Beloved TV presenters Ricky Gervais and James Corden have left quite an impact on society through their various comedy sketches and presenting roles.
The pair both made it big through their iconic TV shows which they wrote and starred in, including Rick’s TV sitcom The Office and James Corden’s BBC Three series Gavin & Stacey.
But although it would seem like the pair would make good friends, the British comics have continuously locked horns in full view of the media through their various TV projects.
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It took Ricky more than a decade to get his big break with The Office and Extras during which time he starred in a slew of film roles including Ghost Town and The Invention of Lying.
Whereas James, 43, rose to fame at a much younger age after he appeared on Fat Friends and made it big in America after he took on the presenting role on The Late Late Show.
But as they started to rise to stardom, duo became almost as famous for their TV endeavours as they did for the trading of public insults at each other.
As TV comic Ricky prepares to celebrate his 61st birthday, Daily Star have taken a deep dive inside the pair’s bitter feud.
Horne and Corden show
It appears as though it was the dad-of-three who took the first swipe at the Reading native during his short-lived comedy show titled Horne and Corden.
Working alongside his co-star Matt Horne, the actor portrayed Ricky as a bumbling fool struggling to find work in one sketch in their BBC Three series back in 2009.
Corden poked fun at Ricky’s character David Brent in a scene in the trenches during World War I in addition to another scene where he mocked the star’s now iconic dance.
Matt later revealed how he had to pull James up for acting too much like the star during an episode of Never Mind The Buzzcocks.
Brit Awards
In 2011, James and Ricky became almost direct rivals after the duo took on opposing hosting duties at major awards shows.
Ricky managed to offend virtually the whole of Hollywood when he presented the Golden Globes, and although James managed to get away scot-free, he reassured fans that there wouldn’t be as many cruel jokes when he hosted the Brit Awards later that year.
James told The Mirror: “I’m not going to go down the Ricky Gervais road because, well, you can’t in that room anyway – there’s a big difference between the O2 and the dining room in the Beverly Hilton.
“Basically, I want to host the Brits with as much warmth and sensitivity as possible. Fewer gags. Mostly, I've been following guidance from producers.
“They’re encouraging a positive, upbeat, interesting show as opposed to anything particularly risqué.”
However, the Smithy star went on to stick up for Ricky later on in the year where he asked online trolls to back off.
Speaking at the time, he added: “People should keep their hands off him. If I only managed to do half of what he has done I will consider myself a success.”
AmfAR Charity dinner
However, there was clearly tensions rising between the pair after Ricky started to criticise James for some of his jokes on air, including a controversial quip he made about Harvey Weinstein.
At the annual amfAR charity dinner in Hollywood back in 2017 during the height of the #MeToo scandal, James shared a joke that failed to fly with viewers online.
He said: "It’s a beautiful night here in L.A, so beautiful, Harvey Weinstein has already asked tonight up to his hotel to give him a massage.”
Ricky is often known for his close-to-the-mark gags, but the TV star explained why James’ tasteless joke fell flat with the viewers at home during an interview on Radio Andy.
He told listeners: “When you do a contentious joke or talk about a taboo subject, it’s got to be a great joke.
“You can’t just bounce out there and do jokes about abuse and rape. You’ve got to be very intelligent when you do it.
“There’s got to be a point to it. He did it like it was light entertainment. He didn’t do it well enough.”
Golden Globes
The cruellest joke Ricky made was when he hosted the Golden Globes again in 2020, and it’s fair to say he insulted the actor in very unsavoury terms.
He joked: “The world got to see James Corden as a fat p*****. He was also in the movie Cats, but no one saw that,” which left the audience rolling with laughter.
When the star was slammed with claims that he was obsessed with The Late Late Show host after the slew of personal attacks, yet Gervais denied there was any resentment between the two.
Speaking to The Sun at the time, Ricky stated: “There is no feud between myself and James nor has there ever been.
“The Cats joke that I told at the Golden Globes is obviously a pun on his role in the film, and James’ impression of me in his sketch show was also friendly teasing, and I took no offence to that.”
Acting roles
But it appeared as though neither comic was ready to stop poking fun at the other quite yet, as Ricky went on to include a joke about James during his hit Netflix series After Life.
In one scene, a character named Kath wrote her fantasy dinner party guest, when she describes James as a “man that can do anything” to which Ricky’s character replied with: “And does.”
She went on to comment how the comedian is always working, which received the response: “As a chauffeur, mainly.”
The joke was a clear reference to the star’s very successful carpool karaoke series, where he drives celebrities around in his car and sing songs together.
In a recent interview, Ricky once more denied targeting James and fuelling their public feud, stating he has “nothing against” the stars he makes jokes about.
Speaking to the Press Association, he explained: “James did an impression of me in his show, I didn’t take it personally, it’s just fun.
“I’ve got no animosity. People will think that though, but as long as they [the subjects] don’t, that’s all I care about.”
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