James Corden claims he quit The Late Late Show for his kids and brands the Egggate scandal ‘so odd’

He and his family are preparing to leave Los Angeles to return to his native UK, with the move following a huge backlash after he was accused of abusing staff at Balthazar.

And in a new interview, James Corden, 44, has claimed he quit The Late Late Show for his kids because he called the “surreal” Egggate scandal “so strange” and insisted he stop reading about himself.

The TV host – who shares son Max, 11, as well as daughters Carey, eight, and Charlotte, four, with his TV producer wife Julia, 46 – recalled having to cancel a family vacation, which was the final straw.

James spoke lovingly to The times from his childhood, showing that he didn’t want to miss those precious years with his own children, was the reason he quit The Late Late Show.

He explained: ‘We had to cancel last year’s summer break’ [because of work clashes] and when I told Max, he looked so sad, and I suddenly got a math problem: we only have six more summers with the kids before they want to go out with their friends. Six if we’re lucky. I knew I couldn’t do that again. So that’s why I stopped.’

The new interview came as the comedian’s reputation took a hit after he was called “a little cretin of a man” by Keith McNally, the British owner of the upscale New York restaurant Balthazar.

In a series of scathing social media posts, McNally claimed the comedian berated the servers on two separate occasions, saying he planned to ’86’ — banned — Corden from his restaurant.

‘So weird!’ The TV host called the ‘surreal’ Egggate scandal ‘so strange’ after he was accused of abusing Balthazar’s staff (Pictured with wife Julia, 46, in London in 2018)

Enough is enough: Keith McNally – the British owner of New York eatery Balthazar – described Corden’s alleged explosions, while also claiming he behaved the same way at his previous restaurant

According to McNally, one of James’ rants came after he found a hair in his meal, prompting him to ask for free drinks and threatening to post nasty reviews on Yelp.

On the second occasion, the British actor exploded when his wife Julia was presented with an egg yolk omelet that also contained a trace of protein – which the comedian later claimed she was allergic to.

Corden then called McNally to apologize for his behavior, but rekindled the argument via a New York Times interview, in which he said the drama was “below me” and denied doing anything wrong.

He also complained about the backlash, telling the newspaper: ‘I feel so zen about the whole thing. Because I think it’s so stupid. I just think it’s below all of us. It’s under you. It’s definitely under your publication.’

Family: James shares son Max, 11, as well as daughters Carey, eight, and Charlotte, four, with his TV producer wife Julia (pictured together in September 2021)

Quality time: James spoke fondly of his childhood and revealed that he didn’t want to miss those precious years with his own children, the reason being that he quit the show (Pictured in 2015)

The interview then sparked a response from McNally, who demanded Corden apologize to the servers he misused.

Targeting what was called ‘Eggate’, James texted The Times journalist and wrote: ‘It was the most surreal moment. I mean, it’s so strange.

“I’ve never yelled at anyone, I haven’t yelled, called anyone names or cursed or used derogatory language… How is it even remotely a thing? And that’ll be okay?’

The actor complained that Egggate is now “fact,” despite the person posting the story not being present during the alleged incident.

TV personality James also urged the publication not to read anything about himself online, be it social media or news articles.

Of the many ‘bad stories’ that are circulating about him, he said: ‘I just stopped taking it. I just won’t. I don’t google myself, I don’t read anything about myself.’

James recalled Keira Knightley discussing the negative things people would write about her, and admitted it got easier when she realized, “Oh. I don’t have to read this. It has nothing to do with me. I’m just concentrating on work.’

Eliminated: James insisted he stop reading about himself (pictured with actress Ruth Jones as Nessa in Gavin and Stacey)