interview that James hasn't changed at all, despite "becoming massively famous".
Responding to allegations of "diva behaviour" aimed at the Smithy star in recent years, Joanna simply stated "he’s still the same person".
Speaking to The Sun's Fabulous Magazine ahead of Gavin and Stacey's highly anticipated return to our screens on Christmas Day, Joanna shared: "James has become massively famous. But he’s still the same person. He’s just James.
"When we started, I was only 29 and now I’m 47. All of us have got married and had children. So many things have happened, but when we got together it was like going back to the first series.”
It comes after James issued an apology for his conduct during an episode of The Late Late Show in 2022, when it emerged that the TV host was banned from New York City restaurant Balthazar over his alleged treatment of the staff.
The drama began when James' wife Julia ordered an off-the-menu omelette consisting of only yolk, as she is "severely allergic" to egg whites.
However, the British star admitted he became irritated and "made a sarcastic, rude comment about cooking it myself" after the dish arrived to the couple's table containing whites multiple times.
"My wife explained that she has a serious food allergy," James told viewers on his CBS show in October 2022.
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"The meals came, my wife was given the food that she was allergic to... we sent it back."
The incident became public knowledge when Balthazar's owner Keith McNally claimed on Instagram that the actor was “the most abusive customer to my Balthazar servers since the restaurant opened 25 years ago”.
McNally went on to rescind the ban not long after making the allegations, and claimed that Corden had “apologised profusely” and “all was forgiven” in a second post.
However, the scandal was much discussed at the time, leading James to address it on his talk show, saying: “The truth is I have made a rude, rude comment. And it was wrong. It was an unnecessary comment, it was ungracious to the server.”
