James Corden: We wrote new Gavin and Stacey special on FaceTime at 4am

James Corden has revealed he and Ruth Jones wrote the script for the new Gavin And Stacey Christmas special in secret over FaceTime.

The comedian, 40, and Jones, 52, announced in May they had written a new episode of the BBC show, nearly 10 years after it ended. Over the past few weeks he and Jones, his long-term writing partner, have been filming it in Barry, Wales with co-stars Rob Brydon, Matthew Horne and Joanna Page.

While Jones is based in Wales, Late Late Show host Corden lives in Los Angeles with his wife Julia Carey and their children Charlotte, one, Carey, four and Max, eight. Corden told GQ Magazine: “We wrote the new script over FaceTime. I would get up at 4am, and work with Ruth until it was time to take Max to school … We didn’t tell anyone we were doing it, certainly not the BBC.”

He added: “We thought, ‘We’ll do it for us and we’ll know if it’s right’. We’ve seen too many people ruin what they’ve done — for no reason.”

He said he and Jones were worried about releasing another episode after such a long gap: “We would’ve hated for Gavin And Stacey to be seen as something we’re reviving in a panic, over no longer being relevant …”

Corden has hosted the Late Late Show since March 2015, with guests ranging from Tom Hanks to Michelle Obama and Taylor Swift. It has been widely reported in recent months that the comedian, originally from Hillingdon, is nearing the end of his contract with the show.

He has opened up in the past about how he and his wife miss the UK, but admitted it would be difficult to leave the show and LA. He said: “The day might come and I might not be brave enough. I’ve got to try to make peace with this idea, that if I walk away from this show, there’s a chance I become a question on Jeopardy. One people struggle to answer.”

The one-hour special of Gavin And Stacey will be broadcast on BBC1 on Christmas Day. Read the full interview in the September issue of British GQ, available on newsstands and digital download on Friday.