Who would have thought Smithy from Gavin & Stacey would have honoured by the Queen? Well, he has been (in his real-life form, James Corden).
Only James has now revealed that he actually considered turning down his OBE (that’s Order of the British Empire). And part of the reason is BECAUSE HE’S FROM HIGH WYCOMBE.
He was honoured in the Queen’s New Year’s Honours list for services to Drama. We imagine that we could be honoured for services to EastEnders-watching, so do get in touch, Queeny.
James told Radio 1:
"You're painfully aware there are so many people who deserve it so much more.
"Then you sort of think I went to Holmer Green Upper School in High Wycombe and I don't know how many of my year are getting letters like this.
"When I told my dad he said the OBE stands for other blokes' efforts.
"I'm honoured to accept it, but I don't know if it's deserved or not. It will be a nice day to take my parents and thank them for the sacrifices they made for me to be able to do this as a job."
Which is very modest and lovely of James, actually. By the way, he totally deserves the honour.
James is headed to the States next to start presenting The Late Late Show, but he’s also got a theory that he shouldn’t be doing this, again because he’s from High Wycombe.
He said:
"I'm not going with any expectation that I think it will work for the same reason that I thought I shouldn't accept the OBE at Christmas - I'm from High Wycombe and why should I be able to sit and talk to America every night?”
Oi, James – you should be proud of your High Wycombe roots. You can do WHATEVER YOU WANT. Buckinghamshire is the new black, yo.
And if you weren’t convinced, James, then remember that Fern Britton, Jimmy Carr, Little Mix’s Leigh-Anne Pinnock and Aaron Taylor-Johnson are all from High Wycombe, too – so there. BE PROUD.