James Corden made one of the biggest moves of his career as he debuted as the host of a major American talk show.
The Gavin And Stacey star was joined by guests Tom Hanks and Mila Kunis for his eagerly-anticipated first episode of The Late Late Show, which also featured pre-recorded cameos from Oscar winner Meryl Streep, former late night talk show host Jay Leno and The West Wing actress Allison Janney.
Within minutes of the show airing at 12.35am ET (4.35am GMT) on US network CBS, viewers took to Twitter to lavish praise on the British star.
Not all viewers were immediately convinced though.
The 36-year-old, who takes over from Scottish-born Craig Ferguson, taped the show the day before the broadcast in front of a live audience at CBS Studios in Los Angeles.
Later in the week James will be joined by US actors Chris Pine and Will Ferrell.
The show’s producers along with James have already said they intend to use a British technique that does not happen as often on US chat shows – bringing all the guests on together.
Hoping it will spark some spontaneity, James said: “Seeing people interact in a way that is a bit more interesting.”
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