James Corden and Matthew Horne's dramatic feud explained
25 December 2024, 18:00
What happened between Mathew Horne and James Corden and are they friends? Here is everything we know about their fallout.
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James Corden, 46, and Mathew Horne, 46, burst onto our screens as best friends Smithy and Gavin in the hit series Gavin and Stacey, however their real life friendship has been slightly more complicated.
While their on-screen relationship painted the two as best friends, tensions between the former collaborators appeared to rise over the years, leading to much speculation regarding their friendship.
After working on a number of projects together including the Lesbian Vampire Killers and Horne & Corden, the pair went on their separate paths and carved out their own solo careers. Since then they've rarely been seen together, apart from being reunited on the set of the 2019 Christmas special of Gavin and Stacey.
As we gear up for the final ever episode of Gavin and Stacey on Christmas Day, many viewers are keen to know what happened between Mathew Horne and James Corden. Here is everything we know about their feud and whether they are friends today.
What happened between James Corden and Mathew Horne?
The pair's friendship began when Mathew was cast as the leading man in Gavin and Stacey. After working on the show, James and Mathew became involved in a number of projects together, quickly establishing themselves as comedy duo.
In 2009 the actors embarked on a number of ventures, including creating the show Horne & Corden, starring in the critically panned movie Lesbian Vampire Killers and hosting the Brits. However all three of these appearances led to negative public response, with James later telling The Mail their film Lesbian Vampire Killers was "atrocious".
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In 2011 the pair began to drift apart, with James telling Piers Morgan’s Life Stories in 2019: "We never fell out, it was never that. We were one person for a long time. If I have one regret, it was we just rushed those things.
"We did our own sketch show but the reaction was fierce. It was hard to go through that. We were riding this amazing wave and then it just dropped.
“In one year we spent 263 days together and we went from that to nothing."
He continued: "We didn't speak for a few months. We both had to find and establish ourselves outside the two of us."
As their careers veered off in different directions, James went on to host A League of Their Own before heading stateside to take over The Late Late Show in 2015.
Meanwhile Mathew ended up bagging roles in Horrid Henry: The Movie, Bad Education and The Nan Movie, with the former twosome continuing to distance themselves from each other.
However in 2019 it was revealed the former friends would reunite for the Gavin and Stacey Christmas special, where they would reprise their roles as Gavin and Smithy.
Speaking to Heart's sister station Radio X about the episode, Mathew said at the time: "We all went into it with a degree of anxiety and trepidation because there is a huge amount of expectation on it.
"So we were quite anxious as to whether we were all going to work together well again and the chemistry was going to be there and it was going to be the Gavin and Stacey of old.
"Then after day one we knew it would, and I’ve seen it now and I’m so proud of it. I think it’s the best episode of the show we’ve ever done."
Are James Corden and Mathew Horne friends?
Five years on from the 2019 Gavin and Stacey special, relations between the two appear to be on the up, with Mathew addressing rumours of their fallout with The Times in December 2024.
Mathew began: "I couldn’t really do anything about it.
"Because James then went off to the States, that was the narrative and however much I said that we didn’t fall out, no amount of protesting would have convinced people that it didn’t happen."
He continued: "I really don’t want any more hecticness and chaos in my life. I just want to be grateful and enjoy the things that I’m so fortunate to have, which is a really interesting, fun career and a beautiful family.
"Honestly, I’m sick of talking about 15 years of this. It sapped my energy at the time and it’s not important."
He then went on to defend James, saying: "The root of all of the flak that he takes – and it’s beyond flak – is jealousy. He is a phenomenally gifted actor and writer, and a brilliant working-class success story.
"So yeah, I am protective of him. But I think I’ve been silenced in discussing him because of this narrative that’s been imposed."
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